HHS – Victims of Human Trafficking – Services and Outreach (VHT-SO) Program – ACF Region 1 (2021) Forecasted

By NLADA on March 10, 2021

To Be Posted: March 22, 2021

The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is announcing funds for the newly developed Victims of Human Trafficking – Services and Outreach (VHT-SO) Program – ACF Region 1. The goal of the VHT-SO Program is to fund local organizations located in ACF Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). Prime recipients will build, expand, and sustain organizational and local capacity in their selected geographic area to deliver services and financial assistance to foreign national victims of severe forms of human trafficking as defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Foreign national includes nonresident alien individuals, and any other person that is not a United States (U.S.) person. Foreign nationals include individuals who are not U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, parolees, refugees, or asylees. Through the provision of direct services, emergency assistance, and referrals, the VHT-SO Program seeks to assist victims of labor and sex trafficking in their pursuit of independence and self-sufficiency. Under the VHT-SO Program, the following activities are required: 1) deliver comprehensive case management, and direct financial assistance, to support foreign national victims of both labor and sex trafficking with out-of-pocket expenses while they seek U.S. Department of Health and Human Services certification; 2) conduct outreach to increase identification of foreign national victims of both labor and sex trafficking; and 3) deliver training to service providers and community partners on effective intervention on behalf of victims, and strategies to identify, respond, and serve victims of human trafficking in a person-centered, trauma-informed, culturally- and linguistically-responsive manner to support victims’ efforts to achieve independence and self-sufficiency.

Helpful resources

The Justice in Government Project at American University has curated research briefs on how civil legal aid helps vulnerable populations. You can access the briefs here.
NLADA recently presented at the MIE Fundraising Conference on how civil legal aid serves victims of crime. Access the PowerPoint 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: Victims of Human Trafficking – Services and Outreach (VHT-SO) Program – ACF Region 1

Agency Name: Department of Health and Human Services

Funding Opportunity Number: HHS-2021-ACF-OCS-ET-1959

Funding Instrument Type: Cooperative Agreement

Express Language for Legal Aid: No, there isn’t express language for legal aid.

Target Population: Human Trafficking

Expected Number of Awards: 2

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: No

Estimated Total Program Funding: $400,000

Award Ceiling: $400,000

Award Floor: $200,000

Current Closing Date for Applications: by May 21, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Eligible Applicants: County governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Independent school districts, State governments, Small businesses, Private institutions of higher education, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, City or township governments, Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility,”Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Special district governments, Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)