This implementation guide for evaluating a human trafficking court and its network of social service providers presents the case study of the Buffalo Network Service Delivery Model in New York, lessons learned from the evaluability assessment, considerations such as evaluation tools to use and data sources, and provides survivor perspectives from within the Buffalo Network.
This paper serves as an implementation guide to the process of evaluating a human trafficking court and its network of social service providers. The authors use the Buffalo City Court’s Human Trafficking Intervention Court (BCC HTIC) and its network of social service providers as a case study to provide context and background for their recommendations. The purpose of this study was to conduct a formative evaluability assessment of a metropolitan systems network model, designed to connect probable human trafficking victims with social and victim services in the greater Buffalo, New York region. The evaluability assessment aimed to develop foundational materials that could support and inform the outcome evaluation of the human trafficking victim service delivery model. The study also sought to determine if there is sufficient, high-quality data available in order to evaluate the impact of this approach. The authors used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) as a guiding framework to understand the model and provide recommendations. This guide provides the BCC HTIC case study example, relevant literature, evaluability assessment lessons learned, suggested evaluation tools and data sources, and important questions and considerations to address before or during a human trafficking court evaluation; it also provides key takeaways regarding facilitators and barriers to providing support services, forming partnerships, and survivor perspectives on human trafficking. Appendices include partner and survivor interview guides, information for survivors volunteering to be interviewed, and trauma-informed guidance for interviewers.