West Virginia presenter links opioid epidemic to rise in familial trafficking, urges multi‑sector prevention

Nancy Hoffman, state coordinator for prevention education in West Virginia, told a federal webinar that the opioid epidemic reshaped the state’s risk environment for human trafficking and that prevention required multi‑component policy, social‑marketing and service responses.

Hoffman said trafficking in West Virginia was historically overlooked amid an opioid crisis that led to high per‑capita distribution of prescription pain pills in some small communities and a cluster of related harms—higher overdose deaths, elevated rates of neonatal abstinence and large increases in foster‑care placements. She said these conditions contributed to increases in familial trafficking, in which family members exploit relatives for sexual or labor purposes or to obtain drugs.

Why it matters: Hoffman argued that prevention programs must be comprehensive and paired with infrastructure—clear reporting protocols, criminal justice definitions and penalties for traffickers, protections for victims (including expungement provisions for survivors charged with prostitution), and broad partnerships across state agencies, crisis centers and law enforcement.

Hoffman described state actions: the formation of a statewide human trafficking task force, required human‑trafficking assistance notices posted in public places, multi‑sector social‑marketing campaigns, and a bill under consideration to add screening questions for children in foster care. She said prevention efforts must be tailored to local roots of trafficking and that data should drive program components and systems change.

Hoffman’s presentation framed trafficking prevention as linked to broader public‑health and social supports and urged jurisdictions to pair prevention curricula with policies and reporting and service infrastructure.