Evaluating a school-based intervention to enhance elementary school staff knowledge and awareness of minor sex and labor trafficking

This study assesses the effect of PROTECT, an educational intervention related to human trafficking, on elementary school staffs’ knowledge and perceptions of minor human trafficking. Elementary school staff in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District (n = 139) completed a 2-hour in-person human trafficking prevention program in March of 2024. Staff completed a pre-survey and post-survey, which we linked using an anonymous unique identifier developed by participants (n = 121, 87%). McNamar’s chi-squared tests and paired-samples t-tests were applied to detect significant differences in pre- and post-survey responses. Following the intervention, 12% more participating staff correctly identified the definition of human-trafficking relative to prior (p < 0.001). Participants answered nearly three more true/false questions correctly after the intervention (p < 0.001), with the largest improvement seen on correctly identifying statements about if the victims of minor human trafficking are migrants (+44%, p < 0.001) or mostly foreign born (+41%, p < 0.001) as false. Significant improvements were seen for every knowledge question (ranging from 12 to 64 percentage points higher). School staff also reported higher confidence in their ability to identify the signs of human trafficking (+53%, p < 0.001) and higher confidence in their ability to respond to human trafficking through reporting (+47%, p < 0.001) and referrals to services (+61%, p < 0.001). Results indicate that PROTECT is associated with positive and immediate changes in elementary school staffs’ knowledge and confidence related to minor human trafficking.