RESEARCH & OUTCOMES
Prevention Education That Creates Measurable Change

At The Set Me Free Project®, we believe prevention efforts should be more than awareness campaigns; they should create meaningful, measurable change.

Our READY to Stand Curriculum® is survivor-informed, trauma-informed, and evidence-informed. Through ongoing evaluation, participant feedback, and collaboration with research and subject matter experts, we continually assess and strengthen our programming to ensure it remains relevant, effective, and responsive to emerging trends.

Our goal is simple:

To equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to recognize risk, strengthen protective factors, and reduce vulnerability to exploitation before it occurs.

Research & Strategic Partnerships

The development and evaluation of our programming have been informed through collaboration with researchers, educators, prevention professionals, survivors, and community stakeholders.

Our work has been informed by:

  • CDC rigorous review of the READY To Stand Curriculum® for youth

  • University of Michigan research partnerships

  • University of Nebraska - Lincoln research partnerships

  • Survivor-informed advisory input

  • Education, healthcare, and community-based practitioners

  • Youth advisory participants

As research continues to evolve, so does our curriculum.

Our Research & Evaluation Approach

The Set Me Free Project® utilizes a continuous improvement model that combines:

  • Pre- and post-training assessments

  • Participant surveys

  • Behavioral outcome measures

  • Curriculum reviews

  • Subject matter expert feedback

  • Research-informed best practices

  • Ongoing curriculum updates

This process allows us to evaluate both immediate learning outcomes and longer-term changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

Our Curriculum Development Methodology

The READY to Stand Curriculum® is developed using a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates:

Prevention Science

Understanding risk factors, protective factors, resilience, and early intervention strategies.

Trauma-Informed Practices

Recognizing the impact of trauma while prioritizing emotional safety, empowerment, and participant choice.

Survivor-Informed Perspectives

Integrating insights from lived experience while avoiding sensationalism or fear-based messaging.

Youth Development Principles

Building critical thinking, self-worth, healthy relationships, communication skills, and digital safety competencies.

Continuous Research Review

Monitoring emerging trends, technology risks, trafficking tactics, and prevention strategies to ensure content remains current.

Continuous Improvement

Prevention education must evolve.

Our team reviews curriculum content regularly to ensure alignment with:

  • Emerging trafficking trends

  • Online safety concerns

  • Youth behavior trends

  • New research findings

  • Legislative changes

  • Community and participant feedback

Curriculum updates are made annually, with additional revisions as needed throughout the year.

Why This Matters

Human trafficking prevention is most effective when it occurs before exploitation happens.

By focusing on education, resilience, healthy relationships, digital safety, and protective factors, The Set Me Free Project® helps individuals build the skills needed to recognize risk and make safer choices.

Our commitment to research, evaluation, and continuous improvement ensures that our prevention efforts are not only informative—but effective.

Looking for Evidence-Based Prevention Education?

Whether you are a:

  • School District

  • State Agency

  • Healthcare System

  • Foundation

  • Nonprofit Organization

  • Community Coalition

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our curriculum, evaluation process, and outcomes.