In accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), federal, state, and local officials with information about foreign national minors who may have experienced human trafficking must refer cases to the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) for assessment within 24 hours. However, OTIP will accept case referrals even after the initial 24-hour period has passed. Therefore, federal, state, and local officials working with a foreign national minor in the United States (non-U.S. citizen or non-lawful permanent resident under 18 years) that have concerns that a minor may have experienced forced labor or commercial sex at any point in their life and in any country should take steps to report trafficking concerns as outlined on the Office on Trafficking in Persons' (OTIP) website.

You can contact the Office on Trafficking in Persons’ (OTIP) Child Protection Specialists by phone at call 202-205-4582 or email [email protected] during normal business hours (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., eastern time).

OVC-funded anti-trafficking case managers should work to expeditiously assist clients with accessing benefits with their Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) Eligibility and Interim Assistance Letters. Some benefits may be time-limited, so apply for benefits as soon as possible. To troubleshoot issues with accessing benefits or a non-work Social Security Number, contact OTIP’s Aspire and Trafficking Victim Assistance Programs (TVAP) at 800-307-4712, [email protected] or [email protected] to be connected to a Regional Coordinator in your client’s area.

No. OVC does not impose procedures or policies that require victims to take certain actions to be eligible for, or to receive services.  This includes requiring a victim of human trafficking to collaborate with law enforcement officers as a condition of access to any shelter or any other direct services.

Through its cadre of training and technical assistance (TTA) providers, OVC provides practitioner-driven, evidence-based TTA that is responsive to the particular needs of victim service providers and system stakeholders, their communities, and the victims they serve. These providers strengthen the victim assistance responses to human trafficking, support multidisciplinary task forces and cross-sector collaboration, and build stakeholder capacity and leadership in identifying human trafficking victims and connecting them to services. Please consult OVC’s Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance webpage for information about available TTA, and locate upcoming training opportunities by conducting a search of OVC’s events page.

The assigned Grant Award Administrator and all Financial Managers for grant awards must have successfully completed the OJP Grants Financial Management and Grant Administration Training by 120 days after the grantee's acceptance date of the award. Successful completion of such a training within the last three years, will satisfy this condition. In the event that either the Grant Award Administrator or Financial Manager changes during the award project period, the new staff member must have successfully completed an OJP Grants Financial Management and Grant Administration Training by 120 calendar days after the user information has been changed in JustGrants.

Grantees should anticipate that OJP will immediately withhold award funds, if the grantee fails to comply with this condition. Failure to comply also may lead OJP to impose additional appropriate conditions on the grant award.

Grantees should note that this requirement is also included as an award condition.

Yes. Grantees working with minors and vulnerable adults must have policies and procedures in place regarding mandated reporting. Grantees must be aware of state laws that determine who must report concerns of child and vulnerable adult abuse and neglect, definitions of abuse and neglect, and the process for making a report. Grantees should include information about their mandated reporting requirements in the informed consent forms, in language that is appropriate for the client. Grantees should train all staff and volunteers who will interact with minors and vulnerable adults served by the program to ensure compliance with state mandated reporting requirements.

Please refer to the solicitation an award was funded under for program-specific requirements.

Federal laws prohibit recipients of Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) funding administered by the OJP from discriminating in the delivery of services on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, religion, or disability. Applicable federal laws also prohibit TVPA recipients from discriminating on the basis of disability in their employment practices, and from discriminating against employees and beneficiaries on the basis of sex in grant-funded education or training programs. Recipients are also obligated under federal civil rights laws to provide meaningful access to their programs and activities for persons with limited English proficiency. Under certain circumstances, it might be permissible to limit services based upon age. Please note that other federal, state, or local laws prohibiting discrimination may apply. See Civil Rights Requirements Associated with OJP Awards for more information.

All grantees are required to have a process in place for investigating discrimination complaints. The Office for Civil Rights at OJP ensures that recipients of financial assistance from OVC comply with federal laws that prohibit discrimination and is available to provide technical assistance to OVC grantees about civil rights obligations.

Employees, beneficiaries, and applicants for employment or services of an OVC grantee who believe that they have experienced unlawful discrimination may file a civil rights complaint with the Office for Civil Rights at OJP.

If you have questions about civil rights compliance, please contact the Office for Civil Rights via phone at 202-307-0690, TDD/TTY at 202-307-2027, or via email at [email protected].

Yes. Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits grantees from discriminating on the basis of national origin in the delivery of services or benefits, entails taking reasonable steps to ensure that persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access to their programs and activities. An LEP person is one whose first language is not English and who has a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand English.

To assist grantees in meeting their obligation to serve LEP persons, DOJ has published a number of resources, including a language access assessment and planning tool. Additional resources are available on the Office of Civil Rights webpage. Grantees should contemplate how their program budget supports the costs for providing interpretation and translation services to eligible LEP persons or be able explain how language access will be provided if grant funds are not needed for this purpose.

Yes. Please refer to your award conditions for specific requirements. All products (e.g., curricula, training materials, publications, reports, videos, fliers, or any other written, web-based, or audiovisual, or other materials) developed and/or published with grant funds must contain the grant disclaimer statement found in your award conditions:

“This ______________ was produced by ______________ under [add grant number], awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this ______________ are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.”

Your OVC grant manager will determine whether minor deliverables, such as one-page fliers and discrete web pages, require review or prior approval by OVC.