{
  "id": "R44315",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44315",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 448548,
      "date": "2015-12-17",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:42:21.968032",
      "title": "Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015: Changes to Domestic Human Trafficking Policies",
      "summary": "The Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act (JVTA, S. 178/P.L. 114-22), an omnibus bill that primarily includes anti-human trafficking provisions, was signed into law on May 29, 2015. The bill received broad congressional support, passing the Senate unanimously on April 22, 2015, and the House nearly unanimously (420-3) on May 19, 2015. Through amendments in the House and the Senate, the law incorporates the same or similar provisions from 10 of the 12 bills on trafficking that passed the House in the first few weeks of the 114th Congress: H.R. 159, H.R. 181, H.R. 246, H.R. 285, H.R. 350, H.R. 357, H.R. 398, H.R. 460, H.R. 468, and H.R. 469. \nThe JVTA amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the major federal law that addresses human trafficking, as well as multiple other federal statutes. It expands the federal response to trafficking in four broad areas: (1) victims\u2019 services and benefits, (2) criminal justice, (3) domestic sex trafficking of children, and (4) inter-agency coordination and training, and related areas. \nA major aspect of U.S. anti-trafficking efforts is victim assistance: providing immediate services when victims are identified and helping them recover from the victimization. The JVTA seeks to improve services to victims. For example, it directs the Department of Justice, which administers anti-trafficking programs, to provide a database for trafficking victim stakeholders on counseling and other victim supports.\nThe JVTA also seeks to heighten the federal response to crimes perpetrated by traffickers. A major component of the law is the establishment of new financial penalty assessments for traffickers. These monies are to be deposited into a Domestic Trafficking Victims\u2019 Fund established under the act. Money from the fund may be used to award certain existing grants authorized by the TVPA or enhance programming for victims of child pornography served under the Victims of Child Abuse Act, among other purposes. The law prohibits the use of monies from the fund for medical items or health care or services under certain circumstances, though it allows such services to be funded from other sources.\nThe JVTA responds to domestic sex trafficking of children through changes to a few policy areas, including missing and exploited children, runaway youth, the child welfare system, and juvenile justice. Notably, it requires law enforcement agencies to report additional information to a federal data system on missing children. It also creates a new child human trafficking deterrence program to aid child victims of both sex and labor trafficking while also supporting investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenses. \nThe JVTA addresses other issues related to trafficking, particularly concerns about possible duplication of efforts and a lack of coordination among the agencies that conduct anti-trafficking activities. It directs the President\u2019s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to conduct a review of human trafficking prevention within the United States, including cataloging the U.S. government\u2019s efforts to prevent individuals from committing trafficking offenses and to prevent children from becoming victims. The law also requires a Government Accountability Office report to Congress that would include information on federal and state law enforcement agencies\u2019 efforts to combat human trafficking as well as information on federal anti-trafficking grant programs.\nThis report supplements CRS Report R43917, Domestic Human Trafficking Legislation in the 114th Congress. For further information about trafficking, see CRS Report RL34317, Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress; and CRS Report R41878, Sex Trafficking of Children in the United States: Overview and Issues for Congress.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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  "topics": [
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Immigration Policy",
    "Intelligence and National Security"
  ]
}