SOAR to Health and Wellness Training (SOAR) Demonstration Program

The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is announcing the availability of funds for the SOAR (Stop, Observe, Ask, Respond) to Health and Wellness Training (SOAR) Demonstration Program. The SOAR Demonstration Program's goal is to fund the implementation of SOAR trainings and capacity building to identify, treat, and respond to patients or clients who have experienced severe forms of human trafficking as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as amended, among their patient or client population. SOAR is a nationally recognized, accredited training program delivered by OTIP's National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC) ad designed to help target audiences identify and respond to those who are at risk of, are currently experiencing, or have experienced trafficking and connect them with needed resources. Target audiences for SOAR trainings delivered by NHTTAC include professionals, organizations, and communities that address human trafficking in healthcare, behavioral health, public health, and social services settings. The following activities are required under the SOAR Demonstration Program: Implement SOAR trainings, including SOAR Online and SOAR for Organizations, for staff at relevant levels and divisions, including at a minimum frontline and support staff most likely to encounter an individual who has experienced trafficking; mid-level and senior management who would need to approve changes in policies and protocols, and approve resources to support implementation; and staff who oversee procurement and external partners, across the prime's organization. Build the capacity of organizational staff to identify patients or clients who are experiencing human trafficking and provide them with coordinated, age-appropriate, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, patient-centered, and evidence-based care and/or services through ongoing training and engagement. Serve patients or clients who are experiencing human trafficking in a coordinated, age-appropriate, culturally responsive, trauma-informed, person-centered, and evidence-based way and establish a continuum of care by entering into memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with local direct service providers and multidisciplinary stakeholders willing to receive referrals and provide aftercare services that are beyond scope of the prime's capacity or mission to support patients or clients who are experiencing human trafficking. Conduct an organizational audit and develop a strategic action plan that identifies internal resources, performance measures, a strategy for ensuring the organization is meaningfully integrating the expertise of those with lived experience, commitments to strengthen the institutional response to human trafficking, and other related actions. Produce a situational analysis that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the local context, including state anti-trafficking laws, local economies with increased risk for human trafficking, existing service delivery gaps, risks and service needs of priority populations as determined by the prime recipients, and the quality and responsiveness of local partnerships. Develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of the Human Trafficking Response Protocol (HTRP) and corresponding policies and procedures that include best practices for working with law enforcement and making referrals when serving patients or clients in service settings who have experienced human trafficking to further refine and enhance project implementation. HTRP must comply with federal, state, local, and tribal laws, including legal confidentiality requirements for patients and health care providers. Participate in the external evaluation of the SOAR Demonstration Program (if applicable). Under the SOAR Demonstration Program, prime recipients will receive SOAR training and ongoing specialized training and technical assistance support from NHTTAC. During the initial 12-month project implementation period, prime recipients must recruit, hire, and onboard new staff who will support the implementation of this project (if necessary); participate in the SOAR trainings; develop an organizational audit, situational analysis, strategic action plan, and training plan; and establish a continuum of care. Additional deliverables in the subsequent periods of performance include HTRP and corresponding policies and procedures, a continuous quality improvement plan, and a sustainability plan.