Illinois Human Trafficking Collaborative Systems Change Initiative

This project will establish a comprehensive statewide response to child and youth sex and labor trafficking in Illinois over a three-year period. This initiative will address the multifaceted challenges posed by anti-human trafficking efforts in Illinois, which is currently limited to often exclude labor trafficking-specific and male-specific identification, service referral, and monitoring of indicators.

The purpose of this project is to create a coordinated, multidisciplinary, trauma-informed response to child and youth victims of sex and labor trafficking throughout Illinois’ systems of government and private agencies. To do this, the primary activities include:
•  Developing a statewide strategic plan;
•  Developing protocols and procedures for stakeholders to identify and serve victims;
•  Improving existing gaps in the anti-trafficking response;
•  Developing and implementing systemwide screening tools, training curriculum, and
•  Data collection and information sharing systems to track the response to child and youth victims of sex and labor trafficking.

A compensated survivor advocate panel will be created to offer a lived experience perspective throughout all activities. Further, specific partners are included to offer a labor trafficking-specific and male trafficking-specific lens throughout project activities.

The expected outcomes from this project are improvements to, and monitoring of, a response to child trafficking that aligns with a statewide strategic plan and protocols that ensure that multidisciplinary stakeholders are educated in how to screen vulnerable children and youth for trafficking.

Subrecipients include the following state and nonprofit agencies: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services; Illinois State Police; Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois; EMMAUS; Illinois Department of Labor; Reclaim13; and the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services.