PREA annual report, 2022

2022 PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION
ACT(PREA) ANNUAL REPORT
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE OFFICE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & STANDARDS
Shawanda Reynolds-Cobb Commissioner

PREA ANNUAL REPORT 2022
Contents
Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice........................................................................................ 3 Prison Rape Elimination Act ........................................................................................................ 3 Summary................................................................................................................................. 3
PREA Standard 115.387 - Data Collection ................................................................................. 4 DJJ Established PREA Reporting Codes ............................................................................................ 4
2022 DOJ Survey Of Sexual Violence (SSV-5) .......................................................................... 5 2022 PREA Audit Methodology ........................................................................................... 6 Georgia DJJ PREA Certification ............................................................................................ 7 Georgia DJJ PREA Certification.............................................................................................. 8 Georgia DJJ PREA Certification.............................................................................................. 9 Georgia DJJ PREA Certification............................................................................................ 10 Georgia DJJ PREA Certification .......................................................................................... 11 Corrective Actions ............................................................................................................ 12 Agency Response ............................................................................................................... 13 Addressing Concerns ...................................................................................................... 13 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 13 PREA Grant ........................................................................................................................ 14 Publications Approval ...................................................................................................... 15
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) provides secure housing, programming, mental health services, health care services, and education for juveniles on probation, awaiting adjudication, or who have been adjudicated and committed to the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice reviews data collected and aggregated pursuant to PREA standards:
115.387 is used to assess and improve the effectiveness of the agency's sexual abuse prevention, detection, and response policies, practices, and training to include identifying problem areas and taking corrective action on an ongoing basis.
The Georgia DJJ yearly comparison report began in FY2013. Specific information from all reports is redacted to prevent any threat to the safety and security of secure facilities, community residential programs, court service offices, and youth and staff. The PREA Annual Report redacted information concerning staff and youth personal identifiers.
Prison Rape Elimination Act
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was unanimously passed by Congress and signed on September 4, 2003, by President George H.W. Bush, becoming the first federal legislation to address the issue of sexual assault in a correctional setting. The Act applies to sexual abuse in all custodial corrections settings, including prisons, jails, police lockups, juvenile facilities, and community residential settings. Moreover, the Act applies to all types of sexual misconduct against juveniles, including abuse by fellow juveniles and staff.
Summary
During the reporting period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) OQA database received 148 allegations of PREA incidents for a total of 148 allegations reported for CY 2022. The alleged incidents were reported from one or more of DJJ's 25 Secure Facilities, one or more of DJJ's 92 Community Service Offices, and one or more of DJJ's 75 Residential Program Providers.
Of the 148 alleged PREA incidents, 124 were reported by secure facilities. A review of 25 secure facilities revealed 46 substantiated, 75 unsubstantiated, and two unfounded. One (1) report remains open at the time of this report. The Georgia DJJ is required to submit to the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Statistics and the U. S. Department of Commerce the 46 substantiated cases using the Survey of Sexual Victimization (SSV) Report form. The Office of Investigations PREA Unit provides an SSV report for each substantiated case from secure facilities. The Office of Professional Development and Standards will upload/enter all required SSV reports into the Department of Justice Statistics federal database. Of the 148 alleged PREA incidents, 23 were reported by the community. A review of the 23 reported incidents by the community revealed 10 substantiated, 10 unsubstantiated, and 2 unfounded. One incident reported by the community at this time remains open. A review of one incident reported by the DJJ Central Office remains open at the time of this report.
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PREA Annual Report 2022
PREA Standard 115.387 - Data Collection
Section (C), The incident-based data collection shall include, at a minimum, data necessary to answer all questions from the most recent version of the Survey of Sexual Violence conducted by the Department of Justice.
DJJ Established PREA Reporting Codes
Youth-On Youth (PY)
1. PY1 = Youth-on-Youth Unwanted, Nonconsensual or Coerced Penetration (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Nonconsensual Sexual Acts)
2. PY2 = Youth-on-Youth Unwanted, Nonconsensual or Coerced Non-Penetration Touching (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Abusive Sexual Contact)
3. PY3 = Youth-on-Youth Sexual Harassment (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Sexual Harassment)
Staff-On-Youth (PS)
1. PS1 = Staff-on-Youth Sexual Penetration (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Staff Sexual Misconduct)
2. PS2 = Staff-on-Youth Non-Penetration Touching (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Staff Sexual Misconduct)
3. PS3 = Staff-on-Youth Indecent Exposure (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Staff Sexual Misconduct)
4. PS4 = Staff-on-Youth Sexual Harassment or Voyeurism (Department of Justice SSV-5 Title: Staff Sexual Harassment)
Note: Definitions are based on the PREA standards 115.6 Definitions related to sexual abuse. 2013 2022 Yearly Allegation Comparison Reports.
Yearly Allegation Comparison Report: 2013-2022
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PREA Annual Report 2022
2022 DOJ Survey of Sexual Violence (SSV-5)
General Information: Section #1 - Data Summary
2022 DOJ Survey of Sexual Violence Results (SSV-5) Based on Secure Facilities Only
2022 DOJ Survey of Sexual Violence Results (SSV-5) Based on Secure Facilities Only (127 allegations processed)
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice collects accurate, uniform data for every allegation of sexual abuse and harassment at state-operated juvenile facilities, privately operated secure facilities, and community programs. However, the 2022 data collection for the US Department of Justice Survey of Sexual Violence Report (SSV-5) requires data from only Georgia State-operated juvenile secure facilities (Regional Detention Centers (RYDC) and Youth Development Campuses (YDC).
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PREA Annual Report 2022
2022 PREA Audit Methodology
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) requires that Governors must certify that their respective states are in full compliance with the standards associated with 28 CFR Part 115 (PREA), which took effect on August 20, 2012. These standards apply to state and local confinement facilities, categorized as jails and prisons, community confinement facilities, lockups, and juvenile facilities. All Georgia DJJ facilities are categorized as Juvenile Facilities. The facility types are Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDC) and Youth Development Campuses (YDC). The agency has 25 secure facilities which are state-operated. All are covered under Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Juvenile Facility Standards. The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice contracted with US Department of Justice Certified Juvenile PREA Auditors to conduct required PREA audits. As a result, each DJJ secure facility was audited on the required 43 standards and 350 plus provisions.
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Georgia DJJ PREA Certification
Audit Year 1 of Cycle 3: Audit August 20, 2019 - August 19, 2020
Audit Year 2 of Cycle 3: Audit August 20, 2020 - August 19, 2021
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Georgia DJJ PREA Certification
Audit Year 3 of Cycle 3: Audit August 20, 2021 - August 19, 2022
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Georgia DJJ PREA Certification
Audit Year 1 of Cycle 4: Audit August 20, 2022 - August 19, 2023
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PREA Annual Reports 2022
Georgia DJJ PREA Certification
Audit Year 2 of Cycle 4: Audit August 20, 2023 - August 19, 2024
Audit Year 3 of Cycle 4: Audit August 20, 2024 - August 19, 2025
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Georgia DJJ PREA Certification
Audit Year 1 of Cycle 5: Audit August 20, 2025 - August 19, 2026
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PREA Annual Report 2022

