34 USC 20703 - Victim-centered child human trafficking deterrence block grant program

View all text of Chapter 207 [§ 20701 - § 20714]

§ 20703. Victim-centered child human trafficking deterrence block grant program

(a) Grants authorized

(b) Authorized activitiesGrants awarded under subsection (a) may be used for—

(1) the establishment or enhancement of specialized training programs for law enforcement officers, first responders, health care officials, child welfare officials, juvenile justice personnel, prosecutors, and judicial personnel to—

(A) identify victims and acts of child human trafficking;

(B) address the unique needs of child victims of human trafficking;

(D) investigate and prosecute acts of human trafficking, including the soliciting, patronizing, or purchasing of commercial sex acts from children, as well as training to build cases against complex criminal networks involved in child human trafficking; and

(E) utilize, implement, and provide education on safe harbor laws enacted by States, aimed at preventing the criminalization and prosecution of child sex trafficking victims for prostitution offenses, and other laws aimed at the investigation and prosecution of child human trafficking;

(2) the establishment or enhancement of dedicated anti-trafficking law enforcement units and task forces to investigate child human trafficking offenses and to rescue victims, including—

(A) funding salaries, in whole or in part, for law enforcement officers, including patrol officers, detectives, and investigators, except that the percentage of the salary of the law enforcement officer paid for by funds from a grant awarded under this section shall not be more than the percentage of the officer’s time on duty that is dedicated to working on cases involving child human trafficking;

(B) investigation expenses for cases involving child human trafficking, including—

(i) wire taps;

(ii) consultants with expertise specific to cases involving child human trafficking;

(iii) travel; and

(iv) other technical assistance expenditures;

(C) dedicated anti-trafficking prosecution units, including the funding of salaries for State and local prosecutors, including assisting in paying trial expenses for prosecution of child human trafficking offenders, except that the percentage of the total salary of a State or local prosecutor that is paid using an award under this section shall be not more than the percentage of the total number of hours worked by the prosecutor that is spent working on cases involving child human trafficking;

(D) the establishment of child human trafficking victim witness safety, assistance, and relocation programs that encourage cooperation with law enforcement investigations of crimes of child human trafficking by leveraging existing resources and delivering child human trafficking victims’ services through coordination with—

(i) child advocacy centers;

(ii) social service agencies;

(iii) State governmental health service agencies;

(iv) housing agencies;

(v) legal services agencies; and

(vi) nongovernmental organizations and shelter service providers with substantial experience in delivering wrap-around services to victims of child human trafficking; and

(E) the establishment or enhancement of other necessary victim assistance programs or personnel, such as victim or child advocates, child-protective services, child forensic interviews, or other necessary service providers;

(3) activities of law enforcement agencies to find homeless and runaway youth, including salaries and associated expenses for retired Federal law enforcement officers assisting the law enforcement agencies in finding homeless and runaway youth; and

(4) the establishment or enhancement of problem solving court programs for trafficking victims that include—

(A) mandatory and regular training requirements for judicial officials involved in the administration or operation of the court program described under this paragraph;

(B) continuing judicial supervision of victims of child human trafficking, including case worker or child welfare supervision in collaboration with judicial officers, who have been identified by a law enforcement or judicial officer as a potential victim of child human trafficking, regardless of whether the victim has been charged with a crime related to human trafficking;

(C) the development of a specialized and individualized, court-ordered treatment program for identified victims of child human trafficking, including—

(i) State-administered outpatient treatment;

(ii) life skills training;

(iii) housing placement;

(iv) vocational training;

(v) education;

(vi) family support services; and

(vii) job placement;

(D) centralized case management involving the consolidation of all of each child human trafficking victim’s cases and offenses, and the coordination of all trafficking victim treatment programs and social services;

(E) regular and mandatory court appearances by the victim during the duration of the treatment program for purposes of ensuring compliance and effectiveness;

(F) the ultimate dismissal of relevant non-violent criminal charges against the victim, where such victim successfully complies with the terms of the court-ordered treatment program; and

(G) collaborative efforts with child advocacy centers, child welfare agencies, shelters, and nongovernmental organizations with substantial experience in delivering wrap-around services to victims of child human trafficking to provide services to victims and encourage cooperation with law enforcement.

