2015 PREA Reallocation Funds

The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) provides that a state or territory whose governor does not certify full compliance with the standards is subject to the loss of five percent of any DOJ grant funds that it would otherwise receive for prison purposes, unless the governor submits an assurance that such five percent will be used only for the purpose of enabling the state to achieve and certify full compliance with the standards in future years. See 42 U.S.C. 15607(c). The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program is one of the DOJ grant programs subject to this requirement in fiscal year (FY) 2015, which commenced on October 1, 2014 and ends on September 30, 2015.

The goals of the FY 2015 PREA Reallocation JAG Program are to continue implementation of the national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape in order to protect individuals from sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement. The recipient will contract with the Vermont Department of Corrections to fund PREA compliance training and education expenses related to an inaugural statewide mapping summit that will include sessions designed to assess PREA related administrative policies and practices, disciplinary protocals, criminal investigation activities, and litigation processes. A second statewide planning meeting will be held to implement cross training in an effort to further assess Vermont's PREA efforts towards national compliance and develop action plans to eliminate sexual assaults in correctional facilities.

NCA/NCF