Child Protection Compact Annual Program Statement

The U.S. Department of State, through the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, announces the Child Protection Compact Annual Program Statement under opportunity number DFOP0018775. The TIP Office leads U.S. global engagement to combat human trafficking and works with foreign governments, civil society, and other organizations using the prosecution, protection, and prevention framework. This Annual Program Statement seeks projects that combat all forms of child trafficking outside the United States through a potential Child Protection Compact between the United States and a recipient country proposed by the applicant. Western Hemisphere and East Asia Pacific countries are preferred, although proposals may address other countries when aligned with U.S. government foreign policy goals. Only one or two countries are expected to be selected each year for a new Child Protection Compact. A Child Protection Compact is a multi-year plan jointly developed by the United States and another government to strengthen the country's ability to prosecute and convict child traffickers, provide comprehensive victim-centered care and support to child victims, prevent child trafficking, and improve national coordination. The anticipated objectives address prevention, protection, prosecution, and national coordination. Applicants must explain child trafficking dynamics and current government efforts in the proposed country, identify key gaps and potential intervention points, demonstrate relevant prior work and government relationships, and explain how the proposed country aligns with current U.S. policy priorities and recommendations in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. A letter of support from a relevant national-government counterpart in the proposed country is required to demonstrate willingness to collaborate with the applicant and the U.S. government. Total available funding is $12.5 million, pending availability of funds. The official program statement identifies an average award amount of $10 million for a multi-year program lasting up to five years, while the Grants.gov synopsis lists an award floor of $5 million and award ceiling of $10 million. One to two awards are anticipated. Funding may be provided through a grant or cooperative agreement, with cooperative agreements involving substantial U.S. government participation. Cost sharing or matching is not required, although applicants may voluntarily propose cost share. Funds may not support partisan political activity, charitable or development activities, specific religious activities, fundraising campaigns, U.S. legislative lobbying, programs primarily intended for organizational growth or institutional development, or programs that duplicate existing programs. Additional restrictions address UNRWA, certain migration-related activities, prohibited unmanned aircraft systems, foreign-assistance requirements, and other federal requirements. Alcoholic beverages may not be purchased with award funds. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations such as think tanks and civil society or nongovernmental organizations, public and private educational institutions, for-profit organizations, public international organizations, and U.S. government agencies. Applicants should have proven experience designing and implementing anti-trafficking programming. Organizations must generally have a Unique Entity Identifier and active SAM.gov registration, subject to stated exemptions. For-profit entities may undergo additional review and may not earn profit under Department assistance awards. Applicants may form consortia, but they must clearly identify the lead applicant and any subrecipients. Organizations already receiving TIP Office funding may apply, and receipt of other U.S. government funding does not itself make an organization ineligible. Applications must be submitted electronically through MyGrants. Required application materials include the SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B when applicable, a proposal of no more than five pages, a Budget Justification Narrative, and required attachments. The proposal must include a situational assessment of child trafficking in the proposed country, key gaps and potential intervention points, previous relevant work by the applicant and applicable sub-applicants, and documentation of existing relationships with relevant government entities. Attachments include letters of support from sub-grantees when applicable, the required support letter from a relevant national-government entity in the proposed country, a donor history annex covering previous U.S. Embassy or U.S. government grants for the past seven years, and the latest NICRA when applicable. Applicants should not propose specific activities at this stage because an intervention plan will be created and validated later if a CPC is pursued. Selected applicants must participate in a co-creation workshop with the U.S. and host governments within 90 days of award signing and subsequently submit revised planning and budget documents. Applications are evaluated on three equally weighted criteria worth 33 points each: Country Child Trafficking Situational Assessment, Organizational Capacity and Record on Previous Grants, and Anti-Trafficking Relationships. Applications first undergo technical screening for procedural eligibility, responsiveness to program priorities, and completeness. Applications passing technical review proceed to a panel of Department regional and subject matter experts. Final decisions also consider alignment with the most recent Trafficking in Persons Report, National Security Strategy, Department of State Agency Strategic Plan, and relevant executive orders. Equivalent scores may be resolved in favor of the applicant with the lower indirect cost rate. The Department also conducts a pre-award risk review covering financial stability, management systems, performance history, audits, and implementation capacity. The program statement identifies application deadlines of September 30 and December 31. Proposals received from June 19 through September 30 are prioritized and reviewed by December 31, while proposals received from October 1 through December 31, 2026 are scheduled for review by March 31, 2027. Additional reviews may occur if funding is available, and applicants receive responses on a rolling basis based on final Department leadership approvals and funding availability. The anticipated program start date is April 2027, and projects should be completed within 60 months or less. Applicants may submit one application per proposed country and up to three applications to the Annual Program Statement per year. Questions about the grant application process may be directed to TIPGrants@state.gov. MyGrants technical support is available at 1 (888) 313-4567.

Focus the proposal on a country with demonstrated political will, potential for systemic and sustainable impact, and alignment with current U.S. policy priorities and the latest Trafficking in Persons Report. Address all four CPC objectives and clearly explain country trafficking dynamics and current government efforts. Demonstrate organizational capacity to manage a project of similar size and scope, strong anti-trafficking relationships, internal financial controls, and subaward management experience where relevant. Secure a substantive national-government support letter. Do not propose activities at the application stage because the intervention plan is developed later through co-creation. Ensure every required component is included because incomplete or procedurally noncompliant applications are screened out before content review.