“Overview
The purpose of this program is to enhance the capacity of applicant organizations to respond to the needs of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE)/domestic sex trafficking (DST). Under this initiative, OJJDP expects successful applicants to develop or enhance mentoring service models and mentor training based on best practices to focus on the needs of youth who are at risk or are victims of CSE/DST; develop or update strategies to recruit and maintain mentors to serve underidentified and underserved populations; begin or enhance efforts to identify and enroll youth who are in need of services; and provide needed services to these youth.
There are two categories of funding available under this solicitation.
Category 1: Mentoring Project Sites. This program supports the efforts of eligible applicant organizations to develop or enhance their mentoring capacity, facilitate outreach efforts, and increase the availability of direct services for child victims (younger than age 18) of CSE/DST, including children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
Category 2: Training and Technical Assistance. In addition to supporting program implementation and direct service activities, the initiative will fund a training and technical assistance provider to support the Category 1 project sites….
Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables
Category 1: Mentoring Project Sites. Competition ID: OJJDP-2017-11591. OJJDP expects that Category 1 project sites will develop or enhance mentoring service models and mentor training based on best practices to focus on the needs youth, who are at risk for or are victims of CSE/DST. Specific objectives include:
• Develop or enhance mentor service models youth, who are at risk for or are victims of CSE/DST. Qualified mentor programs involve structured relationships between an adult (counselor, case manager, trained volunteer, and/or survivor) and the youth mentee in one-on-one and/or group sessions. These sessions may include both structured and informal activities that relate to social competence, life skills, victim support, job skill development, mental health, substance abuse, and other related subjects. Research indicates that youth who participate in mentoring relationships that last 12 months or longer demonstrate improvement as compared to those with shorter relationships. Applicants are encouraged to visit the OJJDP National Mentoring Resource Center website to determine how to integrate the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring into their program model.
• Implement or enhance efforts to identify youth, who are at risk for or are victims of CSE/DST. This may include street outreach efforts, partnerships with organizations that serve the youth community, and/or collaboration with key stakeholders in the community.
• Implement or enhance baseline training for mentors and provide ongoing development and support after the initial training is complete. Initial orientation trainings must include specific information about youth who are at risk for or are victims of CSE/DST. However, training must go beyond a “one-shot model” to provide for the continuous development and support of mentors to help them enhance their knowledge and abilities while they build relationships with their young mentees, respond to their needs, and support their healing.
• Develop, expand, or enhance access to supportive direct services for youth, who are at risk for or are victims of CSE/DST. These youth have service needs that extend beyond traditional mentoring, including but not limited to intensive case management, court advocacy, appropriate shelter, safety planning, mental health treatment, medical care, dental care, substance abuse treatment, acquiring identification or benefits, specialized educational services/GED, job training, employment assistance, transportation, victim advocacy, and other support services such as accompanying the victim during his or her participation in a criminal prosecution against the offender, when appropriate. Programs are encouraged to enhance existing community collaboratives and partnerships, where feasible. In addition, it is important for program models to provide timely access to direct services for targeted youth.
Category 2: Training and Technical Assistance. Competition ID: OJJDP-2017-11592. OJJDP is seeking an experienced organization to provide training and technical assistance services to the current group of project sites and new sites funded through this solicitation. The goals and objectives for Category 2 include:
• 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.
• Assess the individual and collective training and technical assistance needs of project sites and develop technical assistance plans for each site. Possible training and technical assistance needs of the project sites may include guidance on developing collaborative partnerships, establishing or enhancing volunteer recruitment and retention policies and procedures, enhancing or developing mentoring models, outreach work with underserved and special populations, subject-matter training on child sexual exploitation, trauma informed practice, and sustainability.
• Facilitate peer-to-peer information sharing between the project sites and networking to promote problem solving and innovation through the exchange of information and ideas across 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. OJJDP will expect experts to use a cross-discipline approach and act as problem-solving agents to assist the project sites as they address challenges, barriers, and unintended consequences.
• Convene grantee meetings, including providing logistical support, developing meeting agendas, and identifying faculty and/or consultants.
• Perform all logistics to support training and technical assistance activities and events.
• Work collaboratively with OJJDP to develop and provide materials, including training agendas and other products, prior to any training or technical assistance events or any site visits that expert consultants conduct.
• Plan and coordinate, in conjunction with OJJDP, annual cross-site meetings of Category 1 mentoring project site grantees.
The awardee will produce written synopses or summaries of all meetings, onsite visits, conference calls, and trainings and provide other performance measures data as described below.
In addition to addressing the specific goals and objectives listed for each category of this solicitation, all applicants (Category 1 and Category 2) should include public awareness activities as part of their projects and discuss how their strategies will raise awareness of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sex trafficking of youth.
The Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables are directly related to the performance measures set out in the table in Section D. Application and Submission Information, under “Program Narrative.””
Excerpted from OMB No. 1121-0329 OJJDP FY 2017 Mentoring for Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Domestic Sex Trafficking Initiative.