BJA 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) 2017.

The goals of the FY 2017 PREA Reallocation JAG Program are to support 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 grantee will use awarded PREA Reallocation funds to continue to work on achieving full compliance with the standards. The funds will be subawarded to the West Virginia Division of Corrections. The recipient will implement PREA policies, inmate education, and victim support services in pilot facilities with very high rates of sexual victimization and provide all prison staff with the training and support they need to embrace the spirit and principles of PREA and build lasting culture change. NCA/NCF