The santa barbara county district attorneys office victim witness assistance program will expand or strengthen victim service programs for victims of human trafficking, including those that provide…

The County Of Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office received a $950,000 federal Project Grant award under the Services for Trafficking Victims program (CFDA 16.320) from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime. The grant will fund the expansion and strengthening of victim service programs for victims of human trafficking in Santa Barbara County, California. Key activities include providing trauma-informed comprehensive victim services through expert victim advocates and rape crisis advocates, operating a 24/7 county-wide resource to identify and connect trafficking victims to appropriate services, conducting training and public awareness efforts to improve victim identification, and implementing evaluation activities to monitor program effectiveness. Expected outcomes include enhancing the collaborative efforts of the Santa Barbara County Human Trafficking Task Force and increasing the availability of victim services that address the individualized needs of trafficking survivors related to safety, independence, self-sufficiency, and well-being.

The santa barbara county district attorneys office victim witness assistance program will expand or strengthen victim service programs for victims of human trafficking, including those that provide trauma-informed services in santa barbara county. Special efforts will be expanded to improve identification and service provision efforts for victims of labor trafficking. Primary project activities include having expert victim advocates and rape crisis advocates provide critical comprehensive victim services and a countywide 24/7 resource to identify and enlist appropriate services for SEX and labor trafficking victims. In addition, activities will include training and public awareness efforts that have shown essential in improved victim identification efforts. Evaluation activities that provide a continuous monitoring approach examining effectiveness of project in achieving stated objectives and enable data-based decision-making will be employed. Expected outcomes include providing a comprehensive array of victim services throughout the county that effectively meet the individualized needs of victims of human trafficking related to safety, independence, self-sufficiency, and well-being; improving the effectiveness of the santa barbara county human trafficking taskforce (sbchttf) collaborative efforts to ensure all trafficking victims are identified and referred for appropriate services; and increasing project effectiveness in achieving stated objectives through timely progress monitoring with key leaders and staff and use of data-based decision-making. All victims of human trafficking are the intended beneficiaries of this project.