My Life My Choice Survivor Mentoring Enhancement Project

The Mentoring for Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Initiative supports efforts of community service organizations to respond to the needs of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic sex trafficking (CSE/DST), including children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Project sites will develop or enhance their mentoring capacity, facilitate outreach efforts, and increase the availability of direct services for child victims of CSE/DST. OJJDP expects project sites to integrate promising practices and proven principles into their mentoring service models; develop strategies to recruit, train, support, and maintain mentors; and provide a comprehensive array of support services to empower girls, boys, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth to move past their experiences with victimization to develop their full potential.

This program is authorized by Department of Justice Appropriations Act, Pub. L. No. 113-76, 128 Stat. 5, 64.

Justice Resource Institute (JRI), Inc., will utilize grant funding to support continuation and enhancement of their existing mentoring program for child victims of CSE/DST. JRI has been successfully implementing this mentoring program over the past three years and has identified areas for enhancement to better serve the target population. Building on a successful model, JRI will augment services to boys, increase identification of girl victims, and address long-term stability by providing financial literacy training for the targeted youth. Furthermore, the project design includes a very strong community and public awareness component. As a current FY 2011 CSEC Mentoring Initiative grantee, JRI has demonstrated its ability to serve the target population and implement a project of this scope.

CA/NCF