On February 26, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies held a hearing, “The State of Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking.”
Speaking about some of the efforts underway to stop human trafficking in Fairfax County, Virginia, Detective William Woolf, Fairfax County Police Department, said, “There are several…prevention programs that work in collaboration with the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force to identify and provide interventions to ‘at-risk’ youth. The Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force (NVRGTF), through the Gang Reduction Intervention Team (GRIT) Coordinators, has identified various programs that are aimed at providing intervention, not just for those at risk for gang involvement, but also those who may be at risk for exploitation. The successful approaches to combating gang infestation in northern Virginia have proven to be an ideal and adaptable model to addressing the issues of human trafficking. Therefore, using the lessons learned from the NVRGTF and implementing similar programs will increase effective anti-trafficking practices. Additionally, the need for programs like the Arlington County Girl’s Outreach program is essential. A program that identifies at-risk girls and provides after-school supervision, mentoring, and counseling services teach girls appropriate decision-making and life skills aimed at preventing exploitation and victimization. This program, unique to Arlington County in its comprehensive approach has been proven to be effective and an invaluable augmentation of services for at-risk girls.”
The following witnesses also testified:
