On Thursday, September 24, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) awarded $44 million in funding to help communities fight human trafficking. Specifically, the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office for Victims of Crime, and National Institute of Justice will manage the grants.
Of the grant funding, $22.7 million will go to 16 anti-human trafficking task forces across the country and $13.7 million will go to service organizations to help trafficked victims, including those who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender.
Two training and technical assistance providers, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), were selected to receive nearly $2 million. IACP will analyze how task forces are trained and study what technical assistance is needed to strengthen investigations and prosecutions, and NCSL will create informational resources including an online database of state laws, websites, webinars, and briefing papers.
To view DOJ announcement, please click here.