Human trafficking, agencies have taken steps to assess prevalence, address victim issues, and avoid grant duplication : report to congressional committees.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

United States. Government Accountability Office, author.

Contributor:

Goodwin, Gretta L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human trafficking--United States--Prevention--Evaluation.

Human trafficking.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (iv, 73 pages) : Illustrations, maps

Other Title:

Agencies have taken steps to assess prevalence, address victim issues, and avoid grant duplication

Place of Publication:

[Washington, D.C.] : United States Government Accountability Office, 2016.

Summary:

Human trafficking, the exploitation of a person typically through force, fraud, or coercion for such purposes as forced labor, involuntary servitude or commercial sex, is occurring in the United States. Congress has passed multiple laws to help ensure punishment of traffickers and protection of victims. DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security lead federal investigations and prosecutions of trafficking crimes. The Departments of Defense, Labor, and State, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigate trafficking related offenses under certain circumstances, and take further action, as appropriate. DOJ and HHS award grants to fund victim service programs. The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 includes a provision for GAO to review law enforcement efforts and grant programs to combat human trafficking and assist victims in the United States. This report discusses (1) federal efforts to assess prevalence of human trafficking (2) challenges agencies face in investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases, and 3) federal grants and steps taken to prevent duplication. GAO reviewed trafficking data and agency documents, and conducted 32 interviews with federal, state and local law enforcement officials and prosecutors in four jurisdictions. We selected these jurisdictions based on the number of human trafficking tips they received, receipt of human trafficking task force funding and geographic variation. These officials' perspectives cannot be generalized to all jurisdictions but they provide insights into anti-trafficking efforts.

Notes:

"GAO-16-555."

"June 2016"--Cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF cover page (GAO, viewed June 29, 2016).

OCLC:

952524610