The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support programs to implement the Texas Model for Care Coordination for Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth (CSEY). The Care Coordination Model is a consensus-driven, collaborative approach to identify and recover CSEY, and to facilitate tailored, accessible, trauma-informed, and holistic resources through a coordinated network of providers.

The goal of Care Coordination is that every identified child survivor of sex trafficking and exploitation has access to non-punitive, responsive, high-quality community-based services that meet their unique short-term and longer-term needs.

Care coordination employs awareness, education, creativity, collaboration, continuous learning, and capacity-building to identify and recover CSEY youth, and to facilitate tailored, accessible, trauma-informed and holistic resources through a coordinated network of providers. Care coordination teams build trust, transparency and solutions with each other to mitigate duplication of work, and so that local and statewide partners are bridges instead of barriers to services for children, youth and families.

State funds are authorized under the Texas General Appropriations Act, Article I, Trusteed Programs within the Office of the Governor, Strategy B.1.1. All awards are subject to the availability of funds and any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Applications may be submitted by Children’s Advocacy Centers as defined in Chapter 264, Subchapter E, Family Code, other non-profit corporations, and units of local government, which are defined as a non-statewide governmental body with the authority to establish a budget and impose taxes (includes hospital districts). Other local governmental agencies should apply through an associated unit of local government.

Additional eligibility requirements for grant applicants include: A) a track record of successful operations of the same or similar services for which funding is being pursued and, B) a positive history with, or the absence of a negative history with, OOG grants performance and management.

Applicants must access the Public Safety Office (PSO) eGrants grant management website at https://eGrants.gov.texas.gov to register and apply for funding.

Projects selected for funding must begin on or after 03/01/2024 and expire on or before 9/30/2025. Projects may not exceed an 18-month project period.

NOTE: Programs have flexibility to indicate a preferred project start date which may begin anytime on or after 3/1/24, so long as the project period does not exceed 09/30/25. For example, an applicant may choose for their project to begin on March 1, 2024, and run for an 18-month period, or an applicant may choose a different start date, such as October 1, 2024, and run for a 12-month period.

Minimum: $10,000

Maximum: None

Match Requirement: None

Grantees must comply with standards applicable to this fund source cited in the Texas Grant Management Standards (TxGMS), Federal Uniform Grant Guidance, and all statutes, requirements, and guidelines applicable to this funding.

Funding may be used to provide personnel and associated direct operating expenses to implement and maintain a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week (24/7) care coordination response.

Child Sex Trafficking Team Guiding Principles. Eligible applicants are required to adhere to the Guiding Principles of the Child Sex Trafficking Team (CSTT), where applicable. The CSTT’s Guiding Principles are:

• We treat individuals who have experienced exploitation as victims and survivors, not perpetrators.
• We are collaborative.
• We are survivor informed.
• Our systems and programs prioritize the needs of children and transition-age youth who have experienced exploitation and strive to give equal access to services regardless of system involvement.
• We seek to prevent exploitation by educating the public, supporting protective factors for all children and transition-age youth, and by building resiliency among the most vulnerable.
• Our approaches, systems and services are trauma-informed, responsive, and include trust-based relationships.
• We develop and support community-based, sustainable resources and services.
• We are committed to long-term individualized services, including planning for, and re-engaging with, children and transition-age youth after relapse.
• We research the causes of and effective responses to exploitation and we evaluate and continuously improve our activities.
• We work to prevent and reduce demand for exploitation and to hold all exploiters, including facilitators, and those who benefit from exploitation accountable.

Cultural Competency. Applicants must be culturally competent when providing services to victims. Victim service providers must have the ability to blend cultural knowledge and sensitivity with victim restoration skills for a more effective and culturally appropriate recovery process. Cultural competency occurs when: (1) cultural knowledge, awareness and sensitivity are integrated into action and policy; (2) the service is relevant to the needs of the community and provided by trained staff, board members, and management; and (3) an advocate or organization recognizes each client is different with unique needs, feelings, ideas and barriers.

