ABOUT THE TASK FORCE

Overview:

The Greater New Orleans Human Trafficking Task Force is a coalition of state, civil society, and citizen organizers committed to the prevention of human trafficking in the Greater New Orleans area through education, outreach, and collaboration. The group's primary goal is to collaborate in sharing and disseminating information, contacts, and protocols related to the existence, prevention, and response to human trafficking in and around New Orleans.

The GNOHTTF has a unique multi-disciplinary Task Force model. The Task Force is funded by a Department of Justice grant for Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking (ECM). According to the grant solicitation, the purpose is to “assist communities in developing effective and sustainable multidisciplinary task forces that will implement victim-centered and coordinated approaches to identifying victims of sex and labor trafficking, addressing the individualized needs of victims through services, and investigating and prosecuting sex and labor trafficking cases.” Unlike traditional law enforcement task force models that are closed to law enforcement agencies only and  focus on investigations, the GNOHTTF funds both service providers and law enforcement agencies to create a victim-centered, trauma-informed collaborative response to victims/survivors and their needs. This makes the GNOHTTF different from other human trafficking task forces operating in the Greater New Orleans region, such as the FBI child exploitation task force or the french quarter trafficking task force operated by state and local law enforcement entities.

The GNOHTTF also utilizes an inclusive model that encourages membership across disciplines to address the holistic needs of the Greater New Orleans community to combat human trafficking. The Task Force funds law enforcement investigations, victim/survivor services, and collaborative efforts. Members represent a diverse coalition of New Orleans area organizations, institutions, state agencies, political and religious affiliations. The group maintains a working list of service providers and organizers who address this multi-faceted issue. The Task Force provides training and technical assistance, and also conducts assessments of anti-trafficking work in the Greater New Orleans community. Nearly all meetings associated with the GNOHTTF are free and open to the public.

Our mission is to:

• Combat human trafficking through seamless collaboration between law enforcement and social service providers;

• Use a victim-centered approach in proactively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking crimes; and provide comprehensive, high-quality social services to all victims of human trafficking.

Through the collaborative efforts of our task force members, we hope to see:

• A swift and coordinated response to human trafficking, in which the rights of victims of trafficking under Louisiana and federal law are protected; and in which perpetrators are held accountable;

• A comprehensive network of high-quality services for victims of trafficking that all victims can access as soon as they are identified in the community or by law enforcement; and systemic collaboration between service providers and law enforcement towards the common goal of combating human trafficking in our community.

TASK FORCE GOALS

1. Develop and enhance a multidisciplinary human trafficking task force that implements victim centered, collaborative and sustainable approaches to identify victims of trafficking within the Greater New Orleans area.

2. Combat human trafficking and protect adult/minor trafficking victims and survivors in the Greater New Orleans region through the seamless coordination of services between human service providers and law enforcement agencies.

3. Proactively investigate and prosecute labor/sex trafficking cases at the local, state, and federal levels.

4. Provide comprehensive individualized, high-quality health and human services using a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach.

5. Raise public awareness of human trafficking through community outreach and education, and improve community responses to assist trafficking victims through training of key stakeholders.

6. Enhance data collection on the prevalence, scope, and nature of human trafficking in the Greater New Orleans area.

TASK FORCE STRUCTURE

Core Team

Our core team consists of funded partners under the Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking grant:

• United States Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Louisiana

• Covenant House New Orleans – Lead Victim Services Agency (funded)

• Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office – Lead Local Law Enforcement Agency (funded)

• Homeland Security Investigations

• Federal Bureau of Investigation

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office served as the funded lead local law enforcement agency from 2015 - 2021. 

Funded Task Force Partners

The Task Force funds several entities to achieve its goals. This includes service providers, law enforcement, and a research entity to conduct evaluations of the Task Force's activities. 

• Survivor Services: Covenant House New Orleans

  • Sub-grantees: New Orleans Family Justice Center, Eden House New Orleans, Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response (STAR), and Institute for Indian Development

• Law Enforcement: Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office

  • Sub-grantees: Jesuit Social Research Institute

Collaborative Partners

Collaborative partners are organizations, agencies, or individuals that have a signed MOU with the Task Force, actively participate on a GNOHTTF committee, regularly attend quarterly meetings, and are in agreement with the GNOHTTF mission, goals, and values.

 Task Force Members

Task Force members are organizations, agencies, or individuals that represent the perspective of a key stakeholder group send representatives to attend quarterly meetings, and agree with the GNOHTTF goals. These organizations also contribute their expertise to GNOHTTF initiatives when requested by the Committee Chair/Co-chair.

 Committees

Our subcommittees are spaces where organizations, individuals, and agencies can focus their efforts on different aspects of counter-trafficking efforts: 

• Community Awareness

• Labor Trafficking

• Law Enforcement Working Group (closed to public – invite only)

• Legal Services Working Group (open to attorneys and legal service professionals)

• Survivor Services

• Training and Evaluation