North Carolina Combined FY 2021 and FY 2022 Prison Rape Elimination Act Reallocation Funds

The Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC) of the NC Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) serves as the chief advisory body to the Governor and to the Secretary of Public Safety on crime and justice issues. The GCC is the Designated State Agency (DSA), as required by 34 U.S.C. § 11133(a)(1) and (2), responsible for administering the Title II Formula Grant Program and Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Reallocation Funds. The North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (NCJJDP) endeavors to promote and establish an environment that protects juveniles while safeguarding the communities to which they will eventually return. The GCC passes through the PREA Reallocation Funds to NCJJDP in the form of a subaward for purposes of compliance with National PREA standards. The recent agency split between NCDPS and the NC Department of Adult Correction (DAC) provides NCJJDP the opportunity to implement PREA with updated training materials specifically for the juvenile population and to adapt staff training formats to dynamically respond to vacancy rates and operational prioritization.

In keeping with PREA, NCJJDP has adopted a zero tolerance to sexual abuse of juveniles standard, as defined in policy. Critical barriers to the agency's efforts as it continues to administer an effective PREA program and meet national PREA standards are budget reductions, growth in the juvenile confinement population, populations with significant medical and mental health issues, and staff recruitment and retention. NCJJDP increased its efforts to eliminate sexual abuse and sexual harassment and continues to promote sexual abuse prevention for all stakeholders through education about their rights to be free from sexual harassment, from retaliation, ways to report, and the agency's response to allegations. Reinforcement of agency training efforts, now managed by the NCJJDP PREA Office, includes a training and education program for stakeholders. This project seeks to fund federally required PREA audits [CFR 115.401], and enhance internal and external work product, expertise, training, and materials.