Catholic Charities of Louisville says delays in federal anti-human-trafficking grant will cut Bakhita Empowerment Initiative services

Catholic Charities of Louisville says delays in a federal anti-human-trafficking grant will reduce what it can deliver through its Bakhita Empowerment Initiative, beginning in January. The nonprofit’s leaders say the funding delay will affect the scope of services they can continue while they await the delayed federal support.

In a report published Monday, WAVE described how the Bakhita Empowerment Initiative, run by Catholic Charities of Louisville, is intended to support efforts related to combating human trafficking. Catholic Charities said it expects to continue only a fraction of the initiative’s work once the new year begins, reflecting a gap created by the federal grant delays.

The organization tied the change in operations directly to the timing of the federal grant, stating that the delay limits its ability to sustain the full program as originally planned. That means fewer resources for the initiative’s ongoing activities, as the organization works through the period before the delayed funding arrives.

The impact is expected to be felt locally in Louisville, where the initiative’s services are administered through Catholic Charities of Louisville. The organization did not describe additional funding sources in the report, and it framed the January change as a practical consequence of the grant schedule slipping.

Human trafficking prevention and response programs often rely on predictable funding to maintain staffing levels, training, and service capacity. With federal grant timing uncertainty, local providers can be forced to scale down services even when demand remains present, according to the basic operational structure described in the report.