Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Coordinating Council of his office released Phase 1 of a five-year strategic plan to help eradicate human trafficking in Texas. The Coordinating Council, designated by the Texas Legislature in SB 72, is comprised of a group of representatives from state agencies responsible for evaluating human trafficking programs and developing a plan of action for fighting this form of modern-day slavery. The Strategic Plan outlines 5 P’s as the foundation for ending human trafficking in Texas:
- Partner- Invest in expertise to build policy, build public-private partnerships
- Protect- Collaboration to identify victims, traffickers/purchasers, develop victim response
- Prevent- Develop statewide prevention frameworks, reduce vulnerabilities, increase awareness
- Prosecute- Specialized prosecution and prosecution partnerships
- Provide Support- Train stakeholders, healthcare workers on identification and trauma, develop specialized advocacy and case management, develop local care coordination teams, collaboration