Development and Utilization of Care Coordination Protocols. Care Coordination involves the interagency coordination of service planning and service delivery to meet the immediate and long-term needs of commercially sexually exploited youth (CSEY). This collaboration must be memorialized through an agreed-upon protocol that addresses the Care Coordination Team’s referral process, crisis and non-crisis response, continuous service planning, and the roles of each partner agency. If established, please upload the most recent version of your community’s Care Coordination Protocols to the Upload.Files tab of eGrants.

Members of the Care Coordination Team (CCT) may include, but are not limited to:

• Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC)
• Community Stakeholders
• Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
• CSEY Advocacy Agencies
• Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)
• Medical Providers
• Intensive Wraparound Service Providers
• Juvenile Probation Department (JPD)
• Law Enforcement (LE)
• Legal—County and District Attorneys
• Legal Service Providers
• Prosecutors
• Sexual Assault Programs (SAP)

Care Coordination Teams:

• Educate each other about their work, are transparent about what they can and cannot do, commit to action steps and timelines, and are accountable to trauma-responsive, survivor-centered protocols and practices.
• Are collaborative, supporting the objectives of the survivor and all investigative and service partners in easily identifiable ways.
• Understand and anticipate trauma triggers including fight, flight, and freeze, along with other concepts of the Stages of Change model and support the child without disruption in services.
• Facilitate partner commitment, consistency, and accountability.

Advisory Council Development. Once Care Coordination is developed and operational, an Advisory Council (AC) must be formed. The AC is comprised of senior leadership from CCT members and ensures the sustainability of Care Coordination. Supplemental guidance will be provided by the Office of the Governor.

Care Coordinator Responsibilities. The position of a Care Coordinator is held by an individual or individuals within a designated agency, most often a children’s advocacy center (CAC), to support the ongoing administration of a community’s Care Coordination Protocols for Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth (CSEY). The Care Coordinator acts as the single point of contact for referrals to care coordination. Care Coordination programs funded by the Office of the Governor may accept referrals or requests for service from both non-investigatory entities, such as community partners, and from investigatory partners, such as law enforcement and the Department of Family and Protective Services as recommended by the designated Advisory Council and documented in the executed Care Coordination protocols. The Care Coordinator shares client information for the provision of services between selected partners as statutorily authorized or with guardian consent, and helps multiple systems and organizations collaborate as effectively as possible to both support the investigative process and coordinate long-term care for survivors, regardless of case status. Care Coordinators obtain and hold on file all necessary releases of information. Care Coordinators are responsible for initiating, facilitating, and/or following up on the following set of core activities.

In Initial 24-Hour Period:

• Actively receive calls 24/7 for the initiation of a rapid response for a crisis or non-crisis recovery of a victim.
• Following CCT protocols to obtain consent, contact CSEY Advocate Agency.
• Alert medical provider receiving victim from law enforcement (LE) or the Department of Family and Protective Services.
• Notify CTT members of recovery or identification, or if child receives a score of Clear Concern on the CSE-IT.
• Start care management file for survivor.
• Initiate collection of information from DFPS, juvenile justice, law enforcement, the children’s advocacy center, and other entities as needed.
• Coordinate Rapid Response (RR) with CCT which includes notifying, scheduling, facilitating, and documenting RR meeting which captures all decisions and action plans.
• Obtain CSE-IT score and document if not provided prior to RR meeting and/or complete CSE-IT during RR meeting, if applicable.
• Notify residential and other service providers identified in RR meeting that referral will be forthcoming.
• If applicable, follow up with entity responsible for submitting referral documentation to placement agency.
• Maintain contact with CSEY Advocate Agency and/or others responding directly to victim and receive updates to inform decisions that will be made in first few days.

After Rapid Response:

• Immediately notify CCT of any information regarding critical change or if a missing event occurs.
• Convene Service Status Meetings (SSMs), inviting assigned staff from DFPS and law enforcement, prosecutors, juvenile justice, court appointed special advocate (CASA), CSEY Advocate, relevant service providers, family advocate, all other victim witness advocates, and the non-offending caregiver and survivor as appropriate.
• Attend or facilitate traditional MDT case staffings for duration of case if appropriate. While Care Coordination complements the MDT, SSMs and a client’s enrollment in Care Coordination continue regardless of criminal case status, with an emphasis on service planning.
• Document activities and decisions reached in SSMs and communicate decisions to applicable parties.
• Maintain contact with CSEY Advocate, non-offending caregiver(s), and others working with survivor regarding needs identified in SSMs.

