"Current and former staff members at the justice department's office for victims of crime told the Guardian that over the summer they had completed the bureaucratic steps necessary to make the funding available. But three months into the new fiscal year, funds still have not been allocated.

"I can't remember a time when appropriated human-trafficking funding took this long to award," said Rose, the former director. "It just doesn't make any sense, because the money is there."

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Merry Christmas, Victims!