Not a Number: a prevention program to protect children and youth from commercial sexual exploitation in Minnesota
Official title: CE22-003 - A Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluation of the Not a Number Program to Prevent the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and Youth in Minnesota
Funded at University of New Hampshire · NIH-11178304 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project compares the Not a Number prevention program with usual practices to see if it helps protect at-risk children and youth in Minnesota from commercial sexual exploitation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of New Hampshire NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Durham, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2022 |
| Project end | September 29, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $399,451 |
| NIH project number | 5U01CE003406-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11178304 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are children and adolescents served by the participating Minnesota youth-serving agencies who are identified as at risk for commercial sexual exploitation.
✕Less likely to help
Youth who are not connected to the participating agencies, not identified as at risk, or who do not receive the program are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
This project partners with 24 youth-serving agencies in Minnesota to deliver the Not a Number (NAN) prevention program to youth considered at risk for commercial sexual exploitation. Agencies will be paired and randomized so some groups receive NAN through a train-the-trainer model while others continue their usual programming, and researchers will compare outcomes across these groups. The team will use community-based participatory methods, collect interviews and implementation data, and pilot test evaluation tools before the full rollout. Over five years the first phase refines methods and the second phase carries out the randomized comparison to learn whether NAN reduces victimization and improves safety-related outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this program could lower the chance that at-risk youth become victims of commercial sexual exploitation and improve their safety skills.
How similar studies have gone: Some prevention programs have shown promise for improving knowledge and safety behaviors, but Not a Number has not yet been tested in a randomized trial and remains promising but unproven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of New Hampshire
Durham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jones, Lisa M — University of New Hampshire
- Study coordinator: Jones, Lisa M
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.