U.S. Department of Justice: Implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) will provide grants to jurisdictions and agencies nationwide to “protect inmates and safeguard communities.” This program responds to this statutory obligation by:

• Supporting efforts in state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse in confinement facilities covered by the PREA standards
• Promoting comprehensive implementation of the standards
• Enhancing community safety by decreasing the likelihood that inmates, residents, and detainees are sexually victimized in confinement facilities prior to release

Efforts funded under this program should also enhance law enforcement officer safety. Reductions in prison rape create safer work environments for staff members in adult prisons and jails, juvenile confinement facilities, police lock-ups, community confinement facilities, and tribal detention and correctional facilities. Many of these staff members are sworn law enforcement officers.

The program’s objectives are to:

1. Reduce sexual abuse in confinement facilities
2. Increase staff capacity for preventing sexual abuse in confinement facilities
3. Promote integration of the PREA standards into the day-to-day operations and cultures of confinement facilities
4. Identify and document innovations and promising practices in order to inform similar efforts across the nation
5. Create cultures of “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse in confinement facilities.

Amount: An anticipated $2,500,000 is available to make up to 10 awards of up to $250,000 each. All awards are for a 24-month period of performance.

Eligibility: States, units of local government, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments.

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=313737

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