[NOFO] Enhanced Collaborative Model Task Force to Combat Human Trafficking

Deadline: 1-May-23

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) seeks applications to fund services for victims of all forms of human trafficking throughout the United States.

This program furthers the DOJ’s mission by enhancing the law enforcement and social services fields’ response to victims of human trafficking.

The ECM program goal is to support a sustainable, multidisciplinary, co-leadership task force approach to improve and increase victim identification of all forms of human trafficking, provide victims with access to services, and seek justice on their behalf (which can include investigating and prosecuting traffickers at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels).

Purpose

A high functioning ECM task force:
- has a clear mission, actionable goals, and balanced leadership structure (representing law enforcement, service providers, prosecution, and other key stakeholders).
- implements its mission and goals through balanced co-leadership and collaboration
- is survivor-informed. works to institutionalize and refine task force functions through written protocols that guide overall task force efforts and support sustainability
- engages in a diverse set of strategic approaches (i.e., victim-centered, innovative, survivor-informed, intelligence-led, outreach-based, departmental and systems cross-training) that increase identification of victims of all ages and of all forms of human trafficking (i.e., does not focus solely on identifying or serving one age or form); provides access to services; and leverages the efforts and expertise of all task force members
- collects, analyzes, and uses data regularly to:
  - better understand their community, identify potential vulnerabilities, and inform task force efforts, and
  - assess task force impact on increased identification of human trafficking victims, voluntary service provision, and holding traffickers accountable.
- seeks and uses a range of local and state resources to leverage limited federal resources
- devotes time and attention to building and maintaining community trust and support.
Purpose Area 1: Development of New Local or Tribal Human Trafficking Task Forces – Local or tribal task forces that are newly formed (formally operational less than 3 years) or have never received funding under the OJP ECM Task Force Program are eligible to apply. Purpose Area 1 funding will help new task forces with critical first steps related to starting up a multidisciplinary task force and establishing a strong foundation of task force co-leadership structure, clear roles and responsibilities, and internal processes and protocols. Post-award, successful applicants will dedicate the first 12–18 months of funding to formalize task force structure; develop operational procedures; access professional development and training opportunities, deliver training for key stakeholders; and conduct a community assessment to identify potential areas of the community where sex and labor trafficking may be occurring.
Purpose Area 2: Expansion of Local or Tribal ECM Human Trafficking Task Forces Previously Funded by OJP – Purpose Area 2 funding will help previously funded local or tribal ECM task forces that can demonstrate clear task force co-leadership roles and structure, and have a history of successful identification of sex and labor trafficking victims, service provision, and prosecution of traffickers. This funding will support expanded task force partnerships, refinement and implementation of existing and new protocols, meaningful survivor engagement, and continued commitment to implement a diverse set of proactive approaches that are victim-centered and trauma- and survivor informed.
Purpose Area 3: Enhanced Support for Statewide Task Forces (New or Previously OJP-funded) – Purpose Area 3 funding recognizes the challenges of establishing and sustaining a statewide response to human trafficking concerning the geographic area served, service provision, law enforcement response, and overall leadership structure and response coordination. Funding in this category will assist with a statewide, multidisciplinary response to human trafficking for a statewide task force at any stage of development (new or previously OJP-funded).

Priority Consideration for Task Forces

OVC will give priority consideration to applications from task forces that attest explicitly in their proposal narrative that ECM task force funds will—

be used to take reasonable, affirmative measures to avoid arresting, charging, or prosecuting victims of human trafficking for any offense that is the direct result of their victimization; and
not be used to require a victim of human trafficking to collaborate with law enforcement officers as a condition of access to any shelter or other direct services.

