Unmet mental health needs may increase the risk of human trafficking, and trauma from trafficking victimization contributes to a wide range of adverse mental or behavioral health conditions. Studies show that individuals who have experienced trafficking may exhibit signs of anxiety, emotional numbness, memory loss, and depression. They may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a dependence on substance or alcohol use, and/or eating disorders. The consequences of trafficking can be long-lasting, impacting the individual and interpersonal relationships, and potentially resulting in intergenerational cycles of victimization. Trauma-informed mental health care should be person-centered and culturally appropriate, empowering patients with the agency to make choices that work best for their recovery. This Administration for Children and Families resource highlights resources on the importance of providing individuals who have experienced trafficking with access to trauma-informed, person-centered mental health treatment, including the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking’s inaugural report.

The Office on Trafficking in Persons established the Demonstration Grants to Strengthen the Response to Victims of Human Trafficking in Native Communities (VHT-NC) Program to address the critical need for support for Native American people who have experienced human trafficking. The program aims to build, expand, and sustain organizational and community capacity to deliver services to Native American people who have experienced human trafficking. In 2020, six VHT-NC projects were awarded three-year grants to provide culturally responsive and trauma-informed participant outreach and identification, comprehensive case management and service provision, and training to respond to human trafficking in their communities. This 2024 Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief explores the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of programs specifically designed to address human trafficking in Native communities. This analysis includes the following ways that COVID-19 impacted VHT-NC program implementation: (1) staffing and organizational challenges, (2) increased vulnerability to human trafficking in the community, (3) barriers to participant identification, (4) partnership and collaboration challenges, and (5) barriers to service delivery.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations have an exemplary tradition of military service and sacrifice, serving at one of the highest rates per capita of any ethnic group. AI/AN Veterans are disproportionately impacted by suicide. A culturally centered comprehensive public health approach is needed to incorporate, respect, and elevate Indigenous Knowledge and build on the strengths of Service Members, Veterans, and their Families (SMVF) and their communities.

This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration webinar will take place on August 6, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to illustrate the power of traditions and cultural practices in healing. For example, many communities hold ceremonies when service members leave for their service and again when they return. Practices like sweat lodges, talking circles, honor songs, and drumming all work to heal the mind, body, and soul.

Human services practitioners often find themselves at the forefront of trauma. From abuse and neglect to violence and displacement, human services practitioners play a critical role in supporting the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of the people they serve. While it is widely recognized that trauma is a reality for many individuals seeking support within the human services sector, what’s often forgotten is the well-being of the very staff who provide that support. This American Public Human Services Association resource explores trauma-informed approaches to human services and the implications for the workforce.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, human services agencies faced unique challenges to adapt services to meet new needs while supporting the staff delivering these services. The impact of this period is still felt today, with families adjusting to ending pandemic programs and communities experiencing human services workforce shortages. However, these challenges also spurred innovation in how people support each other. This Administration for Children and Families resource discusses how ACF catalyzed a new employee-centric program that has helped define their agency culture and advanced their work in communities.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief explores Addiction Recovery Care (ARC), a large-scale program in Kentucky combining residential clinical treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs) with employment services. ARC operates in several locations across the state, but is located primarily in rural, Appalachian areas hard-hit by the opioid crisis. This SUD residential treatment and recovery service is combined with employment services including job readiness training, internships, and online courses leading to a range of short-term occupational certifications. Employment services are provided in the later phases of the residential program when participants are relatively stabilized in terms of their SUD recovery. This brief offers recommendations for those implementing similar programs or that are interested in developing them.

The Native Wellness Institute is hosting a virtual training on July 16 and 17, 2024. The training will focus on providing an understanding of trauma on the brain, on behavior, how it plays out in the workplace and community, and how to begin to address trauma and healing in your community. The training will also include how programs in their policies and delivery of services can be trauma and healing informed.

The training is intended for tribal and urban workers representing health and social service programs, tribal leaders, TANF staff, behavioral health, administrative staff, and others wanting to learn about trauma on the brain, behavior, and policies. There is a fee required for participation.

Nearly 83% of individuals in the United States have experienced some form of trauma in their lifetime. Employees’ response to trauma may manifest in the workplace in various ways. When left unaddressed, it can lead to poor performance, absenteeism and burnout. This Office on Trafficking in Persons factsheet provides tips, strategies, and resources to support staff at all organizational levels in creating and sustaining a trauma-informed workplace.

Although the relationship between hardship and child welfare system, CWS, involvement seems straightforward, it is far more complicated. On average, families encountering the CWS tend to have lower incomes, and rates of CWS involvement are highest in the sections of New York with the highest concentrations of families with incomes below the poverty level. Among those who are involved with child welfare services, co-occurring conditions such as substance misuse and mental health challenges, which hardships exacerbate, are also correlated with CWS involvement regardless of income. This Urban Institute report examines the relationships between hardship and CWS involvement.