PREA Program: Strategic Support for PREA Implementation
The goal of this program is to support efforts in the confinement facilities that are covered by the PREA Standards to achieve compliance with the standards. 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.
General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
16.735
Federal Agency/Office
Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
B - Project Grants
Program Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2019 It is anticipated that up to 100 applications will be received and up to 30 grant awards will be made in fiscal year 2019.
Authorization
Prison Rape Elimination Act; and, an act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice in the current fiscal year., 34 U.S.C. 30301, et seq.
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Eligible applicants are states, units of local government, and federally-recognized Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior).
Beneficiary Eligibility
Not applicable.
Credentials/Documentation
The applicant must submit a completed Application for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424), including signed assurances that it will comply with statutory and administrative requirements. The applicant is also required to submit a description that includes: (1) program goals; (2) implementation process; (3) timetable for implementation; and (4) documentation that includes organizational experience, name of grantee agency or fiscal agent, identification of management structure, letters of support/commitment and/or memoranda of understanding, and description of previous collaboration.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. The applicant is also required to submit documentation that includes organizational experience, name of grantee agency or fiscal agent, identification of management structure, letters of support/commitment and/or memoranda of understanding, and description of previous collaboration. See the current fiscal year’s solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and/or https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx.
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants must submit a completed Standard Form 424 and other information outlined in the Application Kit to the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The receipt, review, and analysis of applications will follow Office of Justice Programs policies and procedures for the administration of grant applications. Applications must be submitted on-line through the Office of Justice Programs Grant Management System at: https://grants.ojp.usdoj.gov/.
Award Procedure
Upon approval by the Assistant Attorney General, successful applicants are notified via the Grants Management System. One copy of the grant award must be signed by the authorized official and returned to the Office of Justice Programs.
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
See the current fiscal year's solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and/or https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx.
Appeals
There are no appeal rights for rejection of a discretionary application. See section 28 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 18.
Renewals
See the current fiscal year's solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and/or https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx.
How are proposals selected?
See the current fiscal year's solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and/or https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx.
How may assistance be used?
The PREA Program supports projects with program design elements that are intended to reduce sexual victimization in correctional facilities, promote a “zero tolerance” environment, and assist confinement facilities in meeting the requirements of the PREA standards. Grants may be used to support the following types of design elements as part of a comprehensive approach:
• Strategies to promote and institutionalize agency and facility staff buy-in for new policies, procedures, and practices that address sexual abuse.
• Designation of staff positions responsible for PREA implementation.
• Facility-specific staffing plans to reduce the likelihood of sexual abuse that result from examining current staffing levels and patterns, the sizes and compositions of inmate/resident/detainee populations, and the physical layouts of facilities.
• Methods to report sexual abuse when it occurs in confinement facilities.
• Intake, screening, and classification processes designed to identify potential sexual abuse victims and perpetrators, and to make housing, placement, and programming decisions in response.
• Inmate/Detainee/Resident education programs on topics such as available sexual abuse reporting mechanisms and services available to victims.
• Sexual abuse response protocols which include protections for victims and ensure prompt, thorough, and objective investigations of all allegations.
• Electronic inmate/detainee/resident management systems designed to track abusers and victims effectively.
• Formal partnerships between confinement agencies/facilities and community-based organizations such as rape crisis centers and sexual abuse coalitions, intended to provide services and support to victims.
• Victim-centered approaches at the agency and/or facility levels designed to address the needs of sexual abuse victims effectively.
• Efforts to prevent and address secondary trauma among agency and/or facility staff members.
• Agency/facility staff training on preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse, and building skills necessary to achieve PREA implementation.
• Strategies to increase collaboration between confinement agencies/facilities, and prosecutors and the courts to increase the likelihood that sexual abuse that occurs in confinement is successfully prosecuted.
• Agency-wide plans to collect, analyze, and report data about sexual abuse in confinement facilities covered by the PREA standards.
• Processes that leverage technology to improve efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse (e.g., incident mapping technologies to identify locations within confinement facilities where inmates/residents/detainees and staff members are vulnerable, and taking steps to mitigate these vulnerabilities).
• Plans to purchase “limited” equipment and/or supplies (using less than 40 percent of the total federal award amount) that are necessary to prevent, detect, or respond to sexual abuse Applicants proposing to use federal funds on equipment and/or supplies must thoroughly describe how these expenditures are part of a larger, comprehensive PREA implementation strategy.
• Analyses of confinement facility blueprints to identify vulnerable areas and implement strategies, which implement technology such as concealed video, alterations to facility layouts, and data analysis, in order to better protect inmates/residents/detainees, and staff.
• Actions related to conducting PREA audits, such as preparing for audits, carrying out mock or practice audits, selecting and entering into contracts/agreements with DOJ-certified PREA auditors, and covering the costs associated with audits and corrective action plans.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: To assist in fulfilling the Departments responsibilities under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, Public Law 111–352, recipients must provide data that measures the results of their work.
Auditing
.
Records
In accordance with the requirement set forth in 2 CFR 200, Subpart F, grantees must maintain all financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to the award for at least 3 years following the close of the most recent audit.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.
Matching is mandatory. 50%. Federal funds awarded under this program may not cover more than 50 percent of the total costs of the project. Applicants must identify the source of the 50 percent non-federal portion of the total project costs and how they will use match funds. If a successful applicant’s proposed match exceeds the required match amount, and OJP approves the budget, the total match amount incorporated into the approved budget becomes mandatory and subject to audit. (Match is restricted to the same uses of funds as allowed for the federal funds.) Applicants may satisfy this match requirement with cash, in-kind, or a combination of both. See Prison Rape Elimination Act, 34 USC 30301, et seq.
MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
See the current fiscal year’s solicitation available at the Office of Justice Programs web site (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and/or https://www.bja.gov/funding.aspx. Reimbursement. See the following for information on how assistance is awarded/release: Department of Justice Grants Financial Guide (http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm) and Post Award Instructions (http://ojp.gov/funding/Implement/Resources/PostAwardInstructions.pdf).
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
None/Not specified.
Headquarters Office
Tom Talbot
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Assistance
810 7th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531 US
AskBJA@usdoj.gov
Phone: (202) 616-6500
Website Address
http://www.bja.gov
Financial Information
Account Identification
15-0404-0-1-754
Obligations
(Project Grants) FY 18$10,207,126.00; FY 19 FY 20 est $15,500,000.00; FY 17$10,500,000.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Not applicable/available.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
Solicitation guidelines are posted on the Office of Justice Programs web site at http://www.ojp.gov/funding/solicitations.htm. For additional guidance reference the Department of Justice Guide Financial Guide (http://ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm) and Post award Instructions (http://ojp.gov/funding/Implement/Resources/PostAwardInstructions.pdf). Applicable administrative requirements and Department of Justice regulations applicable to specific types of grantees can be found in title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 C.F.R.).
Examples of Funded Projects
Not applicable.