LegiStorm

Summary:
What GAO Found

Various challenges exist to raising public awareness of child trafficking and supporting child survivors, according to GAO's interviews with federal officials and 13 stakeholders. For example, public misperceptions exist about which children are trafficked, how children are trafficked, and what supports child survivors need. Stakeholders reported other challenges as well. For example, children who are detained by law enforcement may not receive the services they need to help address their experience with trafficking. Stakeholders also discussed a lack of services for certain populations (e.g., boys, survivors of labor trafficking, and foreign national children), and limited data and research on child trafficking and programs to combat it.

Officials from the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) collaborate to help address human trafficking. However, their collaboration mechanisms broadly focus on individuals of all ages who have experienced trafficking. The offices do not have a collaboration mechanism dedicated to child trafficking; however, officials acknowledged that children have distinct needs. For example, OVC officials said that children's needs are different from adults' needs due to developmental differences, which may require specialized counseling to help address. In addition, OTIP officials told GAO that child trafficking survivors often require more time, attention, and resources than adult trafficking survivors. Establishing a collaboration mechanism focused solely on efforts to combat child trafficking would better enable the offices to overcome challenges specific to children and meet the distinct needs of child trafficking survivors.

Both offices have set strategic goals to help measure the success of their anti-trafficking programs for children. OTIP is also developing performance goals, but OVC has no plans to do so. By establishing performance goals, OVC would be better positioned to define what its programs are trying to achieve and its progress in helping combat child trafficking.

Why GAO Did This Study

Human traffickers can target children in the U.S. to exploit them sexually, force them into labor, or both. Children can be targeted due to their age and other factors that make them vulnerable. Children experiencing poverty, homelessness, and juvenile justice or child welfare involvement, along with foreign national children who arrive unaccompanied to the U.S. may be at greater risk of victimization.

GAO was asked to review federal efforts to address child trafficking. This report examines challenges related to raising public awareness of child trafficking and supporting survivors, collaboration among federal agencies to address child trafficking, and agencies' efforts to measure the performance and effectiveness of their anti-trafficking programs for children. GAO focused this report on OVC and OTIP, as these are the primary offices administering domestic anti-trafficking grant programs specifically for children. GAO reviewed documents (e.g., grant solicitations) and interviewed officials from the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services. GAO also conducted interviews with 13 nongovernmental organizations with expertise in child trafficking, such as service providers and researchers.