Appendix C: State Participation Invitation

State Participation Invitation

The following script will be used for initial calls to select state agencies to identify and invite the appropriate respondent to participate in the State Human Trafficking Coordinator telephone interview (See Instrument 1: State Human Trafficking Coordinator Telephone Interview Guide).

Initial Call to State Agency Annual Progress and Services Reports (APSR) Contact:¹

My name is [RESEARCHER]. I am a researcher from RTI International, a not-for-profit research organization conducting a study funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

This research project is looking at child welfare practice in screening for human trafficking, and the relationship between screening and specialized services. Does your agency have a human trafficking coordinator?

If yes and not APSR contact: What is that person’s name and contact information? Could you transfer me to them?

If no: Who in the agency’s leadership would best be able to describe the agency’s response to human trafficking? (If not the APSR contact) Could you provide that person’s contact information? Could you transfer me to them?

Participation Call to State Agency Human Trafficking Leader:

My name is [RESEARCHER]. I am a researcher from RTI International, a not-for-profit research organization conducting a study funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The goal of the study is to better understand how child welfare agencies select and implement screening tools, train workers on their use, and the relationship between screening and subsequent service delivery. This may include specialized services for children identified as trafficked or at increased risk of trafficking. The study will document and describe current practice and experiences in order to inform policy, practice, and resource decisions in child welfare agencies.

We will be conducting approximately 25 telephone interviews. We are reaching out to you because you are a leader in this field, based on information gleaned from your reports to the Children’s Bureau and agency websites, and the study team’s interest in learning from agencies with diverse approaches to address human trafficking. We will share a summary of what we learn with all interview participants.

We are requesting your participation in an interview lasting up to 90 minutes. To most effectively use that interview time, we will also ask you to share some material (e.g. screening tools and protocols, training materials, etc.) in advance.

Participation in this interview is completely voluntary. We would greatly appreciate your help in this effort. Would you be willing to participate in this interview?

If yes, schedule interview date and time.

If no, note reasons for non-participation and thank respondent for considering.

Coordination with the National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth State Self-Assessment Survey:

You may also have received an invitation to participate in a self-assessment survey from the National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Children and Youth. This self-assessment allows states to assess their progress in implementing the committee’s recommendations to address sex trafficking of children and youth. This is a request to participate in a different study, focused exclusively on child welfare response to trafficking of children and youth. Your participation in both efforts is allowed and encouraged. If your state is participating in both data collections at this time, it may be beneficial to take both collections into account when developing your responses.

If they had additional questions about the NAC Self-Assessment Survey, provide contact information for the current NAC point of contact.

1 If State Agency Human Trafficking Leader is already known, contractor will use the Participation Call script.