This survey is for youth and young adults who are:

• Currently 13-27 years of age
• Able to read and write in English, Spanish or Arabic
• Either known or considered likely to have experienced exploitation when they were less than 24 years old, including: 
  • Being forced, tricked, or pressured into doing work or treated unfairly (like being made to work long hours, not being paid what was promised, working somewhere unsafe, or something else) OR
  • Doing sex acts to get something they or someone else needed or wanted (like food, money, legal documents, drugs, protection, acceptance, or something else)

This survey was designed with the goal of learning more about the experience that youth and young adults have when seeking services in Michigan. By learning this information, we will be able to develop new trainings and resources for service providers to be better equipped to help individuals experiencing exploitation. We have implemented numerous measures to ensure the safety and comfort of the survey participants, and their responses will help to make the state of Michigan a better place for everyone.

Spread the word! 

• Introduce the survey to youth and young adults between 13 and 27 years old who you believe or know have experienced exploitation
• Share this information with colleagues inside your organization
• Share this information with other organizations/entities that are in contact with youth who have experienced exploitation or are at risk of being exploited.

• Post, email, or hand out flyers.  We have two different flyers you can share directly with youth/young adults or in spaces you know youth/young adults frequent.  One has a single QR code and can be posted, emailed, or handed out.  The other flyer has pull off tabs and can be hung up on a bulletin board or similar space.  The flyers are available in English, Spanish, and Arabic and can be all be downloaded here for printing.
• Request printed copies of all materials by completing a Request Form.
• Share the link to the survey directly: Survey Link

See the “Guide for Introducing Michigan’s Youth and Young Adult Resource and System Access Survey” for more details about the role of a provider.  We ask that all staff involved in spreading the word about this survey review this document.

The goal of this survey is to learn more about the experiences that youth and young adults have when seeking services in Michigan. The survey is not meant to be an assessment of your organization or advocates, and there are no questions about specific organizations. We are not interested in learning about the specific experiences of exploitation survey participants have had. Questions about participant experiences are limited to a brief survey eligibility section that does not ask about event details. Sections of the survey include:

• Demographics/background
• Survey eligibility screening
• What kind of services have been sought/received
• What kinds of services are needed
• Whether informal or formal supports have been helpful/harmful

These materials are available by download or hard copy by mail:

• Survey Introduction Guide: Guide for Introducing Michigan’s Youth and Young Adult Resource and System Access Survey
• Survey Flyers:
  • Download here for printing.
  • Request Form for mailed flyers
• Survey Link:
  • English
  • Spanish
  • Arabic

We are providing survey participants a $40 gift card to thank them for their time participating in the survey. At the end of the survey, they will be directed to another page which will allow them to collect their gift card. They will also have the option to provide their contact information, if they would like to participate further in focus groups or to learn more about how survey findings are being used. There is no way to connect their contact information with their survey responses.

Surveys like this one are an important way to give youth and young adults a voice to impact their world. Learning more about what has been helpful to them will help us improve services for people experiencing these types of situations in Michigan.

A number of protocols have been put in place in order to minimize risk to the survey participant:

• Youth (under the age of 18) assent to participate in this survey and parent/guardian consent will not be requested. Participants age 18 and over will provide consent.
• The survey is fully anonymous. We will not be able to link an individual’s identity to survey responses.
• Participation is completely voluntary, and the youth or young adult may decide not to participate at any time. The youth or young adult has no obligation to participate.

Should youth or young adults find they are upset by the survey questions or no longer in a safe situation to continue the survey, there are a number of protocols in place:

• A Safe Exit button on each page of the survey. This button will automatically close the survey. The survey cannot be accessed again once the safe exit button is used.
• There is no back button on the survey to prevent someone other than the participant from seeing previous responses.
• Information about Michigan’s 24/7 helpline via phone, chat or text is present on each page of the survey.

The survey was developed by an advisory committee including lived-experience experts, providers from a wide range of advocacy organizations and government entities, and a research team from MSU.  The survey was reviewed by youth and young adults who provided input on the survey and survey-taking experience.

This project is sponsored by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Victim Services, in collaboration with the Michigan Victim Advocacy Network at MSU and Uniting Three Fires Against Violence.

Funding information: This survey is supported by grant number 15POVC-23-GG-00802-MUMU awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this survey are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

If you have any questions, need support, or have other ideas about how to reach youth who should be taking the survey, please contact Abby Wattenberg on the MiVAN team at wattenbe@msu.edu or Tiffany Martinez on the MDHHS team at martinezt3@michigan.gov

We appreciate your support of this effort and look forward to sharing what we learn!