Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022

Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022

This act reauthorizes, updates, and expands federal efforts to address domestic trafficking, including to make permanent the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking; reauthorize various grants, activities, and programs that support victims of domestic trafficking; and expand research and reporting related to trafficking.

TITLE I--COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Subtitle A--Programs To Support Young Victims Who Are Vulnerable To Human Trafficking

(Sec. 101) This section authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Department of Justice (DOJ), to award competitive grants to support collaboration between state child-welfare and juvenile-justice agencies to address the needs of dual-status youth and their families. The term dual-status youth means children who come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

(Sec. 102) This section makes permanent the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

(Sec. 103) This section establishes a pilot program to provide funding for community-based organizations in underserved communities to support youth at risk of being trafficked.

Subtitle B--Governmental Efforts To Prevent Human Trafficking

(Sec. 121) This section requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress on federal contract supply chain oversight related to the prevention of trafficking in persons.

(Sec. 122) This section expresses the sense of Congress that

• federal agencies should incorporate a module on human trafficking into staff training requirements;
• the training should teach employees how to prevent, identify, and report trafficking in persons; and
• agencies should inform all candidates for employment about the anti-trafficking provisions in the code of conduct of the agency.

Additionally, this section requires officers and employees of executive branch agencies to be subject to minimum standards with respect to human trafficking, including a prohibition on engaging in human trafficking while employed by the federal government.

(Sec. 123) This section requires the GAO to (1) study the accessibility of mental health services and substance use disorder treatment and recovery for survivors of human trafficking in the United States of various ages, and (2) report to Congress on the findings of the study and recommendations for increased accessibility and affordability for survivors of trafficking.

(Sec. 124) This section directs the National Science Foundation to support merit-reviewed and competitively awarded research on the impact of online social media platforms on the maintenance or expansion of human trafficking.

Subtitle C--Monitoring Child, Forced, and Slave Labor

(Sec. 131) This section requires federal agencies and departments that receive appropriations to award anti-trafficking grants to report on obligations and expenditures of federal funds for the purpose of combating human trafficking and forced labor.

(Sec. 132) This section expresses the sense of Congress that companies headquartered or doing business in the United States that are not small business concerns (e.g., companies with 500 or more employees) should adopt a written policy that prohibits trafficking in persons.

(Sec. 133) This section revises criteria for considering a child to be a victim of child abuse and neglect and of sexual abuse. Specifically, it provides that a child shall be considered a victim of child abuse and neglect and of sexual abuse if the child is identified as being a victim of human trafficking. Currently, a child is considered a victim of child abuse and neglect and of sexual abuse if the child is identified as being a victim of sex trafficking or a victim of severe forms of trafficking in persons.

(Sec. 134) This section establishes the sense of Congress that (1) DOJ has failed to meet its reporting requirements under Title IV of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2017, and (2) progress on critical data collection about human trafficking and crime reporting is in jeopardy as a result of the failure and must be addressed immediately.

(Sec. 135) This section expresses the sense of Congress that (1) a person is qualified as a victim of child sex trafficking if the person is a victim, as a child, of human trafficking; and (2) all states and territories should evaluate whether to eliminate the requirement for third-party control to properly qualify a child as a victim of sex trafficking.

(Sec. 136) This section expresses the sense of Congress that each state child welfare agency should report information on missing or abducted foster children and youth to the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to law enforcement for inclusion in the National Crime Information Center database.

(Sec. 137) This section modifies the requirements for state plans for foster care and adoption assistance. The section specifies that the plans must require state child welfare agencies that report information on missing or abducted foster children and youth to the NCMEC and to law enforcement authorities to maintain regular communication and share information with the NCMEC and law enforcement agencies to provide a safe recovery of a missing or abducted child or youth. This includes sharing, where reasonably possible, a photo of the missing or abducted child or youth, a description of the child's physical features, and other health or risk factors (e.g., pregnancy status or vulnerability to being sex trafficked).

TITLE II--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

This title reauthorizes activities and programs at various federal departments and agencies that support victims of trafficking in the United States.

(Sec. 201) This section reauthorizes through FY2028

• HHS and DOJ grants and programs to expand benefits and services to citizens and lawful permanent residents who are victims of severe forms of trafficking;
• Department of Labor activities to expand benefits and programs for victims of severe forms of trafficking; and
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to investigate severe forms of trafficking in persons, including to establish a labor trafficking investigations team within DHS.

(Sec. 202) This section authorizes amounts through FY2028 for U.S. Customs and Border Protection to strengthen enforcement of the prohibition on importing any product that was mined, produced, or manufactured by forced labor.