Opening Remarks by HHS Leadership
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary Jennifer Burnszynski of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation introduces Lynn Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, who welcomes the guests. Next, Katherine Chon, Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons delivers remarks on the state of the field.
Integrating Primary and Behavioral Health Services for Trafficking Survivors
This panel highlights practical, concrete, and innovative approaches communities are taking to integrate primary and behavioral health care with a trauma-informed approach; why they have prioritized such strategies; and how they position them for organizational success. Access the presentation materials and resources (PDF).
Prevention of Human Trafficking
This panel highlights the role of health care and social service settings in trauma-informed early intervention and prevention programs, as well as lessons learned from adjacent fields such as child abuse and domestic violence. Access the presentation materials and resources. (PDF)
Screening to Identify Trafficking Survivors
This panel discusses barriers to identification and strategies for developing, adapting, and using trauma-informed screening tools, and referral protocols in diverse settings to promote access to services and ensure better coordination among providers. Access the presentation materials and resources. (PDF)
Addressing the Health Needs of Minors and Young Adults
This panel addresses challenges and strategies, including trauma-informed prevention, screening, and intervention, for serving children and youth who have experienced sex or labor trafficking. Access the presentation materials and resources (PDF).
Addressing the Substance Use Needs of Trafficking Survivors
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Brenda Destro of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation introduces Assistant Deputy Secretary Charles Keckler who welcomes the guests. Next, the panel highlights the role of substance use and connection to trafficking, impact of the opioid crisis, challenges and strategies for treatment, harm reduction and prevention strategies, multidisciplinary coordination between criminal justice and community health stakeholders, and next steps. Access the presentation materials and resources. (PDF)
Reflections on Next Steps and Closing Remarks
This panel highlights important research questions, measurement challenges, and/or technical assistance needs for the field and what research methodologies would be needed to answer them. Access the presentation materials and resources (PDF).
2008
In 2008, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) sponsored a national symposium focused on the health needs of human trafficking victims. This event brought together health care professionals, federal employees, and anti-trafficking advocates to discuss how best to identify victims in health care settings and ways that the health care system can provide improved and effective services to this population. Learn more from the Post-Symposium Brief.
2018
Ten years later, ASPE partnered with the ACF Office on Trafficking in Persons to convene a follow-up symposium to reflect on how far the health service response to human trafficking has evolved, identify emerging issues, and inform future anti-trafficking efforts across the fields of health care, behavioral health, public health, and social work. Leading practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and trafficking survivors gathered to discuss critical issues and gaps, share lessons learned, identify trauma-informed clinical practices based on the best available evidence, and inform current and future anti-trafficking efforts. Over 120 partners attended the symposium in person, and over 300 participants joined online. Access the presentation materials, resource lists, and final report.