The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded $8.5 million to 10 community-based and national organizations that provide case management services to individuals who have experienced human trafficking. Through ACF’s Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), these awards will help ensure all individuals, both domestic and foreign national adults and minors, receive the comprehensive care they need to recover from their human trafficking experience.
Today’s announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government response to human trafficking, as outlined in the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking . Three awards will fund new pilot programs specifically serving foreign national adults who have experienced labor trafficking. In addition to providing direct services, assistance, and referrals, recipients will strengthen local awareness of labor trafficking by developing community partnerships and conducting public awareness activities.
“Human trafficking can happen in any place, yet there are certain risk factors that make a person particularly vulnerable to human trafficking including housing and economic instability, intergenerational trauma, and disconnection from support,” said Assistant Secretary for Children and Families January Contreras. “Through these grants, local communities will be better equipped to support children and families disproportionately impacted by human trafficking right in their own backyards.”
Funding recipients will provide assistance directly or through referrals to community providers, connecting clients to health and behavioral health care, housing assistance, educational opportunities, job training, and other needed services. Recipients will also conduct community outreach to identify individuals who may have experienced human trafficking and connect them with services and train local service providers and community partners to respond to human trafficking concerns among their patients and clients. This funding will strengthen capacity for trauma-informed and culturally responsive services, including required trainings on human trafficking and inequity and partnerships with community-based organizations.
The recipients are:
Five-Year Trafficking Victim Assistance Program:
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants — Arlington, VA — $4,000,000
Five-Year Aspire: Child Trafficking Victim Assistance Demonstration Program
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants — Arlington, VA — $1,500,000
Five-Year Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking - Services and Outreach Program
- Hope for Justice, Inc. — Charlotte, NC — $314,373
- Youth Continuum — New Haven, CT — $277,696
- Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services — Detroit, MI — $312,963
- YMCA of the North — Minneapolis, MN — $360,000
- St. Luke's Foundations — Houston, TX — $351,299
- Covenant House Alaska — Anchorage, AK — $360,000
Three-Year Lighthouse: Services, Outreach, and Awareness for Labor Trafficking Demonstration Program
- Tahirih Justice Center — San Bruno, CA — $333,000
- Interface Children & Family Services — Camarillo, CA — $334,963
- International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis — St. Louis, MO — $303,345
For more information on OTIP’s initiatives, please visit: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip
###
Quotes
“Human trafficking can happen in any place, yet there are certain risk factors that make a person particularly vulnerable to human trafficking including housing and economic instability, intergenerational trauma, and disconnection from support. Through these grants, local communities will be better equipped to support children and families disproportionately impacted by human trafficking right in their own backyards.”— January Contreras, Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families
Contact
Administration for Children & Families
Office of Communications
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Phone: (202) 401-9215
Fax: (202) 205-9688
Email: media@acf.hhs.gov