A new report finds that North Carolina's efforts to fight human trafficking improved over the last decade.
When Shared Hope International started grading states on their anti-trafficking efforts in 2011, North Carolina didn't do too well, earning a D.
The latest report now gives the state an A, and its overall score of 94 was eighth-best in the nation, according to a release from the North Carolina Judicial Branch.
Shared Hope cited across-the-board improvements in North Carolina's anti-trafficking measures, seeing improvements on such things as whether the state has adequate child sex trafficking laws and whether police and prosecutors are given enough resources for enforcement.
Among the steps the state legislature took in the last decade was the establishment of the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission.
No states made an F in the latest tabulation, and only two — Maine and South Dakota — earned D's.
The report's authors say problems still remain in how states respond to trafficking. They say too many child victims still face potential criminal charges and lack access to services.
A national hotline is available for victims and survivors of human trafficking. The number is (888) 373-7888.