federal public benefits and services. After three years, or upon the completion of the investigation or prosecution, victims with T visas may be eligible to apply for lawful permanent resident status and eventually may be eligible for citizenship.
In FY 2014, DHS issued Continued Presence to 130 trafficking victims who were potential witnesses, a continued decrease from 171 in FY 2013 and 199 in FY 2012. DHS grantedT nonimmigrant status to 613 victims and 788 eligible family members of victims in 2014, representing a decrease from 848 and 975, respectively, from the two previous periods. Scheduled updates to T visa implementing regulations were not released. NGOs reported ongoing concerns about the low numbers of Continued Presence issued to trafficking victims and the difficulty some labor trafficking victims faced in obtaining Continued Presence. In April 2015, DOL began implementing a new policy of certifying applications for T visas, which NGOs noted will provide more opportunities to provide victims with needed support. NGO reports also stated that in some cases immigration enforcement by state and local law enforcement officers negatively affected immigrant victims’ willingness to approach local authorities for help.
Another immigration benefit available to trafficking victims is the “U nonimmigrant status” (commonly referred to as the U visa) for victims of certain qualifying crimes who are helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the qualifying criminal activity. There is a 10,000 statutory maximum for the U visa each fiscal year. In FY 2014, there were 17 approved principal applicants where trafficking was the qualifying crime. In 2015, DOL also expanded its U visa program to consider certification requests for three additional qualifying crimes: forced labor, fraud in foreign labor contracting, and extortion. However, NGOs reported trafficking victims continued to face difficulties obtaining U visas, citing increased processing periods in some cases and overall demand that exceeded the annual statutory cap. DHS reported decreased application processing times for both T and U visas in FY 2014.
In 2014, a DOS program reunified 327 family members with identified victims of trafficking in the United States, an increase from 240 in FY 2013, and 209 in FY 2012.This program provided five survivors with assistance returning to their home countries. DOS provided $724,893 in FY 2014 to support this program.
Multiple agencies across the federal government continued to provide training to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, as well as to NGO service providers and health and human service providers to encourage more consistent application of a victim-centered approach in all phases of victim identification, assistance, recovery, and participation in the criminal justice process.
Although federal, state, and local grant programs existed for vulnerable children and at-risk youth, child trafficking victims, especially boys and transgender youth, faced difficulties obtaining needed services. During the reporting period, HHS maintained level funding to train service providers for runaway and homeless youth and continued to provide formal guidance to states and service providers on addressing child trafficking, particularly as it intersects with the child welfare system and runaway and homeless youth programs. An NGO noted reports of gang-controlled child sex trafficking and of the growing use of social media by traffickers to recruit and control victims. NGOs continued to express concern that federal and state efforts to prevent and respond to child labor trafficking allegations were inadequate.

Some trafficking victims, including those under 18 years of age, were detained or prosecuted for conduct committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking. NGOs reported many state and local authorities failed to treat sex-trafficked children as victims of trafficking by arresting and incarcerating them, including in states with “safe harbor” laws designed to protect them from such criminalization. Further, NGOs reported state and local law enforcement continued to arrest some identified trafficking victims in order to ensure they would have access to services through detention, and, in some cases, to obtain testimony against their trafficker. To address these challenges, HHS facilitated training with advocates, attorneys, and service providers across the United States to increase identification of child trafficking victims.

PREVENTION
The U.S. government made progress on efforts to prevent trafficking.The President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and CombatTrafficking in Persons reported on agency accomplishments in combating human trafficking. Federal agencies provided opportunities for stakeholder input and transparency, including by convening a White House forum with private sector leaders and NGOs on combating human trafficking in supply chains, and incorporating survivor consultants in government training courses and outreach campaigns.The government continued to implement the Federal Strategic Action Plan on Services for Victims of Human Trafficking in the United States, 2013 – 2017.
The government continued public outreach measures about the causes and consequences of human trafficking. HHS continued to fund an NGO to operate the National Human Trafficking Resource Center and hotline that received more than 21,000 calls in 2014 from across the United States. At the state level, 25 states required or encouraged a trafficking hotline number to be posted or promoted. U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide provided a “KnowYour Rights” pamphlet that included the national hotline number and confirmed that applicants for temporary work and exchange visitor visas received, read, and understood the pamphlet, an effort that subsequently generated 791 calls to the national hotline. Some embassies and consulates also began to play in consular waiting rooms a new “KnowYour Rights” video, available in 13 languages. One federally-funded report found more training was needed for consular officers in detecting trafficking. The Department of Transportation and DHS created a human trafficking awareness campaign for the motor coach industry that incorporated stakeholder input. In 2015, DHS continued its nationwide human trafficking public awareness Blue Campaign and trained both U.S. and international law enforcement. HHS created a new “End Trafficking” website and conducted outreach to new communities, including tribal leaders.The Department of Education completed an online guide to help school communities identify potential victims, take the appropriate steps to protect students, and work with law enforcement partners. The U.S. Agency for International Development funded anti-trafficking activities in more than 15 countries. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) conducted more than 250 anti-trafficking outreach events, including media interviews, trainings, and presentations to underserved populations.The Department of Agriculture (USDA) in partnership with DHS launched human trafficking awareness training available to more than 100,000 USDA employees in all 50 states and abroad. DoD provided annual anti-trafficking training for all DoD personnel, civilian and military, including troops prior to their deployment abroad as part of international peacekeeping missions.The government also