FORT WORTH, Texas -- United States Attorney Richard B. Roper said Tuesday that North Texas will receive $1.35 million in grant funding to combat human trafficking.

The grant funding was announced by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the 2006 National Conference on Human Trafficking, where representatives from federal, state and local organizations gathered to discuss methods of investigating human trafficking and servitude and how victim services are structured and defined.

"I am grateful to the Attorney General for choosing the Dallas/Fort Worth area for this exclusive grant and for the Texas Congressional Delegation's support. Our strong federal-state law enforcement partnerships with local community groups and the organizational structure we have established, show that we are poised and ready to aggressively deal with human trafficking here in North Texas," Roper said.

The Dallas Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, and Mosaic Family Services, Inc., will each receive $450,000 to be used to create Trafficking Task Forces, building on the current work of more than 32 national task forces already operating as a part of the collaborative effort of various Department of Justice (DOJ) components, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor and State, and national and community-based organizations to combat human trafficking.

The Dallas and Fort Worth departments are two of 10 cities that will receive a total of $8 million in funds from the grant. Other cities awarded money to combat human trafficking are Clearwater, Fla; Baton Rouge, La; Independence, Mo; Las Vegas, Nevada; Buffalo, New York; Saipan, Northern Marianas; San Antonio, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah.

In addition to the law enforcement grants, Mosaic Family Services, Inc. of Dallas was one of eight of the 2006 grant awards for victim services.