(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Organizations interested in developing or expanding a sex buyer education program – commonly called a “john school” – are encouraged to apply for a new grant available through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
“When a john is required to attend a sex buyer education program, he sees how his actions have directly fueled human trafficking,” Attorney General Dave Yost said. “This grant money, along with our recently published guide on how to establish a john school, gives communities the direction to go and the funds to get there.”
The John School Fund, announced in January by Attorney General Dave Yost at the AG’s 2022 Human Trafficking Summit, will support 10 successful applicants with $10,000 each. Applicants are encouraged to be creative and collaborative in their proposals, working with organizations to develop programs that will create a paradigm shift in battling human trafficking.
An application for the grant funding is available on the AG’s website.
The John School Fund follows the creation of guidelines for courts and communities interested in establishing john schools. “John School: Guidelines for Sex Buyer Education Programs,” also available on the AG’s website, is intended as a road map for first-timers and to help existing programs improve.
The guide and grant fund stem from House Bill 431, which Yost and his Human Trafficking Initiative team pushed the General Assembly to pass in late 2020. The law, which took effect last spring, established legal sanctions aimed specifically at sex buyers, including stiffer fines and a requirement that offenders convicted of engaging in prostitution attend a sex buyer education program.
Applicants with questions about the grant fund are encouraged to contact the Human Trafficking Initiative at HTI@OhioAGO.gov. The application deadline is March 31, 2022.
