Minnesota Safe Harbor Evaluation

The Minnesota Safe Harbor law was passed in 2011 that provided a legislative framework for legal protections and state services for sexually exploited children and youth. This legislation shifted legal definitions of “sexually exploited youth” and “delinquent child” to acknowledge that exploited minors are not delinquent, but are victims. The law expanded of in 2013 and 2014 to implement No Wrong Door, a statewide, victim-centered response for serving at-risk and sexually exploited youth.

The Safe Harbor law and No Wrong Door model is evaluated at least every other year, as required by the Minnesota Legislature.

Evaluations were completed in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021. A Mid-Year Report was developed by MDH in 2016.

Safe Harbor Evaluation Report 2021

Download An Evaluation of the Safe Harbor Initiative in Minnesota – Phase 4 (PDF)

All findings focus on the Safe Harbor network and activities between April 1, 2019, and June 30, 2021. 

The Phase 4 Safe Harbor evaluation draws from complementary background reports that are combined to represent a variety of perspectives from both outside and within the Safe Harbor network. These resources not only evaluate Safe Harbor’s activities, but also address these activities in the context of significant current events including the global COVID-19 pandemic and the civil rights movement in Minnesota.

The supplemental evaluation resources including the background report and appendix are available. Download An Evaluation of the Safe Harbor Initiative in Minnesota – Phase 4 Supplemental Materials (PDF). Note that table and figure numbering in this legislative report differs from the background evaluation resources

Key findings:

• Safe Harbor was able to reach youth from various demographic backgrounds.
• Safe Harbor was able to increase access to housing and supportive services for clients. 
• Safe Harbor clients were more aware of resources and services available to them and were better equipped to cope.

Recommended actions:

• Increase stakeholder ability to identify youth.
• Expand protections and services regardless of age and remain flexible in identifying service needs.
• Increase and improve access to services, especially for youth from marginalized cultures and Greater Minnesota.
• Support more diverse and consistent staffing.
• Increase amount and cultural appropriateness of technical assistance, education, and training provided.
• Increase prevention efforts (by decreasing demand and identifying risk factors).

Support improvement of more continuous, comprehensive, and robust outcome and process evaluation as well as inferential research.

• De-silo the response to sex and labor trafficking.
• Increase youth voice and opportunities within Safe Harbor.
• Heal organizational trauma to better help organizations, staff, and clients.
• Improve equity by conducting a cultural needs assessment with several cultural groups as well as strategically directing allocations of funds and resources to culturally specific groups.
• Strengthen relationships within the public health approach.
• Further promote government agency collaboration. 

Safe Harbor Evaluation Report 2019

Safe Harbor funds agencies and grantees to provide services, provide housing and shelter, deliver training, and conduct outreach and evaluation. This is the third biennial Safe Harbor report required by the Minnesota Legislature. Findings and recommendations are based on data collected April 2017 through June 2019.

Safe Harbor Evaluation Report 2017

This report is the second biennial evaluation of the Safe Harbor law and No Wrong Door. This report summarizes the evaluation activities from April 2015-June 2017. Lessons learned from this report continued to inform grantee and evaluation activities.

Safe Harbor 2016 Mid-Year Report (PDF)

Safe Harbor continued to gain ground in reaching Minnesota’s sexually exploited youth. This report compared side-by-side the demographics and needs of youth who received services from July 1-December 31, 2015 and youth who received services from January 1 – June 30, 2016.

Safe Harbor Evaluation Report 2015

This report is the first biennial evaluation of the Safe Harbor law and No Wrong Door. The report evaluates the first year of Safe Harbor implementation (April 2014-March 2015).