Federal webinar spotlights school-based programs, research and implementation lessons to prevent child trafficking

A webinar hosted by the Administration for Children and Families’ Office on Trafficking in Persons and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought together researchers and practitioners to describe school‑based prevention programs, evaluation plans and on-the-ground lessons for identifying and responding to child sex trafficking. Katherine Chon, Director of the Office on Trafficking in Persons at ACF, opened the session and noted the event would be recorded for registered participants.

HHS Senior Advisor on Human Trafficking Kevin Malone framed trafficking as a public‑health problem that requires cross‑sector prevention. He highlighted HTYPE (Human Trafficking Youth Prevention Education Demonstration program) reach: “As of September 2025, HTYPE recipients have trained more than 32,600 educators…and they’ve reached over 97,360 students across 2,827 schools,” Malone said, and urged attendees to think about what is feasible in their settings.

The webinar presented four models and related evaluation or implementation lessons. Dr. Ginny Sprang of the University of Kentucky described CSTOP Now! (Child Sex Trafficking Stops With You!), a cluster randomized controlled trial in Kentucky middle schools funded by the CDC. Sprang said 25 of 50 counties were randomized to the intervention and the curriculum is delivered via an online learning management system. The curriculum includes seven modules (myths and facts, bystander theory, identification using a SITSII screener, direct actions and supports), a three‑tier risk framework, and five bystander actions—delegate, directly intervene, document, decide and disrupt. Sprang also described a SITSII AI comprehensive assessment tool and a mass‑media component (billboards) used in intervention counties. She said early implementation lessons show staff like the SITSII tool and that a “champions” approach—engaging trained staff to refer and support colleagues—helped create a cluster effect that increased sustained use.

Nancy Hoffman, state coordinator for West Virginia’s Foundation for Rape Information and Services, placed trafficking in a broader community context. Hoffman explained that in West Virginia trafficking was often overlooked amid the opioid epidemic; she cited dramatic local distribution patterns and high rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome and foster care placements linked to substance use. Hoffman described West Virginia’s multi‑sector response: a statewide Human Trafficking Task Force, changes to statutes and penalties to avoid criminalizing victims, required human trafficking assistance notices in public places, social marketing campaigns, and a current effort to implement screening questions for children in foster care.

Milwaukee Public Schools’ Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinator Jessica Goodman Schutz described her district’s HTYPE demonstration. MPS selected Love146’s Not A Number curriculum because it is interactive and skills‑based and addresses online risk. MPS focuses on all 8th graders in general education and requires support staff (school social workers, counselors) to facilitate the curriculum; the district uses passive/opt‑out caregiver consent. Goodman Schutz said over 4,500 students have received the curriculum across three semesters, more than 130 facilitators are certified, and pre/post testing has shown statistically significant gains in knowledge, attitudes and self‑reported behaviors. She shared a facilitator’s account of a student disclosure prompted by the curriculum: the student wrote, “Is it still consensual if I didn't really want it to happen when I was seven years old?” and later disclosed abuse and received supports.

Jessica Varela of Education Service Center Region 19 described a regional Train‑the‑Trainer model in El Paso. ESC19 staff (a team of nurses and a counselor) partner with 3Strands Global Foundation and local districts, deliver staff and student sessions in multiple modalities, and help districts meet Texas requirements (including training tied to Senate Bill 9 and the Texas Education Agency). Varela said ESC19 has trained over 3,000 district staff, educated more than 2,500 students and reached roughly 450 community members, and emphasized partnerships with local service providers such as Paso del Norte Center of Hope.

In a moderated discussion, presenters addressed implementation hurdles and sustainability. Common challenges included recruiting schools into studies and programs, limited professional‑development time for classroom teachers, and state consent policies (Varela noted parent opt‑in in some districts drives outreach burdens). Strategies offered to sustain programs included using champions and peer referral networks, embedding coordinators within existing multidisciplinary structures (for example, Family Justice Centers and joint protocols), convening advisory boards to align policies across agencies, presenting to school boards, and training in‑district facilitators via ToT models so capacity persists after grants end.

The webinar emphasized both prevention and earlier identification: speakers reported increases in staff confidence, more timely referrals, and instances where curriculum exposure led students to understand and disclose past abuse. Katherine Chon closed by urging peer‑to‑peer sharing and noting ACF and CDC resources are available to support schools and researchers. The recording will be shared with registered participants.