Sept. 22 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced nearly $101 million in federal grants to combat human trafficking.
Attorney General William Barr announced the grants through the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs during an event in Atlanta alongside Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser, as they met with federal law enforcement and toured the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy.
“Working with state and local law enforcement and community victim service providers, we will continue to bring these criminals to justice and deliver critical aid to survivors,” Barr said in a Justice Department statement.
The office for Victims of Crime awarded $97.4 million in grants to state, local and tribal jurisdictions, service providers and task forces throughout the United States, while OJP’s National Institute of Justice awarded $3.5 million in support of research and evaluation related to human trafficking, the Justice Department said.
Grants include $22.7 million for programs to support the effectiveness of collaborative and multidisciplinary task forces combatting human trafficking; $35.1 million to 73 organizations providing housing assistance for victims of human trafficking as well as programs focused on other services for victims of trafficking and preventing trafficking of girls.
At the event, Ivanka Trump highlighted “Operation Not Forgotten” a two-week effort in which the U.S. Marshals Service said it found 39 missing children in Georgia and made nine arrests in August.
She added that the president, “is committed to combatting this crime, committed to bringing justice to the victims — to their families — and committed to holistic healing that is so necessary for the brave survivors.”
