2021 Report

The 2021 Colorado Human Trafficking Council Report (PDF) is a comprehensive overview of the work of the Council in 2021. The report highlights a series of topics including:

Collection of data on the incidence of human trafficking in Colorado from law enforcement, service providers, child welfare and other agencies;
An overview of the work to implement the ongoing statewide public awareness campaign, This is Human Trafficking;
A summary of the delivery of the Council’s training programs that took place across the state;
Protection and approaches to improving equitable access of services for survivors of human trafficking;
Promising practices for continuing to highlight survivor voices in the Council’s work;
Development of recommendations related to criminal record relief for survivors of human trafficking.

The Annual Report is available in its entirety or as individual sections. If you plan to reference the Annual Report use the following citation: Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, Office for Victims Programs. 2021 Colorado Human Trafficking Council Annual Report. (Lakewood, CO: Colorado Department of Public Safety), 2022.

2021 Colorado Human Trafficking Council Report. Download the full report (PDF).

Report Sections

Executive Summary

This section provides an overview of content featured in the Annual Report. Download the Executive Summary (PDF).

Section 1: Year in Review

The Year in Review section provides an overview of the activities of the Council and its advisory committees in 2021. This section also provides a summary of human trafficking and human trafficking-related legislation that passed during the 2021 Colorado legislative session. It also summarizes the close-out activities of the Innovate Colorado grant led by the Colorado Department of Human Services. Finally, this section highlights the leadership activities of the Council and its staff both nationally and internationally. Download the Year in Review section (PDF).

Section 2: Collecting Data on Human Trafficking in Colorado

This section provides data and analysis for a three-year period (2018–2020) related to federal investigations, state and local law enforcement activities, state judicial cases, service provision by U.S. Office for Victims of Crime funded service providers, data collected by the state’s Division of Child Welfare and Division of Youth Services, and reports to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and Colorado's Human Trafficking Hotline. Download Collecting Data on Human Trafficking in Colorado section (PDF).

Section 3: Public Awareness and Outreach Campaign

This section discusses the activities of the Public Awareness Working Group (PAWG) and the continued implementation of the Council’s statewide public awareness campaign, This is Human Trafficking. In 2021, the PAWG continued to provide guidance and oversight for the campaign, in conjunction with the campaign’s communications consulting firm, Orange Circle Consulting. The primary activities of the PAWG included: reviewing the mid-campaign evaluation results from phase one, advising on campaign tactics for phase two and providing direction for the content development of two new lived-experience narratives. Visit ThisIsHumanTrafficking.com to learn more about the campaign. Download the Public Awareness and Outreach Campaign section (PDF).

Section 4: Human Trafficking Training Outcomes

This section showcases the impact of the implementation of the Council’s training programs, which were delivered through multiple means (in-person, virtually, hybrid and online) across the state in 2021 by Division of Criminal Justice staff and regional facilitators. In addition, this section highlights the translation of two of the Council’s training programs into Spanish during 2021. Download the Human Trafficking Training Outcomes section (PDF).

Section 5: Taking a Deeper Look at Survivor Engagement

The Council established the Survivor Engagement Task Force (SETF) in 2021 to identify promising practices for engaging survivors (human trafficking lived-experience experts) in the Council’s work, including with the various advisory committees of the Council. This section includes an overview of seven recommendations that the Council could implement to continue highlighting survivor voices in its work. Download the Taking a Deeper Look at Survivor Engagement section (PDF).

Section 6: Intersections of Equitable Access and Human Trafficking

This section focuses on the work of the Council's Equitable Access Task Force (EATF) formerly the Underserved Populations Task Force. The goal of this task force was to highlight gaps in services for human trafficking victims/survivors in an effort to increase service provision to all populations. This section includes five recommendations developed by the EATF that focus on avenues to increase the accessibility of services for victims/survivors of human trafficking. Download Intersections of Equitable Access and Human Trafficking (PDF) section.

Section 7: Addressing Barriers Caused by Criminal Records

The Council formed the Criminal Justice Task Force (CJTF) in 2021 to address barriers to long-term stability created by the criminal records of human trafficking survivors from their trafficking experiences. This section provides an overview of the recommendations made by the CJTF related to criminal record relief for human trafficking survivors in Colorado. Download the Addressing Barriers Caused by Criminal Records section (PDF).