Feds grant $1.5M in funds to fight human trafficking in KY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – On Friday, Attorney General Andy Beshear, along with Catholic Charities of Louisville, announced that federal grant funds totaling $1.5 million dollars will be coming to the state to support new solutions in the fight against human trafficking.

Kentucky is one of only five states to receive an enhanced collaborative model grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The award is a first for both the Attorney General’s Office and Catholic Charities.

The two offices will receive the funds over three-years to intensify the work they are doing to hold offenders accountable and support victims of human trafficking, which includes sex and labor trafficking of all ages.  This will include better research and collection of human trafficking data, increasing education of local law enforcement and prosecutors on victim-centered investigations and prosecutions, and increasing direct victim services.

Each year in Kentucky reports, of child trafficking continue to increase by almost 50 percent, according to the Office of the Attorney General, climbing from 51 victims identified in 2013, to 125 victims identified in 2015.

“Human trafficking is a growing and gruesome crime – it has no place in our Commonwealth, Beshear said. “I am extremely proud that my office and Catholic Charities have been selected to receive this award that is going to help us support victims and continue to bring real solutions to the fight against human trafficking.”

To learn more about human trafficking and efforts to fight it visit Catholic Charities Rescue and Restore program website at http://www.rescueandrestoreky.org, or contact the Attorney General’s Office of Child Abuse and Exploitation Prevention at 502-696-5300.