Ohio agencies win $700,000 federal grant to fight human trafficking

9/7/2012
BY AMANDA LEE MYERS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI — A federal grant has been awarded to two Ohio agencies to fight human trafficking, a practice that has been likened to modern-day slavery.

The $700,000 U.S. Justice Department grant announced Friday will go to the Ohio Attorney General's Office and the Salvation Army of Central Ohio.

The two agencies have partnered to combat human trafficking with two important and intertwined prongs — law enforcement and social services.

The Salvation Army of Central Ohio began focusing on the problem in 2007 after a national group identified Columbus and Cincinnati as being among 24 cities in the country with high risk factors for sex trafficking.

Both cities began their own coalitions targeting the problem that same year and have increased their efforts in the years since.