NCJ Number
222959
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 70 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 44-46
Date Published
February 2008
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes how the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) has implemented the mandates of the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in the State's juvenile justice system.
Abstract
As a first step, DYS requested technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) in order to assist in the development of an implementation plan for PREA. Under a cooperative agreement with NIC, a contractor provided an appraisal of DYS draft policies, and the DYS incorporated the recommendations into the final policies. The DYS's PREA policies address prison rape from the perspective of both staff and youths in DYS care and custody. Under both policies, the focus is on raising staff awareness of the "red flags" associated with sexual misconduct, institutional culture, the impact of staff's individual behavior on the institutional culture, and the importance of professionalism in creating an atmosphere in which youths feel comfortable and safe reporting incidents of sexual misconduct to staff. After the policies were completed, the NIC contractor provided training to all DYS managers in both State and private provider programs. Following the managers' training, all State and provider staff were trained in the content and implementation of the PREA policies. Preventing a sexualized work environment was one of the main topics discussed at the PREA training. In the further implementation of PREA, the DYS will examine relevant statistics, keep track of information on sexual misconduct in the agency, and continue to question the efficiency and effectiveness of current policies and procedures. This continuing self-assessment will help keep both staff and youths safe by ensuring that the youths in DYS care are treated with respect and dignity.