New York, New York (2000-2007)
IOFA, along with Girls Education and Mentoring Service (GEMS) and ECPAT-USA co-founded the NYC Task Force Against Sexual Exploitation in 2000. The Task Force was the first of its kind in the country and grew to nearly one hundred members. In 2002, IOFA and ECPAT co-founded the NYC Community Response to Trafficking Task Force, which was renamed the New York City Anti-Trafficking Task Force. Also the first of its kind, the Task Force received funding from the Department of Justice and recognition from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Hilary Clinton, among others.
Chicago, Illinois (2012-2014)
IOFA is a core facilitator of Cook County’s Human Trafficking Task Force, in partnership with the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office, Salvation Army’s STOP-IT program, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Since 2010, the Task Force has collaboratively prosecuted and tried 92 human trafficking cases, achieved 50 convictions, helped 114 victims receive services, and trained 6,744 first responders, from medical staff, to state police, to school social workers. In 2014, the Task Force worked to establish and integrate human trafficking protocols into local healthcare systems, facilitated a Train-the-Trainer event, and convened roundtables to build relationships with worker’s rights organizations and the LGBTQ community. IOFA helped coordinate the 4th Annual Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force Conference and gave a presentation on statewide efforts to combat child trafficking in partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. IOFA also set up and maintains an online coordinated service referral network for the Task Force.
International
IOFA helped found multi-disciplinary task forces in four Latvian cities (Riga, Daugavpils, Liepaja, and Valmiera) and in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Past Projects
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