ODOC PREA Training and Development Project

The Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) is requesting grant funds from the BJA FY 2022 Implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards, Protecting People Who Are Incarcerated, and Safeguarding communities grant to support training and development of key positions within the Sexual Abuse Response Teams (SART) and PREA Compliance Managers.

The Oregon PREA Demonstration Grant Project will build upon previous and ongoing agency efforts to reduce sexual violence in ODOC facilities by undertaking efforts to effectively prevent and respond to prison rape. 

ODOC refers to incarcerated adults as “adults in custody” (AICs), by statute and will refer to incarcerated people in that manner throughout this grant application.

Every one of our 12 facilities within our agency has a Sexual Abuse Response Team (SART), which is a multi-disciplinary team who has received specialized training to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment.  Every facility also has a PREA Compliance Manager.  In our facilities, these are collateral duties assigned by the facility Superintendent.  Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to retain employees in these critical positions due to staffing changes and facility operations.  Since these positions are critical to a successful PREA program, each one must be adequately trained and have a thorough understanding of PREA standards and agency PREA policies. 

Currently the PREA Coordinator and the PREA team in ODOC headquarters is tasked with providing individualized training to each SART and PCM.  Since there are 12 facilities, this training can not always be completed in a timely manner, leaving the facility with untrained employees in these roles.  This grant would fund a project to create an interactive, and thorough online training that SARTs and PCMs can take immediately upon assignment to these positions so they would understand critical details of their new duty.

 
This application targets areas in which are important to ODOC to increase sexual safety, and continued compliance with the standards.