On-call Services. Applicant agencies must be adequately staffed to provide care coordination 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Commercial Sexual Exploitation-Identification Tool (CSE-IT). While specialized trainings are a helpful first step to recognizing trafficking, implementing a validated screening tool is an even more effective strategy for addressing challenges with identifying commercial sexual exploitation. To that end, agencies must address use of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation Identification (CSE-IT) tool as part of their care coordination protocols. The tool should be used in accordance with WestCoast Children’s Clinic standards.

Community Support.

• Established Care Coordination Entities: Applicant organizations must include executed letters of intent or memorandums of agreement from the Care Coordination Advisory Council which specifically denote the primary agency for care coordination.
• Developing Care Coordination Entities: Applicant organizations must demonstrate robust community support for their project. This should include letters of support from all intended Care Coordination Advisory Council partner organizations including law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies. For non-CAC applicants, a letter of support or letter of commitment from the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is required: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Doing_Business/partnering.asp. Letters of support must be uploaded to the Upload. Files Tab of eGrants and signed by the appropriate leadership from each supporting agency.

1. Local units of governments must comply with the Cybersecurity Training requirements described in Section 772.012 and Section 2054.5191 of the Texas Government Code. Local governments determined to not be in compliance with the cybersecurity requirements required by Section 2054.5191 of the Texas Government Code are ineligible for OOG grant funds until the second anniversary of the date the local government is determined ineligible. Government entities must annually certify their compliance with the training requirements using the Cybersecurity Training Certification for State and Local Governments. A copy of the Training Certification must be uploaded to your eGrants application. For more information or to access available training programs, visit the Texas Department of Information Resources Statewide Cybersecurity Awareness Training page.

2. Entities receiving funds from PSO must be located in a county that has an average of 90% or above on both adult and juvenile dispositions entered into the computerized criminal history database maintained by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as directed in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 66. This disposition completeness percentage is defined as the percentage of arrest charges a county reports to DPS for which a disposition has been subsequently reported and entered into the computerized criminal history system.  

Counties applying for grant awards from the Office of the Governor must commit that the county will report at least 90% of convictions within five business days to the Criminal Justice Information System at the Department of Public Safety.

3. Eligible applicants operating a law enforcement agency must be current on reporting complete UCR data and the Texas specific reporting mandated by 411.042 TGC, to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for inclusion in the annual Crime in Texas (CIT) publication. To be considered eligible for funding, applicants must have submitted a full twelve months of accurate data to DPS for the most recent calendar year by the deadline(s) established by DPS. Due to the importance of timely reporting, applicants are required to submit complete and accurate UCR data, as well as the Texas-mandated reporting, on a no less than monthly basis and respond promptly to requests from DPS related to the data submitted.

4. Local units of government, including cities, counties and other general purpose political subdivisions, as appropriate, and institutions of higher education that operate a law enforcement agency, must comply with all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to: (1) notify DHS of all information requested by DHS related to illegal aliens in Agency’s custody; and (2) detain such illegal aliens in accordance with requests by DHS. Additionally, counties and municipalities may NOT have in effect, purport to have in effect, or make themselves subject to or bound by, any law, rule, policy, or practice (written or unwritten) that would: (1) require or authorize the public disclosure of federal law enforcement information in order to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection fugitives from justice or aliens illegally in the United States; or (2) impede federal officers from exercising authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), § 1226(c), § 1231(a), § 1357(a), § 1366(1), or § 1366(3). Lastly, eligible applicants must comply with all provisions, policies, and penalties found in Chapter 752, Subchapter C of the Texas Government Code.

Each local unit of government, and institution of higher education that operates a law enforcement agency, must download, complete and then upload into eGrants the CEO/Law Enforcement Certifications and Assurances Form certifying compliance with federal and state immigration enforcement requirements. This Form is required for each application submitted to OOG and is active until August 31, 2024, or the end of the grant period, whichever is later.

