Outcomes for Human Trafficking Survivors: Development Brief

• NCJ Number: 255429
• Date Published: September 2020
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2016-VT-BX-0001
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored

Annotation

This Development Brief describes the rationale for and development and testing of the Outcomes for Human Trafficking Survivors (OHTS), which was developed to evaluate outcomes for services provided to survivors of human trafficking.

Abstract

The OHTS was developed to enable human trafficking service programs to acquire information about survivor outcomes related to the service provided. The OHTS was developed by a team of evaluation researchers at RTI International, with collaboration from human trafficking service providers, researchers, survivors, and program funders. At each stage of instrument development, findings were incorporated from data collection by service providers, researchers, and survivors into revisions that improved the instrument. The instrument was refined to include 14 outcome categories that correspond to services provided by comprehensive programs, as well as to address the circumstances of diverse clients. Revisions increased the focus on components of progress that can be facilitated through program participation and areas where change can occur. The layout of the OHTS was revised, and visual instructions were developed to facilitate consistent use. With the encouraging results from the preliminary validity and reliability tests, the OHTS is being disseminated for use; however, program leaders should assess its fit with their program before adopting it. Factors that should be considered are outlined.