In the fight against human trafficking, health care practitioners stand on the frontlines, ever more so during the COVID-19 pandemic when there are fewer opportunities for signs of human trafficking to be noticed by the public.

Health care providers are among the top three professions likely to encounter potential human trafficking victims, according to the HHSC’s guidance on the need for training. The other two groups of professionals are social service organizations and law enforcement.

Danielle Pestrikoff, assistant press officer with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), told the Lone Star Standard that, under a new law, all health care practitioners in the state have to receive specialized training approved by HHSC each time they renew their professional license.

“The bill impacts nearly 1 million practitioners licensed by 11 different licensing boards with different renewal periods,” Pestrikoff said. “Most practitioners renew their license every two years, but this varies depending on the board and profession.”

The training created by third parties is reviewed and approved through HHSC, she said. While courses can be offered in-person, online and virtual options are also permitted to meet the training requirement.

“To date, HHSC has 12 approved courses from various entities listed on the HHSC Approved Human Trafficking Training list,” Pestrikoff said.

However, there is also a training course created by HHSC for practitioners to take, she said. Training completed through HHSC is tracked by the department, including completion and participation data.

“Specifically, the trainings teach human trafficking definitions, types of trafficking, dynamics, vulnerability factors, the health impact to victims, victim identification and assessment, response, and follow-up,” Pestrikoff said.

A complete list of the approved courses can be found on the HHSC website. Additionally, the HHSC has compiled a document detailing the training standards.