The prison rape elimination act (PREA) provides that a state or territory whose governor does not certify full compliance with the standards is subject to the loss of five percent of any DOJ grant…

The Puerto Rico Department of Justice received a $127,758 block grant award from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance to support implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards. The award is part of the PREA Program: Strategic Support for PREA Implementation federal grant program (CFDA #16.735).

Funds will be used to continue efforts to achieve full compliance with PREA standards aimed at preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and harassment in confinement facilities. The recipient will receive technical assistance from a BJA-funded provider to support this work through the award's September 2023 completion date. The goals are reducing sexual abuse and better protecting individuals from such misconduct, in alignment with PREA's mandate.

The prison rape elimination act (PREA) provides that a state or territory whose governor does not certify full compliance with the standards is subject to the loss of five percent of any DOJ grant funds that IT would otherwise receive for prison purposes, unless the governor submits an assurance that such five percent will be used only for the purpose of enabling the state to achieve and certify full compliance with the standards in future years. See 34 U.S.C. 30307(E). The edward byrne memorial justice assistance grant (JAG) program is one of the DOJ grant programs subject to this requirement in fiscal year (FY) 2021. The goals of the FY 2021 PREA reallocation JAG program are to continue implementation of the national standards to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape in order to protect individuals from sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement. States funded under this program are eligible to receive support and assistance from a BJA funded technical assistance provider. The recipient will use funds to continue to work on coming into compliance with PREA standards in order to better protect individuals from sexual abuse and sexual harassment in confinement facilities.