OJJDP FY 19 Specialized Services and Mentoring for Child and Youth Victims of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation | OJJDP 2019 14988

Opportunity Information: Apply for OJJDP 2019 14988

The OJJDP FY 19 Specialized Services and Mentoring for Child and Youth Victims of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation grant is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). It is designed to strengthen the community response to commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sex trafficking involving children and youth by expanding both mentoring capacity and direct, victim-centered services. The program focuses on helping organizations either build these capabilities from the ground up or enhance existing mentoring and service delivery systems so that young victims, and youth at risk of victimization, can access consistent support, safe connections, and practical assistance.

A central emphasis of the opportunity is mentoring as a specialized, best-practice-informed intervention for this population. OJJDP aims to fund experienced organizations to develop or refine mentoring models and mentor training approaches that are specifically tailored to the needs of child and youth victims of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. The intent is not generic youth mentoring, but mentoring that is trauma-informed, responsive to exploitation dynamics, and designed around what is known to be effective for youth who may have experienced coercion, manipulation, violence, instability, or system involvement. The program explicitly notes that mentoring and services should address the needs of both girls and boys, reflecting an expectation that funded efforts will be inclusive and attentive to different pathways into exploitation and different service needs.

In addition to mentoring model development, the opportunity stresses outreach and access. Funding is meant to help organizations facilitate outreach efforts and increase the availability of direct services, which typically includes expanding the capacity to identify and engage victims and then connect them to supports that stabilize safety and well-being. While the notice does not list a fixed menu of services in the provided text, the framing clearly points to strengthening the overall service continuum for victims and at-risk youth, with mentoring functioning alongside other specialized supports rather than as a standalone activity.

A defining feature of this initiative is collaboration with OJJDPs existing training and technical assistance (TTA) provider. Rather than operating in isolation, grantees are expected to work with that TTA partner to develop or enhance mentoring service models and to shape mentor training grounded in best practices. This structure signals that OJJDP is trying to promote consistent quality, shared learning, and implementation support across funded sites, so organizations can align with evidence-informed approaches and improve service delivery through guided technical assistance.

Administratively, the opportunity is listed under Funding Opportunity Number OJJDP 2019 14988 and is funded as a grant under the Law, Justice and Legal Services activity category. The CFDA number associated with the program is 16.726. The solicitation was created on May 28, 2019, with an original application closing date of July 29, 2019. OJJDP anticipated making approximately 11 awards, with an award ceiling of $450,000 per award, indicating mid-sized awards intended to support focused program development and service expansion rather than broad statewide systems-building.

Eligibility is identified broadly as Others, with additional clarification referenced in the original solicitation under an Additional Information on Eligibility section. In practical terms, that phrasing usually indicates that eligibility may extend beyond traditional government applicants to include certain types of nonprofit or community-based organizations, but the specific eligible entity types would be confirmed in the full funding announcement.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as an effort to increase the reach and effectiveness of specialized mentoring and related services for child and youth victims of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sex trafficking. It aims to ensure that mentoring models are intentionally designed for the realities of exploitation, that mentors receive training aligned with best practices, that outreach improves engagement of hard-to-reach youth, and that direct service capacity grows so that victims and at-risk youth can access meaningful, sustained support.

• The Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OJJDP FY 19 Specialized Services and Mentoring for Child and Youth Victims of Sex Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.726.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 29, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $450,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for OJJDP 2019 14988

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