Resources: 4.4 Comprehensive Victim Services

Translation and Language Assistance

  • Culture Grams "Culture Grams" are concise reports that describe a country's peoples, customs, lifestyle, and society. Service providers working directly with victims of human trafficking have described these as helpful resources when working with an individual of whom they know very little culturally in order to provide them with better and more appropriate services. A subscription is required to receive this resource.
  • Working With Interpreters Outside of the Courtroom: A Guide for Legal Services Providers (2016) [PDF 560KB] Created by Ayuda, an organization that works directly with victims, this resource provides tips and direction for legal service advocates working with interpreters.
  • Providing Language Access in Courts: Working Together to Ensure Justice (2012) [PDF 139KB] This one pager includes successful DOJ and court outcomes, National Center for Access to Justice Index, ABA standards for language access in courts, and more.

Safe Housing Options

Reports and Studies

  • National Colloquium 2012 Report (2013) [PDF 1.2MB] This is an inventory and evaluation of the current shelter and services response to domestic minor sex trafficking, written by Shared Hope International.
  • Finding a Path to Recovery: Residential Facilities for Minor Victims of Sex Trafficking (2007) Funded in fall 2006 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this 12-month exploratory project and subsequent report provide information on how HHS programs are addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking, including domestic victims, with a priority focus on domestic youth.

Tool for Providers

  • Housing Choice Voucher Program: Family Unification Program (January 2017) [PDF 93.2KB] The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created a new program for youth aging out of foster care; this is a priority for HUD and is in its strategic plan through 2018. This program allows youth who are leaving foster care and could become homeless to receive housing vouchers and wraparound services for 18 months. There are demonstration sites now looking at expanding support for up to 5 years.
  • Online DV Shelter Finder: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence An online directory to easily find a nearby DV shelter.
  • Housing Concepts for Anti-Trafficking Programs: Coordinated Entry (2021) [PDF 284KB]
  • Collaboration Toolkit for Anti-Trafficking & Housing Programs (2022) [PDF 3.6MB]
  • Center for Countering Human Trafficking (CCHT) Continued Presence Resource Guide [PDF 892KB]
  • Guide for Anti-Trafficking Programs Working with Domestic Violence Shelters

Mental Health Needs

Reports and Studies

  • Report of the Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls (2014) [PDF 911KB] From the American Psychological Institute, this report aims to raise psychologists' awareness of trafficking and make recommendations for practice, research and training.
  • Treating the Hidden Wounds: Trauma Treatment & Mental Health Recovery for Victims of Human Trafficking (2008) This is the third in a series of Issue Briefs produced under a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) to conduct a study of HHS programs serving human trafficking victims. The purpose of this exploratory project is to develop information on how HHS programs are currently addressing the needs of victims of human trafficking, including domestic victims, with a priority focus on domestic youth.

Tools for Providers

  • The SANE Program Development and Operation Guide provides a blueprint for nurses and communities that would like to start a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program.
  • Asking About and Responding to Survivors' Experiences of Abuse Related to Mental Health (2012) [PDF 293KB] The National Center on Trauma, Domestic Violence, and Mental Health produced this list of resources to educate domestic violence advocates on best practices in assisting victims with mental health concerns and to promote understanding to better serve this community.
  • Polyvictimization Assessment Tool Resource Guidebook

Medical Health Needs

Reports and Studies

  • Identification of Human Trafficking Victims in Health Care Settings (2011) [PDF 415KB] This project aims to characterize trafficking victims' encounters in U.S. health care settings since it has been found that some victims are known to have received medical care while under traffickers' control.
  • American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children's Practice Guidelines: The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: The Medical Provider's Role in Identification, Assessment, and Treatment (2013) [PDF 814KB] These guidelines provide medical professionals with an overview regarding the current understanding of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. They focus on the epidemiology of CSEC, the impact of exploitation on victim physical and mental health, and the role of the medical provider in identifying victims, assessing their needs, and securing appropriate services.

Tools for Providers

  • Modern-Day Slavery in America: Recognizing & Responding to Human Trafficking in a Health Care Context This 37-minute PowerPoint presentation on human trafficking in the health care context was developed by Polaris and was made possible in part through a grant from HHS/ORR. It is also listed on the landing page of Polaris' Resources. The topics include understanding trafficking and potential health impacts for victims.
  • Helping Foster and Adoptive Families Cope With Trauma: A Guide for Pediatricians [PDF 840KB] The purpose of this guide is to support foster and adoptive families by strengthening the abilities of pediatricians to identify traumatized children, educate families about toxic stress and the possible biological, behavioral, and social manifestations of early childhood trauma, and empower families to respond to their child's behavior in a manner that acknowledges past trauma but promotes the learning of new, more adaptive reactions to stress.
  • Caring for Trafficked Persons: Guidance for Health Providers (2009) [PDF 1.5KB] Published by the International Organization for Migration, this document aims to provide practical, nonclinical guidance to health care providers working with victims of human trafficking. This is a tool for health care providers unfamiliar with the topic who wish to further research how they can best serve victims of human trafficking.
  • HHS Toolkits for Health Care Providers Published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, these toolkits provide background information and guidance for health care practitioners in identifying and communicating with victims of human trafficking.
  • DHS Victim Identification Pamphlet for Law Enforcement, First Responders, and Health Professionals (No Date) This pamphlet provides information for law enforcement, first responders, and health care professionals on how to recognize the signs of human trafficking, how to report suspected trafficking, and how they can collaborate with experts in their area. Available in English for free download on the Department of Homeland Security Web site.
  • Health Professional, Education, Advocacy & Linkagel HEAL Trafficking brings together physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, dentists, psychologists, counselors, public health workers, health educators, researchers, clinical social workers, administrators, and other health professionals who work with and advocate for survivors of human trafficking. The HEAL Trafficking Web site serves as a centralized place to share resources and publications. They also manage the Human Trafficking and Health Care Listserv.
  • National Immigration Law Center - Health Care for Immigrants NILC provides various resources for accessing health coverage for immigrants. It includes a Medical Assistance Program table, which describes state policies for providing health coverage to certain immigrants, under federal options to cover lawfully residing children and pregnant women, regardless of their date of entry into the United States, or to provide prenatal care to women regardless of status, using Children's Health Insurance Program funds. It also describes immigrant coverage under programs using exclusively state funds.

