Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Audit Function

1 US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE Support for Prison Rape Elimination Act Audit Function STATEMENT OF WORK INTRODUCTION This Statement of Work (SOW) focuses on supporting the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Audit Function. It is directed by the PREA Management Office (PMO) within the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP). The PREA Statute was passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed into law in 2003.1 In 2012, as required by the statute, DOJ released the PREA Standards, which apply to approximately 13,000 confinement facilities across the country, including prisons and jails, juvenile confinement facilities, police lockups, and community confinement facilities.2 There are four sets of standards that correspond to these four facility types; each set includes dozens of standards, and more than 300 provisions that confinement facilities and agencies that operate them must implement to achieve full compliance. The topics covered by the PREA Standards include prevention planning, responsive planning, training and education, screening for risk of sexual victimization and abusiveness, reporting, official response following an inmate/resident/detainee report, investigations, discipline, medical and mental care, data collection and review, and audits and corrective action. The PMO created and implemented DOJ’s PREA Audit Function in 2013 according to PREA Standards 115.401 – 115.405. Since August 2013, DOJ-certified PREA auditors have completed approximately 10,000 PREA audits across the country. In calendar year 2025, more than 1,000 PREA audits were conducted in federal, state, and local confinement facilities. Two amendments—one in 2016 and one in 2018—to the PREA Statute were passed by Congress and signed into law. Both increase the responsibilities and legal authority of the PMO. The 2016 PREA Amendment, under the Justice for All Reauthorization Act,3 requires fingerprint-based criminal records background checks for PREA auditor candidates and certified auditors seeking recertification. The 2018 PREA amendment that is part of the 1 34 U.S.C. § 30301 et seq. 2 28 C.F.R. Part 115. 3 Pub. L. No. 114-324. -- 1 of 19 -- 2 U.S. Parole Commission Extension Act of 20184 codifies the existence of the PMO by naming it specifically, and requires it to: • Evaluate all DOJ-certified PREA auditors’ performance and conduct. • Take remedial or disciplinary action when auditors fail to meet the requirements of their DOJ-issued PREA Auditor Certification Agreement that is included in the PREA Auditor Handbook.5 • Publish the names of auditors who have been decertified, and the reason for decertification. • Establish a system for assigning DOJ-certified auditors to federal, state, and local confinement facilities. OBJECTIVE AND TASKS This SOW supports the PMO’s ongoing efforts to carry out its statutory and regulatory responsibilities related to the PREA Audit Function that are defined in the PREA Statute, the two amendments to it, the PREA Standards, and the PREA Auditor Handbook. It includes five primary tasks to be carried out under the direction of the PMO and the COR: 1. Train, certify, and recertify auditors who evaluate compliance with the PREA Standards in the federal, state, and county/local confinement facilities covered by the standards (i.e., prisons and jails, juvenile facilities, community confinement facilities, and police lockups). 2. Administer the Auditor Oversight Program to evaluate whether DOJ-certified auditors are upholding the auditing responsibilities defined in the PREA Standards and the PREA Auditor Handbook. 3. Manage and enhance the existing Audit Instrument that all auditors must use when conducting audits. This instrument guides auditors in evaluating compliance with the 300+ provisions in the PREA Standards comprehensively, objectively, and reliably, and is integrated into the PREA Online Audit System. The selected contractor will make needed revisions to this instrument in Microsoft Word and PDF formats, and work with the contractor that operates the PREA Online Audit System to ensure that all changes to the Audit Instrument are made in this system. 4. Operate the existing, web-based Audit Assignment System6 to ensure that every audit that is initiated is reviewed and approved before the auditor begins their work on it. This system will be migrated to and accessed via the clearinghouse of audit resources that will be included on the PREA page of the BJA website.7 4 Pub. L. No. 115-274. 5 https://www.prearesourcecenter.org/resource/prea-auditor-handbook. 6 https://www.prearesourcecenter.org/audit/prea-audit-assignment-system 7 https://bja.ojp.gov/program/prea/overview -- 2 of 19 -- 3 5. Assist the PMO in creating and managing a web-based clearinghouse of PREA audit resources for DOJ-certified auditors and representatives from federal, state, and local confinement facilities and agencies who are preparing for audits. This clearinghouse will include existing audit resources—which were developed with BJA funding—that are currently available on the PREA Resource Center (PRC) website.8 These resources will be migrated from the PRC website to the PREA page of the BJA website. These five (5) tasks are briefly described below. More specific information about them is included in the Performance Requirements section of this SOW. Task 1: Training, certifying, and recertifying auditors With direction from the PMO and the COR, the selected contractor shall: • Manage the auditor candidate application process. • Administer the auditor certification process. • Track the certification and recertification statues of every auditor. • Conduct auditor candidate trainings and administer related exams. • Manage probationary certification for newly certified auditors. • Develop and deliver web-based continuing education coursework to auditors, co…