The tennessee department of children's services (DCS) will support the taylor initiative: tennessee together against child trafficking (TTI)

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime awarded the Tennessee Department of Children's Services $1.6 million on July 1, 2026, under the Domestic Trafficking Victim Program (CFDA 16.834) to support the Taylor Initiative: Tennessee Together Against Child Trafficking, a multi-agency statewide effort to improve outcomes for children and youth who have experienced or are at risk of sex and labor trafficking.

Led by DCS, the initiative will strengthen Tennessee's capacity to identify, respond to, and coordinate services for child and youth trafficking victims across child-serving systems including child welfare, law enforcement, courts, behavioral health, schools, and community-based victim service providers. The project addresses gaps in current practice by standardizing screening and referral pathways and improving cross-system coordination. Many trafficking-impacted youth interact with multiple agencies that currently lack standardized practices, resulting in missed identification, repeated retraumatizing interviews, and delayed access to victim-centered services.

Performance occurs in Nashville, Tennessee, with a period of performance from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2030.

TTI is a multi-agency, statewide initiative to improve outcomes for children and youth who have experienced, or are at risk of, SEX and labor trafficking. Led by DCS, the project will strengthen tennessees capacity to identify, respond to, and coordinate services for child and youth victims of trafficking across child-serving systems. Youth impacted by trafficking often interact with multiple systems, including child welfare, law enforcement, courts, behavioral health, schools, and community-based victim service providers, yet these systems frequently operate without standardized screening, referral, and service coordination practices. As a result, trafficking may go unidentified, youth may experience repeated and retraumatizing interviews, and access to timely, victim-centered services may be delayed. TTI will address these gaps through a statewide approach that strengthens identification, standardizes referral pathways, and improves cross-system coordination.