This program aims to provide intensive training and technical assistance (TTA) to trafficking service providers in one of two focus areas—housing and employment—in order to assist them in developing and implementing meaningful housing and/or employment practices. Service providers and trafficking survivors have identified these two areas as fundamental to the stabilization and long-term independence of trafficking survivors. Many service providers, however, do not have the resources or expertise to meet the demand of providing long-term housing and employment assistance to human trafficking survivors.
OVC has long acknowledged the importance of housing and employment to the stabilization of trafficking victims, and has funded grantees to provide related services through a variety of award programs. Despite these efforts, many service providers face challenges in meeting the housing and employment needs of different subsets of survivors such as youth victims, male victims, and victims with criminal records. OVC will fund one provider for each purpose area to provide TTA to direct service providers assisting trafficking survivors, with a particular focus on current recipients of OVC's human trafficking direct services awards. The projects should be national in scope and capable of providing training and support to service providers throughout the United States, including the territories and tribal lands.
Grantees funded through this solicitation will engage in the following activities in order to meet program goals and objectives:
- Provide technical assistance on the full range of options within the purpose area to victim service providers working with trafficking victims, in particular to OVC human trafficking grantees.
- Develop and distribute TTA materials, including those identifying best practices and policies related to the purpose area, to support victim service providers working with human trafficking victims.
- Identify and disseminate other publicly available materials related to the purpose area to help build capacity of service providers.
- Provide training at relevant conferences, through webinars, or through other mechanisms.
- Assist service providers in developing additional resources such as partnerships with relevant stakeholders at the national, state, and local levels in order to access a range of available services in the purpose area.
- Develop and implement a mechanism to solicit feedback from TTA recipients to track if and how they implemented policies or practices and if they reported improvement in operations in the relevant purpose area as a result of TTA.
- Coordinate with other OVC-funded TTA provider grantees to avoid duplication of efforts through regular communication.
- Other activities, as required, to meet the stated goals and objectives.