Referral Network Analysis of a Regional Human Trafficking Task Force

• In Event: Roundtable: Human Trafficking: Understanding Prevalence, Context, and Social Responses

Abstract

Upon escape from a trafficking situation, survivors of human trafficking are often met with numerous and complex needs that require assistance from multiple organizations or service providers. In the United States, regional human trafficking task forces are developed to coordinate individualized services. Such task forces are typically comprised of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in collaboration with various local social service agencies, religious organizations, community members, and survivors. However, the multitude of challenges survivors face, alongside the general lack of survivor-specific resources, pose challenges to these service providers. This presentation will discuss a research project that attempts to identify the needs of domestic survivors of human trafficking and the service provider response to such needs. Approximately 25 organizations belonging to a regional human trafficking task force were interviewed regarding their service referrals for survivors and the findings of a subsequent social network analysis (SNA) of these organizations will be presented.

Authors

• Lauren Vollinger, Michigan State University

• Hannah Feeney, Michigan State University