Through its cadre of training and technical assistance (TTA) providers, OVC provides practitioner-driven, evidence-based TTA that is responsive to the particular needs of victim service providers and system stakeholders, their communities, and the victims they serve. These providers strengthen the victim assistance responses to human trafficking, support multidisciplinary task forces and cross-sector collaboration, and build stakeholder capacity and leadership in identifying human trafficking victims and connecting them to services.
Locate upcoming training opportunities from OVC’s human training and technical assistance providers and other stakeholders by conducting a search of OVC's events page.
OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center
The OVC Training and Technical Assistance Center (OVC TTAC) offers education and tools to the victim services field at no cost, so those who provide services have the skills to reach out to victims of every type of crime, from every background, in every place, and offer them what they need to rebuild their lives. Resources to assist anti-trafficking stakeholders include:
- Understanding Human Trafficking Online Training, a series of five interactive online modules that offer foundational learning on trauma-informed and victim-centered approaches to human trafficking.
- Recorded Webinars on Human Trafficking
- Human Trafficking Action Research Toolkit
- The Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide
Sigh up for the TTAC Human Trafficking Listserv to receive the latest news and updates from OVC TTAC.
Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center
Operated by OVC, the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center seeks to strengthen human trafficking victim services in the United States by delivering free coaching and mentoring, and by providing a resource library, for organizations and federally recognized tribes. The Center partners with organizations and tribes in a collaborative and creative process to build their capacity to serve all victims of human trafficking. Through custom coaching, the Center helps organizations and tribes build a community response, develop sustainment strategies, build capacity, and enhance victim services.
Visit the Human Trafficking Capacity Building Center website to learn more and access these services.
Specialized Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Providers
The following organizations receive funding from OVC to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) throughout the United States.
American University - Maximizing OVC’s Survivor Assistance in Court Settings (MOSAICS)
The MOSAICS TTA project assists courts in implementing trauma-responsive policies to identify survivors of human trafficking who are facing criminal charges; respond to the needs of survivors facing charges with a range of outcomes in their cases and a continuum of social service referrals; and reduce the infliction of harm on survivors facing criminal charges in court proceedings. MOSAICS offers quarterly webinars and remote and on-site tailored TTA to courts and jurisdictions across the country.
Comprehensive Legal Training and Technical Assistance - Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking seeks to build the capacity of legal and social service providers to deliver services to human trafficking victims and increase victims’ access to the full spectrum of legal remedies available to them to increase their safety, financial wellbeing, independence and self-sufficiency through access to trained legal service providers.
In-person and virtual TTA is available to improve the quality and quantity of legal services and pro bono attorneys across the United States; and improve social service provider capacity to identify the legal service needs of human trafficking victims, provide reliable referrals, and work effectively with legal service providers.
Framework: Tools to Combat Labor Trafficking - International Rescue Committee
Framework helps service providers and their community partners to identify and provide transformative services to survivors of labor trafficking. Staff are dedicated to creating tailored, engaging, and user-friendly TTA and resources. Framework works with survivors and other experts to understand the issue of labor trafficking—from root causes to best practices in promoting justice and healing—and can equip the field with the tools necessary to create meaningful change for victims.
Freedom Network Training Institute Housing Training and Technical Assistance Project - Freedom Network USA
This project seeks to enhance the victim service field’s response to the housing needs of victims of human trafficking. Freedom Network USA is working to improve the quality and quantity of housing services offered to trafficking survivors by increasing capacity of victim service providers nationwide, including through strengthening victim service providers’ partnerships at the national, state, and local levels with housing stakeholders.
Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking Technical Assistance – RTI International
Through specialized, targeted TTA, RTI supports the OVC’s Improving Outcomes grantees as they work to enhance their jurisdiction-wide coordination and multidisciplinary collaboration to address human trafficking involving children and youth.
Project Trauma Response to Uplift Survivors of Trafficking (TRUST) - U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Inc.
The goal of Project TRUST is to enhance services delivered to survivors of trafficking by providing intensive TTA on trauma-informed responses and services to trafficking service providers. Based on provider needs and survivor input, Project TRUST offers trainings including webinars and online courses, peer-to-peer information sharing opportunities, and presentations at conferences. Project TRUST also offers one-on-one support for organizational needs and connects organizations to other partners for specific needs.
Promoting Employment Opportunities for Survivors of Trafficking Program - Futures Without Violence
This initiative aims to increase access to quality educational and employment opportunities for human trafficking survivors. Futures Without Violence has developed a curriculum on trauma-informed employment services for trafficking survivors for in-person training, delivers webinars and resources, and a roadmap tool for identifying local employment and training opportunities for survivors.
Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking – Training and Technical Assistance
OVC funds three categories of training and technical assistance (TTA) to support the multidisciplinary ECM task forces.
Capacity Building and Implementation - ICF Incorporated
ICF Incorporated supports task forces with capacity building and implementation strategies to develop and sustain a high functioning collaborative task force. ICF manages and facilitates a peer liaison program, conducts site assessments, assists with strategic planning, and convenes events to explore and identify gaps in emerging issues to recommend training solutions for multidisciplinary task force teams.
Law Enforcement- and Prosecution-Focused Training and Technical Assistance - The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
IACP develops a range of multisector trainings (in-person, virtual, webinars, and more) and peer to peer learning opportunities to increase the organizational capacity of ECM task forces to better identify victims, provide services, and successfully investigate and prosecute cases at all levels.
Preventing Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Through Education Partnerships - The National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C)
NW3C is developing a human trafficking and child exploitation identification and prevention program that trains law enforcement to deliver a curriculum to youth in schools. Working in collaboration with ECM task forces, these trainings occur in ECM task force jurisdictions. OVC coordinates this TTA with the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
Preventing Trafficking of Girls Training and Technical Assistance
Youth Collaboratory
As the training and technical assistance provider for the FY 2020 OVC Preventing Trafficking of Girls initiative, Youth Collaboratory supports prevention and early intervention services, including mentoring and other direct support services for girls who are at risk of or are victims of sex trafficking. The goal is to prevent/reduce the victimization of girls vulnerable to commercial sexual exploitation by expanding the capacity and skills of the program sites, other providers, and community stakeholders working to prevent trafficking of girls.
Other Federally-Funded Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Providers
National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center
This center provides training and technical assistance to inform and enhance the public health response to human trafficking. They offer training to health care and social service providers on how to identify, treat, and respond appropriately to potential victims of human trafficking. All services are free and delivered based on need. The Center is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center
This center is sponsored by the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families. It acts as the training and technical assistance provider for all Family and Youth Services Bureau runaway and homeless youth grantees, assisting them in developing effective approaches to serving runaway and homeless youth.