Recommendations for Practitioners Engaged in Antitrafficking Task Forces: An Evaluation of the Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking

By Paige S. Thompson, Evelyn F. McCoy, Jeanette Hussemann, William Adams, Krista White, and Roderick Taylor

To address human trafficking in the United States, the US Department of Justice funded the Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Task Forces to Combat Human Trafficking program comprising law enforcement officials, prosecutors, victim service providers, and other stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels. These task forces are charged with identifying and investigating labor and sex trafficking cases, delivering critical services to survivors, and prosecuting all forms of human trafficking. With funding from the National Institute of Justice, the Urban Institute conducted a 10-site evaluation of federally funded ECM task forces across the United States. This evaluation sought to (1) understand the impact of the ECM task forces in identifying and assisting survivors and investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases; (2) analyze differences in task force implementation models (e.g., structure, organization, and key characteristics) to understand which models and features contribute to successful investigations, prosecutions, and service delivery; (3) gain insight into the challenges and barriers task forces face; and (4) understand best practices and recommendations for successfully developing and implementing ECM task forces across the United States. Gleaning from the study’s findings, this brief details recommendations in four areas: task force structure, operation, and funding; collaboration among stakeholders; survivor engagement and service provision; and task force training, focus, and activities.

Washington DC: Urban Institute, 2022. 9p.