Love 146 developed NAN to address significant gaps in the field of human trafficking prevention. Specifically, boys were not discussed as potential victims, women were not being discussed as potential perpetrators, and LGBTQIA2+ youth were often left out of the conversation. It was not enough to say, for example, during a presentation, “This can happen to boys, too.”

In response, Love146 collaborated with experts to develop effective and innovative pedagogies to ensure that NAN’s teaching methods and activities respond to participants’ varying developmental levels. The activities, materials, and evaluation tools used in NAN have all been pilot-tested and refined from the original publication. One critique of NAN is that it is not open-source and free, however program fidelity decreases in such circumstances. Love 146’s training for facilitators focuses on being trauma-informed, meeting youth where they are at, and acknowledging, while also limiting, facilitator bias when working with youth. Without adherence to program fidelity, Love146 cannot guarantee that youth are receiving the information as designed by NAN. This includes consistent dosing of modules, pacing, and activities.

NAN builds upon students’ knowledge. This constructivist process encourages facilitators to tailor the curriculum to each youth. Throughout the program, youth collaborate with peers on activities to reach a consensus on ideas with the facilitator instead of following a traditional lecture model, which is a one-way flow of information. Youth are encouraged to contextualize the material from their life experiences, and engage in high-level learning through conversations, emphasizing the importance of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001).

The curriculum uses case studies representing a diverse group of individuals and the varying ways in which trafficking, and exploitation (including recruitment), occur within local communities to achieve the outcome of empowering youth with harm-reduction modalities that make sense in their daily lives. These case studies depict urban and rural perspectives and use names, identity markers, and situations that align across a spectrum of race, gender, sexual identity, gender identity, and socioeconomic status. These contexts promote explorations of how social justice concerns in a community intersect with personal experiences while challenging harmful stereotypes and societal attitudes.

This design creates space for all participants to understand how their realities connect with the learning modules. It also helps youth identify potential susceptibility, a tenet of the Health Belief Model which holds that cues to action (including perceived benefits and awareness of barriers) can prompt engagement in health-promoting behaviors (LaMorte, 2009). Overall, NAN seeks to increase youth resilience through empowering youth to discover their individual strengths and build cumulative protective factors through healthy support systems that connect with their lives. This empowerment is reflected in the experiences of youth with the curriculum.

For example, Love146 reports a statistically significant change in pre- and post-curriculum knowledge for youth participants in Version 2 of NAN using a Welch Two Sample t-test (1,108 entries with a mean of x: 2.9, mean of y: 3.3; t=-3.25; df = 9.5; 95% confidence interval -7.035, -1.035; alternative hypothesis true difference in means is not equal to 0). Pre- and post-test knowledge changes in Minnesota NAN delivery were apparent in Southwest Crisis Center (high schoolers) and Canvas Health (middle schoolers) measuring at 15% and 23% respectively.

Love146 designed NAN to allow for population-based modifications that do not compromise fidelity to the model. Through small changes to existing case studies or by drafting new ones, as well as offering materials in Spanish, Love146 works with certified facilitators to tailor scenarios that resonate with the youth they train. For example, Love146 and facilitators working with American Indian youth have collaborated to identify community-specific adaptations that align with the lived experiences and cultural contexts of youth living on tribal lands as well as in urban communities. These adaptations may include smudging or sharing a meal.

Love146 values diverse facilitators who are experts in the communities they serve. As NAN is an interactive facilitation-based curriculum, space is provided for facilitators to manage the conversation in a culturally responsive way that focuses on each group’s individual input, knowledge, experience, and developmental level. Additionally, when there is diversity in cultural identity and representation among facilitators, youth not only see themselves reflected they also see possibility for their futures.

Regarding andragogy, Love146 employs similar methods in its “Facilitator Certification Training” (FCT) and “Training of the Trainers” (TOT). In each training, Love146 encourages professionals to contextualize their experiences with the program. Role-playing allows professionals to posture themselves as the youth with whom they work. Lastly, professionals participate in a teach-back activity to practice their new skills with guidance and correction from their trainer.