Training Services

Collaboratively Combating Human Trafficking
IOFA is an established global leader in developing and implementing effective and practical training opportunities to address the problem of human trafficking. For nearly a decade, IOFA has developed successful training programs for key responders including government leaders, law enforcement, community organizations, educational establishments, and service providers. IOFA has successfully trained more than 5,000 professionals on issues relating to human trafficking in the United States and countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

IOFA has developed specialized curricula and training modules for audiences in the United States and internationally in the following areas:

1. Human Trafficking Training and Capacity Building Seminars for Non-Governmental Organizations and Community Groups
2. Human Trafficking Training Seminars for Law Enforcement
3. Preventing Youth Trafficking

If you would like to learn more about IOFA's specialized training curricula and modules, or would like to request a training, please contact Katherine Kaufka at kkaufka@iofa.org or 773.404.8831.

Additionally
IOFA is a founding member of the Freedom Network Training Institute (FNTI) and serves to coordinate training in the Northeast and Midwest regions. FNTI has created two training and advocacy curriculums:

I. Human Trafficking and Slavery: Tools For An Effective Response is a comprehensive training curriculum that provides a solid foundation for participants to address issues of human trafficking and slavery in various contexts where it might be encountered in the United States. The training helps answer questions such as, How do I know if someone is trafficked or enslaved? What should I do? How should I provide services? What is the role of law enforcement and what protections and benefits are available to victims under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA) of 2000 and relevant state laws? This training is designed to facilitate active learning through real-life case scenarios, participatory exercises and by providing “best practices” examples from the experts working most closely on trafficking and slavery in the United States. The training is comprised of four modules that can be presented over one or two days. All participants will receive a Freedom Network Tool Kit containing presentation slides, useful forms, contact information and supplemental reference materials.

Module 1: Dimensions of Human Trafficking
Module 2: Identification of Victims of Human Trafficking
Module 3: Social Service Needs of Trafficked Persons
Module 4: Legal Issues

II. Human Trafficking and Slavery: Law Enforcement Tools For An Effective Response follows a similar structure but incorporates interactive exercises based on actual police reports of human trafficking cases, information on conducting investigations into the problem of human trafficking, and presents resources that are likely to be used by local law enforcement.

Freedom Network Training Institute Members include:
Break the Chain Campaign, Washington DC
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), Los Angeles, CA
Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), Miami, FL
International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), Chicago, IL and New York, NY
Legal Assistance Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), Los Angeles, CA
National Immigrant Justice Center, Heartland Alliance, Chicago, IL
Safe Horizon, New York, NY

To date, FNTI members have trained more than 5,000
• Attorneys and legal providers
• Community service providers
• Department of Labor investigators
• Department of Homeland Security agents (ICE, CBP, BCIS, etc.)
• Domestic violence survivor advocates
• Faith-based service providers
• FBI agents
• Medical and mental health providers
• Police and sheriff personnel
• Prosecutors
• Refugee providers
• Sexual assault survivor advocates
• Shelter staff
• Victim Witness Coordinators

Here is what participants are saying about the training:

“The Freedom Network is a large consortium with a wide spectrum of participants. Your training is important to raising awareness on trafficking in persons and helping to serve victims. Thank you for your commitment to the TIP issue.”
John R. Miller, Ambassador and Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2006)

“I am pleased to join my associates in our Tampa Division in acknowledging your valuable assistance in several FBI investigations involving migrant workers who were victims or witnesses of involuntary servitude and slavery, human trafficking, and other crimes. I understand that you have given several excellent presentations at in-service training sessions which were well received by the audience of federal, state, and local law enforcement. Your exceptional efforts deserve special recognition and I want to personally thank you for your enthusiastic support of our work.”
Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation

“The training you provided was extremely important and a real insight into the many dimensions of human trafficking. It served as a real catalyst for participants to get involved in the struggle to combat this scourge. I heard from our staff that attended how beneficial the day was and they all felt much more confident about how to proceed with potential victims.”
Carlo De Rege, Associate Executive Director, Catholic Charities, Brooklyn and Queens, New York

“This was an excellent training that I feel every Department of Children and Family Services employee needs.”
Case Manager, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

In the United States
IOFA received recognition from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Hillary Clinton for efforts to train community organizations and law enforcement, including FBI, ICE, NYPD, and various District Attorney’s offices, through the Community Response to Trafficking project. IOFA provided the training to operators of “The Trafficking Information and Referral Line”, the first national anti-trafficking hotline in the United States, sponsored by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and run by Covenant House.

In Asia
In a program sponsored by the Trafficking in Persons Office of the U.S. State Department, IOFA worked with community organizations in Taiwan to organize the first national training on the issue of human trafficking. This effort resulted in the training of 250 police chiefs and 50 judges, prosecutors, and attorneys involved in drafting Taiwan’s anti-trafficking law.

In Africa
IOFA, in collaboration with a leading local human rights organization in Tanzania, trained staff and community leaders to conduct a community mapping research project to better understand the modalities of human trafficking in their region. This information is being utilized to develop a training program for young people in the community sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Women.

In Europe
In collaboration with the Stability Pact and Media and Development International (MADI), IOFA trained journalists and other media representatives from Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova to responsibly report on issues relating to human trafficking by collaborating with non-governmental organizations, exploring various angles of the issue, and promoting healthy dialogue about the factors contributing to the growth of human trafficking.

In the Baltic States
IOFA, in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations and Cross Sector Solutions, organized and trained four multi-disciplinary anti-trafficking working groups to develop community responses to trafficking. The groups, formed in four different regions of the country successfully uncovered and brought to the attention of INTERPOL several anti-trafficking rings.

In Latin America
In collaboration with COIN, a local non-governmental organization, IOFA, through its Girls Talk! initiative has trained adolescent girls to serve as leaders in their country working to combat violence against girls.

Smooth Flight: A Practical Guide to Preventing Human Trafficking Smooth Flight is a training guide aimed at providing teachers, youth counselors, or anyone who works with or cares about youth with a comprehensive approach to preventing young people from becoming victims of the international trade in human beings. Smooth Flight is meant to be a simple and practical tool for understanding the complex problem of human trafficking. This guide presents the issue in easy to understand language and provides step-by-step instructions for empowering and educating youth about the problem of human trafficking. IOFA conducts training seminars aimed at providing professionals the information and resources they need to effectively implement this trafficking prevention program.

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