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $22,000,000
Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Award Floor: $750,000

Deliverables

All Purpose Areas (1, 2, and 3) will conduct and complete the following:
- Develop and expand collaborative partnerships among federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecution, nongovernmental, labor, and regulatory agencies and system- and community-based service providers.
- Identify a full-time task force director or coordinator to manage the day-to-day work of task force activities. This position will manage partnership growth and sustainability and ensure completion of both the administrative and operational activities of the multidisciplinary task force.
- Create, update, and implement task force protocols that document and reflect how the overall task force partners and other key stakeholders will handle core functions of a multidisciplinary approach.
Purpose Area 1 New Task Forces (only) will also—
- establish and formalize task force leadership, membership, and structure to ensure broad membership and engagement with essential agencies and individuals, including survivor leaders/lived experience experts. Within 12–18 months of award acceptance, the grantee will submit a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to OVC documenting the structure, personnel, and roles of task force members.
- conduct a data-driven community assessment within 12–18 months of award acceptance, factoring in the experiences of task force stakeholders, to identify areas within the community where vulnerabilities for trafficking exploitation may be occurring. OVC may request a written summary of the community assessment results.
Purpose Area 2 Established Task Forces (only) will also—
- be expected to develop and expand implementation of a diverse set of approaches for proactive victim identification and prosecutions that go beyond online and vice-style operations.
- produce a summary report by the end of Year 2 that describes the ECM task force’s efforts to better understand and identify areas within the task force’s designated geographic area of focus where vulnerabilities for labor trafficking and exploitation may be occurring. The report should also include an overview of any labor trafficking cases investigated (and outcome, if available). This report should discuss the types of data collected and analyzed, which partnerships (new or existing) support increased focus on labor trafficking, training attended or needed by task force members, services provided or needed, and any case dispositions.
- provide peer support to newer task forces, if requested and under the direction of OVC and OVC TTA providers, by participating in a minimum of two webinars or presentations to highlight promising practices in human trafficking task force operations, investigations, and victim services.
Purpose Area 3 Statewide Task Forces will—
- complete relevant deliverables, and other application attachments, based on the status of the task force at the time of application:
  - New task force/never received OJP ECM funding will follow Purpose Area 1 deliverables.
  - Previously OJP-funded ECM statewide task forces will follow Purpose Area 2 deliverables.

Ineligible Projects

This ECM funding does not support efforts or operations that are counter to a victim centered and trauma-informed approach. For example, approaches that do not align with the ECM model include those that target—

the purchasers of commercial sex that fail to result in the identification of one or more actual victims of human trafficking prior to an operation OR otherwise fail to involve a connection to one or more actual trafficking victims
individuals engaged in commercial sex for arrest as a means for identifying victims of trafficking. Such efforts may compromise victim safety by failing to properly screen for sex trafficking victimization and may result in the arrest of victims of sex trafficking

Eligibility Criteria

City or township governments, County governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, State governments.
This solicitation requires each lead applicant to submit their entity’s application separately into JustGrants (one application submitted by an eligible lead law enforcement agency and one application submitted by an eligible lead victim service organization). Applicants who do not apply with an eligible partner will not be considered for funding.
OVC will consider applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award; however, only one entity may be the applicant. Any others must be proposed as sub recipients (subgrantees).
Applicants that receive funding under this program will be required to—
- submit the policies, procedures, and rules governing the provision of services for review upon OVC request (post-award, as may be required by OVC).
- ensure their policies and procedures follow applicable federal and state laws protecting the civil rights of program participants and staff (post-award).
- ensure that any staff, partner staff, or service providers working with trafficking victims are adequately licensed and trained to work with such victims, including by accessing OVC-supported training and technical assistance.
- ensure that the project coordinator/program director and other relevant staff participate in any grantee orientations and OVC-sponsored training and technical assistance.
- describe ongoing efforts to enhance responses to labor trafficking, as part of routine programmatic reporting.
- provide all grant-funded staff at least one session of training (to be delivered by individuals or organizations with reasonable and demonstrable expertise) related to diversity, equity, inclusion, or accessibility and tied to program goals and objectives annually.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.