USF's human trafficking research lab gets nearly $3 million grant to jumpstart statewide database
TAMPA, Fla. - The federal government awarded the University of South Florida $3 million for their human trafficking research lab as researchers work to find out the full scope of the crisis in Florida.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law last year to make USF’s Trafficking in Person lab the state’s central database for human trafficking, and the federal funding pushes that effort forward.
"I met with an eight-year-old boy who had been trafficked. And, in our conversations, he let me know that being trafficked made him feel invisible, that no one saw him anymore," said Joan Reid, a criminology professor and director at USF’s Trafficking in Persons research lab. "And, I think a lot of trafficking survivors feel that way."
RELATED: USF 'TiP Lab' becomes central database for tracking human trafficking across Florida
Reid said the TIP was created in March 2020, and the goal has always been to track the hidden problem.
"Since the law was signed, we have been working night and day to kind of prepare for the data. And, so we've been meeting with state agencies that are going to be sending the data," said Reid.
FDLE, the state department of children and families and the state department of juvenile justice will send what they have to the TIP Lab by July, and the lab is getting a major boost from the federal government through the grant.
"That is true. I'm just so excited, so grateful," Reid said.
The lab already has a technology partner in mind for the database, Allies Against Slavery, based in Texas.
"They have like a data dashboard, data visualizations, which will be really helpful to be able to see where possibly where demand is happening for human trafficking, where their services are being provided for human trafficking," said Reid.
The money also expands the lab’s existing BRIGHT network, a secure online platform that puts the legwork of trusted survivor resources in one place, like the Justice Restoration Center.
"Referrals are always critical. It's critical information that organizations need to exchange and to get a survivor connected to the appropriate resources," said Brent Woody, the lead attorney and executive director of the Justice Restoration Center. "Being able to do that through the BRIGHT project platform, I think is going to be really, really helpful."
And the impact of that access is already noticed.
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"We are seeing more and more referrals from service providers and more survivors who are contacting us on their own," said Woody.
Getting to this point took three years, but the TIP lab is on a mission and plans to launch by the end of the year.
USF’s TIP Lab said it is working with FDLE, the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Department of Children and Families to collect the data this summer. Reid said not all law enforcement reports its trafficking data to FDLE, so they plan to go through everything and see what’s missing to fill in the blanks and give agencies a more complete picture.
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