PREA - PREA Program Audit, Training, and Certification

Supports the continued operation and management of the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA's) Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Audit Function that is directed by the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) PREA Management Office (PMO), within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In 2013, DOJ's PREA Implementation Plan created the PMO, which was assigned to BJA by OJP's Assistant Attorney General. The PMO carries out DOJ's PREA implementation responsibilities that are defined in the PREA statute and the PREA Standards, including directing, enhancing, and expanding the PREA Audit Function as increasing numbers of confinement facilities and agencies across the nation pursue PREA audits. The PREA statute was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed into law in 2003. The statute includes numerous mandates to be carried out by DOJ, including creating and implementing national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in confinement facilities. In 2012, DOJ released the PREA Standards, which apply to approximately 13,000 confinement facilities across the country, including prisons and jails, juvenile confinement facilities, police lockups, and community confinement facilities. There are four sets of Standards that correspond to these four facility types; each set includes more than 300 specific provisions that confinement facilities and agencies that oversee these facilities must follow to achieve full compliance. The topics covered by the PREA Standards include prevention planning, responsive planning, training and education, screening for risk of sexual victimization and abusiveness, reporting, official response following an inmate report, investigations, discipline, medical and mental care, data collection and review, and audits and corrective action. As required by the PREA Standards, the PMO created and implemented DOJ's PREA Audit Function in 2013. PREA Standards 115.401 - 115.405 focus on the PREA Audit Function and define auditing obligations and timelines for the 13,000 confinement facilities referenced above. Since August 2013, DOJ-certified PREA auditors have reported completing more than 8,000 PREA audits in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Following the passage of the PREA statute and the promulgation of the PREA Standards by DOJ, two amendments to the statute were passed by Congress and signed into law. Both amendments increase the responsibilities and legal authority of the PMO related to the PREA Audit Function. The 2016 PREA amendment, under the Justice for All Reauthorization Act requires the PMO to request and make publicly available on a website all audit reports for confinement facilities under the operational control of states and territories executive branch of government, and authorizes the PMO to request fingerprint-based background checks for PREA auditor candidates and certified auditors seeking recertification. The 2018 PREA amendment, under the U.S. Parole Commission Extension Act of 2018, names the PMO specifically and requires it to: Evaluate DOJ-certified PREA auditors performance and conduct, and to take remedial or disciplinary action (including suspension and decertification) when auditors fail to meet the requirements of their DOJ-issued certification. Publish the names of auditors who have been decertified, and the reason for decertification. Notify impacted agencies and facilities when an auditor is decertified and recommend that the agency repeat any affected audits, if appropriate. Establish a system for assigning DOJ-certified auditors to federal, state, and local confinement facilities. This requirement defines the scope of work, tasks, and expertise required to support the PMO's ongoing efforts to carry out its requirements related to operating and managing the PREA Audit Function, as defined in the PREA statute, the two amendments to this statute, and PREA Standards. The primary purpose of this requirement is to enhance the quality, objectivity, comprehensiveness, and reliability of PREA audits across the country.