Partnering to Enhance Services for Survivors: An Evaluability Assessment and Formative Evaluation of Safe Horizon's Anti-Trafficking Program

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) will partner with an experienced evaluation group from Safe Horizon (SH), one of the nation’s largest victim services providers, to conduct an evaluability assessment and formative evaluation of SH’s Anti-Trafficking Program (SH-ATP). The proposed study will address the lack of empirical evidence about anti-trafficking services and provide guidance concerning how to evaluate such services meaningfully. SH-ATP provides comprehensive case management--including social work and legal services – to both sex and labor trafficking victims. SH and UNC-CH will partner to conduct an evaluability assessment by reviewing extant program documents, holding site visits, conducting qualitative data collection with program stakeholders (N=40), and quantitative descriptive analyses of recent program data (N=500). This evaluability assessment will produce program materials (i.e., theory of change, logic model, implementation guide, fidelity instruments) and research materials (i.e., participant recruitment, outcomes, data collection protocols). Building from the evaluability assessment, our team will also conduct a formative evaluation of SH-ATP to inform a future, rigorous intervention study. The formative study will include a process evaluation with program data from SH-ATP participants (N=65), and a preliminary longitudinal outcome evaluation to assess effectiveness with survivor participants (N=30). An Advisory Group of expert survivor consultants, researchers, and expert practitioners will be engaged to provide feedback on all project activities, materials, and findings. This project will develop evidence and products to guide services for, and responses towards, strengthening anti-trafficking initiatives across the United States. "Note: This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law," and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR 200.210(a)(14). CA/NCF.