Corrective Actions

Exit briefings were held with the Facility Director, Assistant Director, PREA Coordinator, PREA Compliance Specialist, and the PREA Compliance Manager. The auditor discussed the onsite audit. The auditor had some areas of concern and requested additional supporting documentation for background checks and sexual abuse incident team meetings.
There was a corrective action regarding standard 115.313 Supervision and Monitoring section (C): each secure juvenile facility shall maintain staff ratios of a minimum of 1:8 during resident waking hours and 1:16 during resident sleeping hours, except during limited and discrete exigent circumstances, which shall be fully documented. Only security staff shall be included in these ratios. Any facility that, as of the date of publication of this final rule, is not already obligated by law, regulation, or judicial consent decree to maintain the staffing ratios outlined in this paragraph shall have until October 1, 2017, to achieve compliance.
The auditor's concern was that some of the audited facilities were not meeting the 1:8 ratios consistently.
There was a corrective action regarding standard 115.317 Hiring and Promotion Decisions section (C). Agency policy requires that before it hires any new employees who may have contact with residents, consistent with Federal, State, and local law, makes its best efforts to contact all prior institutional employers for information on substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or any resignation during a pending investigation of an allegation of sexual abuse.
The auditor's concern was that the agency policy is compliant with this standard; however, an interview with the HR Tech 2 and personnel file documentation review revealed that the facility practice did not include obtaining information on

substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or any resignation during a pending investigation of an allegation of sexual abuse from prior institutional employers.
There was a corrective action regarding standard 115.317, Hiring and Promotion Decisions section (F) (G). Agency policy states that material omissions regarding such misconduct or the provision of materially false information shall be grounds for termination.
The auditor's concern was that the agency policy was compliant with this standard. However, a review of staff personnel files promoted within the last 12 months showed that they had not completed the PREA pre-employment questionnaire at promotion.
There was a corrective action regarding standard 115.341, Screening for Risk of Sexual Victimization and Abusiveness section (A) The agency has a policy that requires screening (upon admission to a facility or transfer to another facility) for risk of sexual abuse victimization or sexual abusiveness toward other residents.
The auditor's concern was that some of the audited facilities were not completing the PREA Screening Assessment within 72 hours of intake.
There was a corrective action regarding standard 115.367 Agency Protection Against Retaliation section (C). The agency and/or facility monitors the conduct or treatment of residents or staff who reported sexual abuse and of residents who were reported to have suffered sexual abuse to see if any changes may suggest possible retaliation by residents or staff.
The auditor's concern was that some of the audited facilities were not completing 90 days of retaliation monitoring following the allegation of sexual abuse.

