U.S. Department of Justice Final Rule
Governors’ PREA Certifications and Assurances
For More Information
On September 4, 2003, President George W. Bush signed into law the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003 (P.L. 108-79). The goal of PREA is to eradicate prisoner rape in all types of correctional facilities in this country. As a result of PREA, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) established the Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. Funding was made available to states to support efforts to prevent and eliminate prisoner rape between inmates in state and local prisons, jails, and police lockup facilities and to safeguard the communities to which inmates return. The two main goals of the Protecting Inmates and Safeguarding Communities Program are to assist states and local jurisdictions in ensuring that budget cuts don't compromise efforts to protect inmates and to safeguard communities upon the inmate's reentry.
In FY 2011, BJA established the PREA Demonstration Projects to Establish “Zero Tolerance” Cultures for Sexual Assault Program. The PREA Program provides funding to state and local governments and federally recognized tribes for demonstration projects within confinement settings including, adult prisons and jails, juvenile facilities; community corrections facilities; law enforcement lockups and other temporary holding facilities, and tribal detention facilities.
PREA Management Office
For questions, please contact the PREA Management Office (PMO) at [email protected].
PMO Team Members:
- Tom Talbot
- Dee Halley
- Alex Stojsavljevic
- Ebony Davis
U.S. Department of Justice Final Rule
National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA):
- Final Rule on National PREA Standards
- Prison and Jail Standards
- Lockup Standards
- Community Confinement Standards
- Juvenile Facility Standards
Governors’ PREA Certifications and Assurances
The PREA statute provides that, if a governor is not able to certify to DOJ that their jurisdiction is in full compliance with the PREA Standards, the governor has the option to submit an assurance to DOJ that (1) commits that not less than five percent of certain DOJ grant funds will be used solely for the purpose of enabling the jurisdiction to achieve and certify full compliance with the Standards in future years, or (2) requests that funds be held in abeyance by DOJ pending disposition consistent with the statute. If the governor is not able to certify to DOJ that the jurisdiction is in full compliance with the Standards and elects not to submit an assurance to DOJ, the jurisdiction will be subject to the loss of five percent of certain DOJ grant funds that it would otherwise receive.
The first year of the five percent reduction was FY 2014, which commenced on October 1, 2013, and ended on September 30, 2014. States that implement PREA have an ongoing obligation for compliance and thus, the PREA reallocation or reduction will be applied each year the governor does not certify full compliance with the PREA Standards.
Starting in 2014, there were three DOJ grant programs subject to the PREA statutory provision related to the submission of certifications and assurances. Two of the grant programs are administered by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP): (1) BJA’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, and (2) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Formula Grant Program. The third grant program, Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program, is administered by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016 specified that programs administered by OVW are not "covered programs" for the purpose of PREA. Thus, starting with FY 2017 funds, the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Program will not be included as a program subject to PREA. The impact on awards from FY 2014 – FY 2016 will not change.
Additional information regarding the PREA amendment under the Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016 can be found in the PREA Amendment: Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016 Fact Sheet. You can also access full text of the statute.
See the State PREA Submissions site for access to PREA reports submitted for each state.
See the Annual Governors' PREA Certification and Assurance Submission Fact Sheet for additional information on the annual certification and assurance submission process.
Please see below for additional information on governors’ PREA certification and assurance submissions, reduction and reallocation amounts to impacted DOJ grant funds, and proposed PREA implementation activities for jurisdictions that submit an assurance.
FY 2024
FY 2023
FY 2022
FY 2021
FY 2020
- September 16, 2019, Letter to the Governors
- FY 2020 Certification and Assurance Submissions
- Impact of PREA on Department of Justice Grants for Fiscal Year 2020
FY 2019
- September 7, 2018, Letter to the Governors
- FY 2019 Certification and Assurance Submissions
- Impact of PREA on Department of Justice Grants for Fiscal Year 2019
FY 2018
FY 2017
FY 2016
- February 25, 2016, Letter to the Governors
- FY 2016 Certification and Assurance Submissions
- FY 2016 PREA Reallocation and Reduction Amounts by Jurisdiction
FY 2015
- FY 2015 Letter to the Governors
- FY 2015 Certification and Assurance Submissions
- FY 2015 PREA Reallocation and Reduction Amounts by Jurisdiction
- Summary of PREA Implementation Activities Supported by FY 2015 PREA Reallocation Grants
FY 2014
- FY 2014 Letter to the Governors
- FY 2014 List of Certification and Assurance Submissions
- FY 2014 PREA Reallocation and Reduction Amounts by Jurisdiction
- Summary of PREA Implementation Activities Supported by FY 2014 PREA Reallocation Grants
2014 Press Updates
- Press Release
- Remarks: Deputy Attorney General James Cole Speaks at Press Conference Updating States’ Efforts to Comply with Prison Rape Elimination Act
For More Information
Visit the National PREA Resource Center website.