After defining a Multidisciplinary Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (MATTF), this "Roadmap" provides guidelines for the stages of developing a MATTF and evaluation procedures for assessing its performance.
A MATTF "supports and encourages a collaborative effort among local and federal law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim service providers" in countering the perpetrators and addressing the victim needs of human trafficking. Since 2004, the U.S. Justice Department has funded support for MATTFs, which is part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) mandate to ensure all trafficking victims are identified and provided access to comprehensive services and that human trafficking offenses are effectively investigated and prosecuted at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. The threefold purpose of this "Roadmap" is 1) to provide MATTFs with a tool to identify needs and gaps in processes, collaboration, growth, performance, and process toward grant requirements, if applicable; 2) to reinforce that development as a MATF is a process that requires time, attention, and intention; and 3) to equip MATTFs with resources to support capacity building and sustainability. The "Roadmap" is presented in three major sections. One section addresses the "Four Areas of Function" that are the overarching categories in which the duties of a MATTF are organized. The second section divides each of the aforementioned four areas into "Key Elements of Development." The third section presents the "Five Stages of Development," which models the development process for a collaborative group within each of the four areas and their elements. One of the "Notes" advises that the "Roadmap" is a planning resource only, and it is not intended as a checklist, but rather as a guide for task force development.