Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance Enhancement

The Denver District Attorney’s Office (DDA) and the Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC) jointly request funding to enhance the existing Denver Anti-Trafficking Alliance (DATA)/Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force. The project will expand the Task Force capabilities to implement victim-centered, coordinated approaches to identifying victims of human trafficking, investigate and prosecute sex and labor trafficking cases, and address the individualized needs of victims through service provision in the Metro Denver area. The overall goal is to enhance and sustain a multidisciplinary co-leadership task force approach to identify all forms of human trafficking, provide access to services, and investigate and prosecute traffickers at the local, state, and federal levels. By expanding the Task Force geographic location and membership, it is expected that additional victims will be identified and served, and there will be an increase in the number of investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. The project will create a focus on meaningful survivor engagement and marginalized communities, as well as a dedicated effort to address labor trafficking. An external evaluation will guide project implementation. These enhancements will result in long term systems change, an increase in comprehensive services for victims of human trafficking, and ultimately the reduction and prevention of human trafficking.

This proposal is requesting priority consideration for Priority Area B.

State/Geographical Area: The proposed project will be located in the state of Colorado, serving the Metro Denver Area. Covering 154.6 square miles, Metro Denver makes up slightly more than half (55%) of the state’s entire population and encompasses the cities of Denver, Aurora and Lakewood with a population of nearly three million people.

Funding Request: The DDA is requesting $750,000 and APDC is requesting  $742,509 for the proposed project, for a total of $1,492,509 million dollars.  

Investigations: DDA and partner the Denver Police Department investigated the following numbers of human trafficking incidents:  58 in 2019; 87 in 2020; and 308 in 2021. Prosecutions: The DDA filed 15 cases of human trafficking in 2019 (7 Sex; 2 Labor, and 6 Sex and Labor); 10 in 2020 (1 Labor; 9 Sex and Labor); and 15 in 2021 (15 Sex and Labor Trafficking). Victims Served: Victim Service provider APDC served 8 Human Trafficking victims in 2019 (5 Labor, 2 Sex, 1 Sex and Labor), 35 in 2020 (11 Labor, 21 Sex, 1 Sex and Labor, 1 Unknown), and 45 in 2021 (15 Labor, 23 Sex, 5 Sex and Labor, 2 Unknown).