Establishment of a multidisciplinary collaborative task force enhancing internal roles and operations between law enforcement and victim services to combat human trafficking in the State of Arkansas.

The purpose of this program is to start a multidisciplinary task force and establish a strong foundation of task force co-leadership structure, clear roles and responsibilities, and internal processes and protocols. This funding will support a formalize task force structure; develop operational procedures; access professional development and training opportunities, deliver training for key stakeholders; and conduct a community assessment to identify potential areas of the community where sex and labor trafficking may be occurring.

Arkansas covers 53,179 square miles, with a 2020 estimated population of 3,013,756 people – with 1,235,640 or 41% of its population living in rural Arkansas. Among the 75 Arkansas counties, 13 (23.5%) are classified as metropolitan (urban) and 62 (82.66%) are classified as nonmetropolitan (rural), based on 2021 University of Arkansas Rural Profile of Arkansas. The work of the Arkansas Human Trafficking Task Force will benefit the entire state.