Partnerships

The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) is the state’s primary organization that works to prevent trafficking, protect victims by providing them with the services they need, prosecute traffickers, and partner with a variety of organizations to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking from our communities. The Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force (MHTTF) was formed in 2007 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General of Maryland, and the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City to serve as the lead investigative, prosecutorial, and victim services coordinating body for anti-human trafficking activity in the State of Maryland. We are a multidisciplinary team of agencies and organizations committed to a victim-centered approach in the fight against human trafficking in Maryland.

The SAFE Center sits on the task force’s steering committee and serves as the co-chair of the legislative, medical, and labor trafficking subcommittees.

• In partnership with the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force Legislative Subcommittee, the SAFE Center supported and advocated for the three anti-trafficking bills passed by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session and signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan in May 2019. Review our full 2019 Legislative Report here.
• As co-chair of the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force’s the Medical Subcommittee, the SAFE Center partnered with the Maryland Hospital Association to produce comprehensive Human Trafficking: Guidelines for Healthcare Providers – the first update on the state’s guidelines for identifying and supporting survivors of human trafficking in the hospital setting. To date, approximately 650 healthcare providers have received SAFE Center training on the guidelines.
• By initiating and co-chairing the first Labor Trafficking Subcommittee within the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and the Prince George’s County Human Trafficking Task Force, we are convening and training key stakeholders in labor and health inspection agencies, states attorney’s offices, workers’ rights groups, and others to partner with us in enhancing the state of Maryland’s anti-labor trafficking efforts.

The Montgomery County Human Trafficking Task Force was formed to increase understanding of the issue in Montgomery County and to develop inter-agency coordination of strategies for response and prevention. Organized and chaired by the Montgomery County Commission for Women, the task force includes, but is not limited to, government and non-government agencies and organizations, as well as a host of individual community members and ex-officio organizations.

As past co-chair of the Montgomery County Human Trafficking Task Force’s victim services committee, the SAFE Center facilitated county-wide collaboration between service providers and law enforcement, creating an assessment-based response protocol for trafficking survivors.

The Prince George’s County Human Trafficking Task Force is an implementing Task Force comprised of more than 50 county government agencies, nonprofits, and individual experts who are brought together pursuant to CR-74-2013 to combat human trafficking within Prince George’s County by educating the public and training first responders, providing needed services to victims and survivors, and increasing state and federal prosecution of traffickers.

As co-chair of the Prince George’s County Human Trafficking Task Force’s victim services committee, the SAFE Center developed a screening tool for county organizations and agencies providing crisis intervention services to victims of trafficking. The SAFE Center is also building and chairing a new labor trafficking subcommittee for Prince George’s County, which will convene necessary stakeholders to identify and implement the unique investigative methods needed to fight local labor trafficking.

The SAFE Center is an initiative of the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State – a collaboration between the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). MPower leverages the sizable strengths and complementary missions of both institutions to strengthen Maryland’s innovation economy, advance interdisciplinary research, create opportunities for students, and solve important problems for the people of Maryland and the nation. Working together, UMB and UMCP achieve innovation and impact through collaboration.

As an initiative of MPowering the State, the SAFE Center is housed under the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where we are part of the Graduate School. The SAFE Center’s mission has been enhanced by contributing research and program expertise from the University of Maryland’s School of Social Work, School of Dentistry, School of Law, and School of Nursing on the Baltimore campus and the School of Public Policy, Robert H. Smith School of Business, College of Education, College of Arts and Humanities, and College of Behavioral and Social Sciences on the College Park campus.

The SAFE Center regularly hosts students as interns and graduate assistants from neighboring universities. Working under the supervision of our staff, these undergraduate, Masters, and Ph.D. students help us provide client services, develop programs and curricula, and conduct outreach and research.