Legal Needs

Guides and Tools for Attorneys

  • Ensuring Full Restitution for Trafficking Victims: An Overview of Mandatory Restitution Awards Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2013) [PDF 643MB] This article, from the National Crime Victim Law Institute, reviews laws related to obtaining restitution, as well as methods to calculate the amount to request.
  • No Wrong Door: A Comprehensive Approach to Safe Harbor for Minnesota's Sexually Exploited Youth [PDF 1.5MB] This document provides an overview to Minnesota's Safe Harbor law and the policies that affect sexually exploited youth in the state.
  • Assisting Human Trafficking Victims With Return of Property and Restitution (2014) [PDF 191KB] This article covers issues that arise in the retrieval of a victim's property and provides strategies for the use of restitution as a means of relief.
  • Identification and Legal Advocacy for Trafficking Survivors, 3rd Edition*, New York Anti-Trafficking Network (2009)L Created by the New York Anti-Trafficking Network, this manual provides guidance to attorneys on issues that arise in the context of representing trafficking survivors. The manual is designed for practitioners who are familiar with basic legal terms and concepts, to offer some insight into the process.
  • Legal Services Assessment for Trafficked Children - Cook County, Illinois Case Study (2013) This project focuses on assessing legal needs for child trafficking victims in Cook County, as well as challenges and best practices in other regions of the United States. It includes a preliminary assessment of legal services for child trafficking victims offered by various organizations around the country.
  • Know your Rights Videos DOL's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) developed the "Know Your Rights" video series in English and Spanish to provide workers with useful basic information in different scenarios. The nine videos provide information on the federal minimum wage, when overtime pay is due, when an employer has to pay an employee, whether off-the-clock work is compensable or not, who is an employee and who is an independent contractor, rights of young workers, whether or not seasonal workers are subject to wage and hour laws, and how and what is needed to file a complaint with WHD.
  • Civil Litigation on Behalf of Human Trafficking Victims (2008) [PDF 457KB] Created by the Southern Poverty Law Center, this resource is an introduction to basic litigation tools for attorneys representing trafficked clients.
  • Prosecution at any Cost? The Impact of Material Witness Warrants in Federal Human Trafficking Cases (April 2020) [PDF 9.4MB]
  • Human Trafficking Legal Center Publication Resource Guide

Victims' Rights

  • Crime Victims have the Right to Retained Counsel's Presence During Investigative Interviews (2014) [PDF 404KB] This document, from the National Crime Victim Law Institute, details the right of victims to retained counsel present during investigative interviews. Due process requires informing victims of this right and then accommodating counsel's presence.
  • VictimLaw VictimLaw is a user-friendly searchable database of victims' rights legal provisions including federal, state, and territorial statutes, Tribal laws, state constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, and summaries of related court decisions and attorney general opinions, developed by OVC TTAC.
  • National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) Victim Law Library The NCVLI victim Law library contains crime victim law publications and recorded trainings. Materials are organized by topic and may be accessed by selecting the relevant right, victim type, or procedural posture. All information is educational and intended for informational purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice, nor does it substitute for legal advice.
  • NCVLI Protecting Victims' Privacy: Moving to Quash Pretrial Subpoenas Duces Tecum for Non-Privileged Information in Criminal Cases [PDF 523KB]
  • Crime Victims' Rights Act of 2004 (18 U.S.C. § 3771) The CVRA of 2004 was enacted to ensure that crime victims are notified of their rights (notice of court proceedings, right to be present and to be heard at pubic proceedings, right to restitution, etc.).
  • Crime Control Act of 1990, Child Victims' Rights (18 U.S.C. 403 §3509) [PDF 26.6MB] This act authorizes alternatives to live in-court testimony of child victims, competency examinations, protection of privacy, victim impact statements, use of multidisciplinary child abuse teams, and more.
  • Immigration Options for Victims of Crime [PDF 272KB] U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created this brochure to inform law enforcement agents, social service providers, and others about the Violence Against Women Act, U nonimmigrant status, and T nonimmigrant status.
  • Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes (18 U.S.C. § 3663A (a)(2)) This right ensures that victims may be reimbursed for treatment for physical injury or pecuniary loss incurred in the course of the criminal activity.
  • Victims' Rights Clarification Act of 1997 (18 U.S.C. § 3510) [PDF 206KB] This amendment to Title 18, U.S.C. gives further assurance to the right of victims of crime to attend the trials of those accused of the crime.
  • Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. § 10601-10603) This 1984 legislation established a crime victims fund from fines collected from convicted offenders. The funds are distributed through state victim assistance and compensation programs.
  • Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Provides Protections for Immigrant Women and Victims of Crime (2019)

Immigration Relief

T & U Nonimmigrant Visa