Only 1 in 5 School Staff Knew Who Traffickers Actually Are. Two Hours Later, Nearly 9 in 10 Did

New peer-reviewed research, released for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, finds a single two-hour PROTECT training produced large, immediate gains in how school staff recognize and report human trafficking, including a jump from 49% to 99% who know how to report it

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Before a single two-hour training, about one in five school staff members at a California district could correctly identify who commits human trafficking. Immediately afterward, nearly nine in ten could. That rapid, measurable shift is at the center of new peer-reviewed research on PROTECT, the flagship prevention education program of 3Strands Global Foundation (3SGF), findings the organization is spotlighting for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons as evidence that a short training can produce lasting change.

The independent study, led by Dr. Erin J. McCauley of UC San Francisco and Devin M. McCauley of Stanford, and published open access in the journal Children and Youth Services Review, evaluated 3SGF's PROTECT program among elementary school staff across the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, a large suburban district in Northern California. The training was delivered to adults on site, from teachers, counselors, and health staff to front-office employees, yard supervisors, and coaches. Using a matched pre/post design, researchers measured 139 staff members before and after the session and found statistically significant gains on every measure of knowledge and readiness to act.

"Prevention works best when it's holistic, when kids are supported in their home, in school, and in their community," said Jenna Novak, Director of Education and Public Health for 3Strands Global Foundation.

"A student almost never discloses trafficking outright; they show it through small changes in behavior, attendance, or trust. If the adults around them can recognize those signs and know exactly what to do next, we stop harm before it deepens. That's the whole premise behind PROTECT: create one more layer of a safety net that should exist everywhere the child goes."

Key findings

Before and after a single two-hour PROTECT training, the share of school staff who could:

• correctly identify who traffickers are rose from 22% to 86%
• explain how to report suspected trafficking rose from 49% to 99%
• connect a student to support services rose from 33% to 93%
• feel confident noticing the signs of trafficking rose from 37% to 89%

The training also corrected a common misconception in the field: the share of staff who correctly understood that most individuals who experienced trafficking are not foreign-born rose from 48% to 89%.

The findings also speak to reach. Because traffickers target children where they already are, and most minors impacted are enrolled in school, PROTECT is designed to train every adult on a campus rather than a handful of specialists, and in this study, all staff groups showed significant gains. That approach is already at scale: PROTECT has reached more than 1.3 million individuals, including school staff and students across 15 states and Washington, D.C., and continues to grow.

Ashlie Bryant, Chief Executive Officer for 3Strands Global Foundation, said the results confirm what 3SGF has long believed.

"For over a decade, we've seen PROTECT change how adults show up for kids. Now we have independent proof. When a single two-hour training session raises the share of staff who know how to report from half to nearly all, that's not an abstract number. Kids are safer because of it. This study confirms what we've believed from the beginning: prevention works, and every school in every state deserves these tools," Bryant said.

A PROTECT participant provided a positive assessment.

"After the training, I feel like I can confidently offer assistance to any child involved in human trafficking. It was informative to learn about real-life examples since I would not have known how to react without this knowledge," the participant said.

About 3Strands Global Foundation

3Strands Global Foundation (3SGF) is a nonprofit dedicated to ending human trafficking through prevention education, survivor empowerment, and systemic change. Its evidence-based prevention program, PROTECT, has trained more than 888,000 students and 143,000 educators across 15 states and Washington, D.C. Its empowerment center, The Table, offers survivors a comprehensive, survivor-centered model of care including case management, clinical services, peer support, education, and workforce development. Guided by its mission to Prevent, Empower, and Unite, 3SGF mobilizes communities to end human trafficking together. Learn more at 3sgf.org.

Media Contact

Brittany Gryder

Marketing Manager, 3Strands Global Foundation

 (903) 407-6418 | [email protected]

SOURCE 3Strands Global Foundation