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PREA Annual Report 2022

Agency Response
The agency used the guidance of the National PREA Resource Center Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) dated July 9, 2013: who counts as "security staff" for purposes of the minimum staffing ratio standard for secure juvenile facilities? According to the response, only direct-care staff will count in the mandatory minimum ratios. However, direct-care staff supervisors may generally be counted within the minimum ratios to the extent they are presently assigned to supervise residents primarily or exclusively.
Other persons whose duties involve supervising and controlling residents for a portion of the day may count towards these ratios while actively managing and controlling residents, assuming they have received appropriate training. Appropriate training generally includes training on the supervision and control of delinquent youth, including, among other things, verbal de-escalation techniques, ageappropriate defensive tactics, and crisis intervention.
Standard 115.317: The Agency PREA Coordinator conducted training with facility HR staff via conference call on the importance of obtaining information on substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or any resignation during a pending investigation of an allegation of sexual abuse from prior institutional employers.
The agency implemented the preemployment questionnaire, which will be completed during the background process to ensure that all newly hired or promoted staff answer questions about previous sexual abuse.
Standard 115.341: The agency implemented the requirement that all facilities have more than one staff member trained on how to complete the PREA Screening Assessments. This will be monitored by the facility PREA Compliance Manager.

Standard 115.367: The agency PREA Compliance Specialist trained the facility PREA Compliance Managers on ensuring that the facility monitors youth for 90 days following an allegation of sexual victimization.
Addressing Concerns
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice addressed the auditor's concerns by:
1. The Training Division develops a staff curriculum that meets the training requirements of the National PREA Resource Center Frequently Asked Questions.
2. Teachers, Recreational staff, and counselors of the facilities were trained and are counted in the minimum ratios.
Conclusion
The Department of Juvenile Justice is committed to working with our federal, state, and local partners to reduce and eliminate sexual abuse and sexual harassment in our secure juvenile facilities and community residential programs. The agency works diligently to engage federal and private experts and to obtain technical assistance and resources. In addition, the Department of Juvenile Justice will continue to pursue all efforts to develop and implement "Best Practices" in our processes and systems to improve the level of sexual safety for Georgia's youth in confinement and to enhance services for the youth in our care.

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PREA Annual Report 2022
PREA Grant
The Department of Juvenile Justice was awarded a Prison Rape Elimination Act Grant. As a component of the grant, the Department was funded:
115.312: Contracting with other entities for the confinement of residents o Activity: Cover costs to fund audits for six nonsecure contracted residential sites.
115.315: Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches o Activity: Hire a consultant to convert existing Cross Gender and Transgender search training to an interactive e-learning training for conducting searches of juvenile residents; such searches would include cross-gender and transgender searches.
115.331: Employee Training o Activity: The agency shall train all employees who may have contact with residents on (2) How to fulfill their responsibilities under agency sexual abuse and sexual harassment prevention, detection, reporting, and response policies and procedures.
115.341: Screening for risk of victimization and abusiveness and Obtaining information from residents. o Activity: Hire a consultant to convert Intake training content into an eLearning module. The training would educate staff on how to conduct the intake process, which includes engaging youth to complete the assessment tools, completing the assessments, and providing residents with the appropriate way to give the residents PREA education. o Activity: Partner with subject matter experts (Advocacy Centers) to address the Intake, screening, and classification processes designed to identify potential sexual abuse victims and perpetrators and to make housing, placement, and programming decisions in response while addressing the agency's efforts to prevent and address secondary trauma among agency and/or facility staff members; through appropriate search techniques.
Grant Period: 03/01/23 09/30/24 Award Amount: $169,049
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PREA Annual Report 2022
Publications Approval
Standard 115.388 Provision (C): The agency's report shall be approved by the agency head and made readily available to the public through its website or, if it does not have one, through other means.
Agency Head-Approval Shawanda Reynolds-Cobb Commissioner
Prepared by: Latera M. Davis, Deputy Commissioner Office of Professional Development & Standards
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