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2017 Mentoring for Child Victims of CSE/DST Training and Technical Assistance Initiative

Award Information

Award #
2017-MC-FX-K051
Funding Category
Competitive Discretionary
Location
Congressional District
Status
Closed
Funding First Awarded
2017
Total funding (to date)
$3,543,046

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2017, $521,523)

The purpose of this initiative is to enhance the capacity of organizations to respond to the needs of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)/domestic sex trafficking (DST). The training and technical assistance (TTA) component of the initiative supports training and technical assistance services to the current group of project sites and new project sites funded in FY 2017.

The goals and objectives for the TTA provider are to provide support, technical assistance, and training to community-based programs working with child victims of CSE/DST and their stakeholders, including but not limited to juvenile justice professionals, teachers and other school personnel, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, child advocates, victim service providers, case managers, outreach workers, the judiciary, health and mental health professionals, legal advocates, mentor volunteers, and others. The TTA provider will: assess the individual and collective training and technical assistance needs of project sites and develop technical assistance plans for each site; facilitate peer-to-peer information sharing between the project sites; arrange onsite consultations by diverse subject-matter experts; establish tools and practical techniques for working across different disciplines to facilitate information sharing, communication, and coordination; develop and maintain a pool of experts who can provide onsite technical assistance tailored to the specific needs of each project site; and convene grantee meetings. This program is authorized by the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2016, Pub. L. No. 114-113 and Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2017, Pub. L. No. 115-31.

MANY and its partner in this project, the Center for Combating Human Trafficking (CCHT), will provide TTA to enhance the capacity of Category 1 grantees to prevent and address CSE and DST of minors. Key objectives are to support: 1) the development and enhancement of mentoring services models and mentor training based on best practices to focus on youth at risk or victims of CSE/DST; 2) the development or enhancement of strategies to recruit and maintain mentors to serve the targeted population; and, 3) efforts to identify and enroll youth who are in need of services. MANY's holistic approach to support grantees includes the provision of TTA, individualized TA plans, peer-to-peer information sharing, Subject Matter Expert consultation, practice tools and toolkits, grantee meetings, and public awareness and national dissemination activities. MANY will use evidence-based practices in all stages including: prevention; assessment and intervention; and aftercare. Their approach focuses on resiliency factors contributing to overcoming traumatic experiences and supports providers in conducting assessments that produce targeted intervention strategies. The LOTUS model provides a basis for initial capacity assessment of sites and identifies focus areas for TA plans. It also provides a basis of evidence for providers to draw and build from when implementing their individualized program enhancements.

Progress towards goals will be measured by the number of: TTA requests received, program materials developed, planning and training events held, people trained, organizations receiving TTA, and people served by TTA. The outcomes of this work are to 1) increase knowledge of strategies that address the needs of CSE/DST minors, 2) improve program operations based on TTA, and 3) increase utilization of evidence based practices.
CA/NCF

Date Created: September 30, 2017