The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA) is an independent, nonprofit organization, with 501(c)(3) status, headquartered in the United States. In 1999, Alison Boak and Debra Jones launched IOFA in response to a dramatic gap in programming and services specific to adolescents, especially those living in poverty or in areas of political instability around the world. Our initial work focused on the trafficking and slavery of adolescents and other forms of severe exploitation faced by young people.

IOFA is now based in Chicago and is entering its second decade of service. We have developed more than 35 direct service and research projects in over 20 countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These projects have included the development and facilitation of multi-disciplinary task forces to combat human trafficking of youth, girls’ leadership and empowerment programs, and assistance to orphaned youth transitioning to adulthood from alternative care. Our projects and impacts are diverse: we’ve trained police to identify and respond to trafficking victims in Latvia, launched a village-banking group for young women entering adulthood in Tanzania, built the capacity of orphanages to support youth aging out of care in Serbia and Bosnia, and created the first anti-trafficking task force in New York City.