DOJ – Housing Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking (2020)

By NLADA on December 4, 2019 • ( 0 )

Applications are due February 3, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The program supports: (1) transitional housing; (2) short-term housing assistance, including rental or utilities payment assistance and assistance with related expenses. Projects must also include support services (legal aid is eligible) designed to enable victims of human trafficking and any dependents to locate and secure permanent housing and find employment. There is express language for legal aid, though type of services are limited).

Helpful resources

In 2018, NLADA hosted a webinar with the DOK’s Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit on collaborating to combat human trafficking. You can access the webinar here.
The Justice in Government Project at American University has curated research briefs on how civil legal aid assists survivors of human trafficking. You can access the brief here.
Want help making your case? The Justice Index scores and ranks states on their adoption of best practices for ensuring access to justice. Find how well your state is doing here.

Grant information

Funding Title: Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking

Agency Name: Department of Justice – Office for Victims of Crime (DOJ OVC)

Funding Opportunity Number: OVC-2020-17755

Funding Instrument Type: Grant

Express Language for Legal Aid: Yes, but the use of grant funds for legal services is limited “to providing legal services to victims in the housing program and must terminate when they obtain permanent housing. Legal services are limited to those that are necessary to enable a housing program participant to locate and secure housing and to integrate into a community, including legal services regarding housing, protection orders, and limited immigration matters that affect a victim’s ability to obtain housing. Funds may not be used for comprehensive, long-term legal assistance, such as divorce or child custody.” (p. 6)

Target Population: Victims of human trafficking. The solicitation states: “Under this program, a victim of human trafficking is defined as a person who has been subjected to a “severe form of trafficking in persons,” which, as defined in 22 U.S.C. § 7102(11), means—sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.” (p. 5)

Expected Number of Awards: 18

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: Yes, there is a 25 percent cash or in-kind match.

Estimated Total Program Funding: $13,500,000

Award ceiling: $750,000

Award floor: $0

Current Closing Date for Applications: February 3, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Eligible Applicants: States and territories, local government, Indian tribes, and nonprofit victims’ service organizations.

For more information

Link to Full Announcement: Link and link to Grants.gov

Contact Information: For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center: toll free at 800–851–3420; via TTY at 301–240–6310 (hearing impaired only); email to grants@ncjrs.gov; fax to 301–240–5830; or web chat at https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp. The NCJRS Response Center operates from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. ET , Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. ET on the solicitation closing date.