Page 7 - ODJFS Human Trafficking Response Summary 2018-2019

shortened reporting period for the first quarter, variable response totals, and the introduction of new measures as the instruments are refined.
Reaching High Risk Youth:
Fig.1
Since implementation of our protocol to identify high-risk youth in need of services...
Number of Children Served:
The Network of CACs throughout Ohio continues to maintain the gains from last year with a stabilization around 65% throughout Quarters 1-3. Quarter 4 represents and anomaly with a 13% drop in new cases reported. This may be related to a number of external factors including referral rates from partners or natural variances in inherent in working with this population. Likewise, internal factors such as under-participation from metropolitan CACs may lead to a missing sector of the typically sampled population. Being that this anomaly occurs in the final quarter, continued data collection is recommended to determine whether this variance is anomalous or part of an identifiable pattern.
Additionally when one looks at the total number of continuing and ongoing cases we find a quarterly variances around approximately 25%. It should be noted that while a majority of the more comprehensive tracking limitations from the first year were resolved, there is still a mild effect on these numbers due to quarterly changes in number of CACs responding. For this reason outcomes may be erroneously lower than expected in the final quarter of this year. However when we make statistical corrections for this variation in participants we find that this impact is well explained by the lower response rate alone and not protocol related factors.
Based upon the concept that
disclosure of trafficking is an
outcome of treatment, and
thus we must be able to
provide services to youth who
are either at exceptional risk,
currently being groomed, or
are non-disclosing victims of
trafficking; we established
parameters to aid in service
linkage for youth presenting
with a high prevalence life-factors commonly and disproportionately targeted for exploitation by traffickers (Fig.2). To this end a table was constructed to act as a comprehensive, non-exclusive guidance tool for common collective risk-factors. Among those listed were demographical, historical, and behavioral indicators that in certain combinations may indicate a child in need of human trafficking related services. (See table in Appendix A for details)