5. Each non-profit 501(c)(3) organization must certify that it does not have, and will continue not to have any policy, procedure, or agreement (written or unwritten) that in any way encourages, induces, entices, or aids any violations of immigration laws. Additionally, the organization certifies that it does not have in effect, purport to have in effect, and is not subject to or bound by any rule, policy, or practice (written or unwritten) that would: (1) encourage the concealment, harboring, or shielding from detection of fugitives from justice or aliens who illegally came to, entered, or remained in the United States; or (2) impede federal officers from exercising authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a), § 1226(c), § 1231(a), § 1357(a), § 1366(1), or § 1366(3). Lastly, the organization certifies that it will not adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy which prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of immigration laws, and will not, as demonstrated by pattern or practice, prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of immigration laws.

Each non-profit organization must download, complete and then upload into eGrants the CEO/NGO Certifications and Assurances Form certifying compliance with federal and state immigration enforcement requirements.

6. Eligible applicants must be registered in the federal System for Award Management (SAM) database located at https://www.sam.gov/.

Failure to comply with program or eligibility requirements may cause funds to be withheld and/or the suspension or termination of grant funds.

Grant funds may not be used to support the unallowable costs listed in the Guide to Grants or any of the following unallowable costs:

1. Lobbying or advocacy activities with respect to legislation or to administrative changes to regulations or administrative policy (cf. 18 U.S.C. 1913), whether conducted directly or indirectly;
2. The active investigation and prosecution of criminal activity, except for the provision of victim assistance services (e.g., emotional support, advocacy, and legal services) to crime victims, under 28 CFR § 94.119, during such investigation and prosecution;
3. Any activities related to fundraising;
4. Capital improvements; property losses and expenses; real estate purchases; mortgage payments; remodeling; and construction;
5. Reimbursement of crime victims for expenses incurred as a result of a crime;
6. Salaries, benefits, fees, furniture, equipment, and other expenses of executive directors, board members, and other administrators; Note: Time spent by executive directors to perform or support direct services is allowable;
7. Counseling or treatment exclusively for substance use disorders; Note: Treatment for substance use disorders is permitted if the disorder is a result of victimization and is a component of the general counseling that an individual receives under this grant;
8. Victim-offender meetings that serve to replace (or as a part of) criminal justice proceedings;
9. Medical training;
10. Medical care or expenses (except as specifically allowed);
11. Forensic medical evidence collection to include the salary or overtime cost of SANE Nurses;
12. Cash payments to victims, gift cards, or fuel vouchers;
13. Creation of a voucher program where victims are directly given vouchers for such services as housing or counseling;
14. Transportation, lodging, per diem or any related costs for third-party participants to attend a training, when grant funds are used to develop and conduct training;
15. Leasing of vehicles;
16. Research and studies;
17. Activities that may compromise victim safety;
18. Entertainment, including amusement, diversion, social activities, field trips, excursions and any associated costs (i.e. tickets to shows or sports events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities) unless there is a clear programmatic purpose and the costs are approved in advance by PSO;
19. Nonessential maintenance on buildings, lawn care, and landscaping; and
20. Any other prohibition imposed by federal, state or local law or regulation.

Application Screening: The Office of the Governor will screen all applications to ensure that they meet the requirements included in the funding announcement.

Peer/Merit Review: The Office of the Governor will review applications to understand the overall demand for the program and for significant variations in costs per item. After this review, the Office of the Governor will determine if all eligible applications can be funded based on funds available, if there are cost-effectiveness benefits to normalizing or setting limits on the range of costs, and if other fair-share cuts may allow for broader distribution and a higher number of projects while still remaining effective.

Final Decisions: The Office of the Governor will make all final funding decisions. Other factors may include cost effectiveness, overall funds availability, or state government priorities and strategies, legislative directives, need, geographic distribution, or other relevant factors.

The Office of the Governor may not fund all applications or may only award part of the amount requested. In the event that funding requests exceed available funds, the Office of the Governor may revise projects to address a more limited focus.

For more information, contact the eGrants help desk at eGrants@gov.texas.gov or (512) 463-1919.