The Collaborative to End Human Trafficking

“The form 990 was prepared by an independent cpa and is reviewed with the executive director and finance staff prior to distributing to the board for final approval. Upon approval of the board the form 990 is electronically filed.”

“Each year, the board members are asked to review the organization's conflict of interest policy which is contained both in its code of regulations and also in a certificate provided to them for signature. Among other things, the policy makes clear that all decisions of the board of the organization are made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interest of the organization and the public good. The conflict of interest statement requests board members to identify to the best of their knowledge of affiliations with organizations that may be potentially related to the financials or other substantive operations of the organization. They are also asked to identify circumstances involving either themselves, or a member of their extended family, that may be construed as a conflict of interest.”

“The executive committee annually evaluates the performance of the executive director. Compensation is based on performance and compared to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. Compensation for staff within the organization is based on performance and is in relation to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size.”

“The organization's governing documents, form 1023, form 990 conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. The form 990, without schedule b) can also be found on several publicly-accessible websites.”

“And services to develop a victim-centered safety net for trafficked persons in northeast ohio that is both comprehensive and coordinated. Highlights of the collaborative's work include the following. Since 2007, the collaborative has presented thousands of educational awareness programs/displays to diverse audiences, including high school and university students, law enforcement, healthcare professionals, social service agencies, religious organizations, business groups, refugees and other vulnerable populations, and the general public. In telling the stories of the women, men, and children who have been forced, coerced, or tricked into servitude, the collaborative is raising awareness of human trafficking so that victims are identified and have access to needed services. Because the crime of human trafficking requires a victim-centered, multi- disciplinary response, the collaborative is leading greater cleveland's coordinated response to human trafficking ("gccrht"). Gccrht is a multi- disciplinary group of approximately 35 agencies and organizations working together to address human trafficking in northeast ohio in a comprehensive and coordinated way. Participating organizations represent government, law enforcement, healthcare, social service, civic and religious groups, higher education and business. The goals of gccrht include raising public awareness of the crime, educating the hospitality industry, and developing a coordinated response to victims by law enforcement, healthcare, and social service professionals. To raise public awareness, the collaborative, along with gccrht, developed the human trafficking happens here too campaign in 2016. The campaign is continuing and includes signage in each of the concourses at cleveland hopkins international airport, on greater cleveland rta buses and billboards throughout cuyahoga county, and on materials distributed throughout northeastern ohio. All of the signage refers readers to the website happensheretoo.org for information about the crime, hotline numbers to call for help, and the names and website of the organizations participating in gccrht. The campaign has been funded in large part by the federal victims of crime act (voca) grants administered through the ohio attorney general's office and is also supported by private grants and donations. As part of the collaborative's work in developing a coordinated response to victims by law enforcement, healthcare, and social service professionals, it created a training video and manual for healthcare providers, guidelines for treating human trafficking victims: a resource for healthcare professionals in northeast ohio. The video was created with assistance from sexual assault nurses, emergency room nurses, and social workers from the major health systems in cleveland. Participants in the video are cleveland area doctors, nurses, social workers, law enforcement personnel, and local citizens, including a survivor. This project was funded by a grant from the char and chuck family foundation. The collaborative also leads a committee of healthcare professionals seeking to develop programs to address the crime in all of cleveland's health systems and facilities. The collaborative also continues to work with the ohio hotel & lodging association, law enforcement, and healthcare and social service professionals to raise awareness in the hospitality industry, conduct trainings, and connect hotels with local resources regarding this issue.”