Leveraging Collaborative Data-Driven Solutions in Human Trafficking Webinar

Accurate and complete data collection has long been a challenge in our state, particularly for those working in human trafficking services, policy, advocacy, justice, and social services systems. Recently, Florida has made significant strides to address this issue through initiatives at the University of South Florida’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Research Lab. Presenters from the TIP Lab will discuss updates from its two main projects: the Statewide Repository for Anonymous Human Trafficking Data (TIPSTR) and the BRIGHT Network.

TIPSTR, established through the passage of SB 7064, is now operational and offers Florida a comprehensive and accurate picture of human trafficking incidents, hotspots, and trends. Highlights and data insights from the annual state report will be shared. 

The BRIGHT Project, now launched as a mobile application, is a vetted resource referral network for human trafficking service providers. BRIGHT is actively connecting providers across the entire state, while simultaneously gathering and disseminating information on resource availability and needs. Preliminary findings on resource gaps and survivor needs will be shared. 

Together, these initiatives are enhancing our understanding of the true scope of human trafficking in Florida, thereby informing and improving anti-trafficking efforts statewide.

About the Presenters:

Joan A. Reid, Ph.D., LMHC

Joan A. Reid, Ph.D., LMHC – Lab Director, TIPSTR Director

Dr. Joan A. Reid is an Associate Professor of Criminology and Director of the USF Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Research Lab. Dr. Reid received her MA in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and PHD in Criminology from the University of South Florida. Dr. Reid is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Florida and Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. While primarily focused on advancing research to inform anti-human trafficking policies and practices, Dr. Reid also provides counseling services and forensic mental health assessments in sex trafficking court cases in her private practice.

Dr. Reid has authored over 60 publications primarily focused on child sex trafficking in Florida including groundbreaking research documenting the disproportionate risk of exploitation in sex trafficking among children with disabilities. The real-world impact of her research is extensive, appearing as a citing authority in human trafficking cases in various State Supreme Courts and an amicus brief related to the U.S. Supreme Court case Jane Doe vs. Backpage. Dr. Reid’s research has been cited in state and federal government agency policy reports on child trafficking in Florida, California, and in National Reports to the U.S. Congress.

Shelly M. Wagers, Ph.D.

Shelly M. Wagers, Ph.D. – BRIGHT Project Director

Dr. Shelly M. Wagers is an Associate Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg campus and the Director of the BRIGHT Project, (Bridging Resources and Information Gaps in Human Trafficking) an interactive digital platform that brings Human Trafficking service providers together into an integrated and coordinated network of care to connect victims and survivors to individualized need-based resources. The BRIGHT project was born through an enterprise needs assessment conducted for the USF Trafficking In Persons Lab: Risk to Resilience Lab to improve survivor services. Dr. Wagers designed and directed the needs assessment which consisted of hundreds of field interviews with community partners engaged in antitrafficking work throughout Florida. Through the efforts of Dr. Wagers, her team and the BRIGHT community partners, the BRIGHT project has received aggregate multi-million-dollar funding from the State of Florida and United States Federal Government to expand BRIGHT statewide and develop a replicable evidence-based model.

As the Project Director, Shelly Wagers is responsible for the planning, directing, organizing and coordination of the expansion of the project statewide, and for the ongoing research related to user experience and data collection.

Kailey Pate Carter, M.A.

Kailey Pate Carter, M.A. – BRIGHT Project Manager

Kailey Pate Carter is the Project Manager for BRIGHT at the University of South Florida, a project of the Trafficking in Persons Risk to Resilience Research Lab. Kailey obtained both her B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Criminology from the University of South Florida and has a passion for serving others. Kailey’s research interests include human trafficking, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, ACES, and domestic violence. She has been intricately involved on the BRIGHT project with the USF Trafficking in Persons Lab since the initial needs assessment conducted in the Fall of 2020, working with community partners to tailor the platform to their specific needs.

As the Project Manager, Kailey Carter is the main point of contact for all community partners and works to onboard new organizations into the network. Kailey works with the Project Director to execute the larger goals for the project in addition to the management of the users of the system.

Webinar registration coming soon.
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