(1) In general

(2) Required informationAn application submitted under this subsection shall—

(A) describe the activities for which assistance under this section is sought;

(B) include a detailed plan for the use of funds awarded under the grant;

(C) provide such additional information and assurances as the Attorney General determines to be necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section; and

(D) disclose—

(i) any other grant funding from the Department of Justice or from any other Federal department or agency for purposes similar to those described in subsection (b) for which the eligible entity has applied, and which application is pending on the date of the submission of an application under this section; and

(ii) any other such grant funding that the eligible entity has received during the 5-year period ending on the date of the submission of an application under this section.

(3) PreferenceIn reviewing applications submitted in accordance with paragraphs (1) and (2), the Attorney General shall give preference to grant applications if—

(A) the application includes a plan to use awarded funds to engage in all activities described under paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b); or

(B) the application includes a plan by the State or unit of local government to continue funding of all activities funded by the award after the expiration of the award.

(4) Eligible entities soliciting data on child human trafficking

(d) Duration and renewal of award

(1) In general

(2) Renewal

(e) EvaluationThe Attorney General shall—

(1) enter into a contract with a nongovernmental organization, including an academic or nonprofit organization, that has experience with issues related to child human trafficking and evaluation of grant programs to conduct periodic evaluations of grants made under this section to determine the impact and effectiveness of programs funded with grants awarded under this section;

(2) instruct the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to review evaluations issued under paragraph (1) to determine the methodological and statistical validity of the evaluations; and

(3) submit the results of any evaluation conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) to—

(A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and

(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

(f) Mandatory exclusion

(g) Compliance requirement

(h) Administrative cap

(i) Federal shareThe Federal share of the cost of a program funded by a grant awarded under this section shall be—

(1) 70 percent in the first year;

(2) 60 percent in the second year; and

(3) 50 percent in the third year, and in all subsequent years.

(j) Authorization of funding; fully offset

(k) DefinitionsIn this section—

(1) the term “child” means a person under the age of 18;

(2) the term “child advocacy center” means a center created under subtitle A of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13001 et seq.); 1

1 See References in Text note below.

(3) the term “child human trafficking” means 1 or more severe forms of trafficking in persons (as defined in section 7102 of title 22) involving a victim who is a child; and

(4) the term “eligible entity” means a State or unit of local government that—

(A) has significant criminal activity involving child human trafficking;

(B) has demonstrated cooperation between Federal, State, local, and, where applicable, tribal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and social service providers in addressing child human trafficking;

(i) the establishment of a shelter for victims of child human trafficking, through existing or new facilities;

(ii) the provision of trauma-informed, gender-responsive rehabilitative care to victims of child human trafficking;

(iii) the provision of specialized training for law enforcement officers and social service providers for all forms of human trafficking, with a focus on domestic child human trafficking;

(iv) prevention, deterrence, and prosecution of offenses involving child human trafficking, including soliciting, patronizing, or purchasing human acts with children;

(v) cooperation or referral agreements with organizations providing outreach or other related services to runaway and homeless youth;

(vi) law enforcement protocols or procedures to screen all individuals arrested for prostitution, whether adult or child, for victimization by sex trafficking and by other crimes, such as sexual assault and domestic violence; and

(vii) cooperation or referral agreements with State child welfare agencies and child advocacy centers; and

(D) provides an assurance that, under the plan under subparagraph (C), a victim of child human trafficking shall not be required to collaborate with law enforcement officers to have access to any shelter or services provided with a grant under this section.

(l) Grant accountability; specialized victims’ service requirement

(Pub. L. 109–164, title II, § 203, Jan. 10, 2006, 119 Stat. 3570; Pub. L. 110–457, title III, § 302(4), Dec. 23, 2008, 122 Stat. 5087; Pub. L. 114–22, title I, § 103(a), May 29, 2015, 129 Stat. 231.)