The United States stands with the world's top nations in its efforts to stop human trafficking but still could do a better job, according to a new report.

The finding came after a yearlong examination by the State Department and was the first time U.S. officials had ranked their efforts to fight human trafficking on the same scale they use to judge other countries.

But the report released Monday also noted that the U.S. finds only a tiny fraction of the nation's human-trafficking victims, and poorly trained law enforcement authorities are sometimes unwilling to help the victims they do find.

The critique was the most closely watched portion of the 10th annual global Trafficking in Persons Report released in Washington and mirrored most of the findings of a five-day series published last year by The Kansas City Star.

"The United States takes its first-ever ranking not as a reprieve but as a responsibility to strengthen global efforts against modern slavery, including those within America," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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