Request for Information_PREA Audits.pdf

Request for Information (RFI) Questions

PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT (PREA) AUDITING

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Federal Bureau of Prisons seeks responses from organizations conducting audits for correctional facilities to ensure compliance with The Prison Rape Elimination Act (2003), 45 U.S.C. § 1560; 42 U.S.C. §§ 15601-15609 (PREA).

Specially the FBOP is seeking information from organizations which are equipped to provide:

Services to audit the FBOP pursuant to the applicable PREA Prison and Jail standards (PREA

Standards) by an unsolicited third-party source, as referenced in Subpart A – Standards for Adult Prisons and Jails (2012), 28 C.F.R. §§115.11 – 115.93.

The organization is responsible for providing one (1) deliverable; namely, a report for each FBOP facility audited, indicating findings regarding the facility’s compliance with all applicable PREA Standards and documented rationale behind the auditor’s determination.

The following questions have been drafted to solicit additional information from the field:

Auditor Qualifications/Availability: Does your organization employ or contract PREA auditors that carry the distinction of “Department of Justice (DOJ) Certified PREA Auditor?” If so, does your organization employ or contract DOJ Certified PREA Auditors that are not associated with the FBOP?

Workload Capability: Does your organization possess the resources to provide audit services to 122 FBOP institutions and 1 Central Office location once each in a 3-year audit cycle as required by the National PREA Standards? If so, please provide the process by which you would create an auditing schedule to address this requirement. In the response, please comment on the number of DOJ-Certified Auditors who work with your organization, as well as speak to any support staff positions your organization may employ (scheduling, billing, quality assurance) to efficiently complete the audit program objectives, including any corrective action periods.

Workload Capability: In a correctional environment, emergencies and modifications to institution operations may arise. In the event an audit must be rescheduled due to such situations, what is your procedure for adapting and ensuring a prompt reschedule date to remain in compliance with the PREA Standards?

Workload Capability: How would your organization, as the contractor, handle a request by an auditor to cancel/reschedule the on-site portion of an audit already initiated due to illness/emergency/etc.? How would your organization traverse the rescheduling process? Please explain the thought process behind your response as thoroughly as possible.

Time Investment: How long does the Contractor expect each individual facility audit to take from initiation of data collection to completion of the final report? Please discuss pre-audit preparation, the on-site audit time, and the time necessary to write the report.

Dissemination of Confidential Information and Personally Identifiable Information (PII): PREA audits require auditors to review a large amount of documentation, the majority of which is confidential or personally identifiable information (PII) and/or subject to Department of Justice and FBOP policies and regulations. What processes does your organization have in place for the request, retrieval, review, storage, and eventual destruction of such information?

Work Product: Given the requirement to post the final PREA report to FBOP’s public website, this report may be seen and referenced in various ways by other government agencies, stakeholders, employees, those incarcerated, and the general public. What tools, methods, and processes would you utilize to provide a comprehensive written report of PREA standard compliance? What tools, methods, and processes would you utilize to assist in your determination of non-compliance? What type of quality assurance mechanism(s) does your organization utilize to ensure accuracy of FBOP facts, auditor analysis, and grammar throughout the report? Also, what control measures does your organization utilize to ensure no information is released without the consent of BOP?

Work Product: What is/would be your organizations policy regarding completion of FBOP requested edits? Specifically, while it is assumed your organization has some sort of quality assurance, as noted above, so to the FBOP has quality assurance that must occur before a report can be posted. While it is understood the report is a work product of the auditor, how amenable is your organization, and the auditors you employ/contract, to allowing a review period for the Agency to ensure items such as names, key phrases, position titles, and logistics are accurate?

How willing is your organization to ensure specific security related information, such as a detailed description of the prison layout or the location of cameras, is redacted from reports prior to their finalization?

Corrective Action Period: Corrective Action Periods are not uncommon occurrences during the PREA audit process. How does your organization require your auditors to interact with the institution during a corrective action period? Specifically, what is your organization’s approach to addressing corrective action? Given that approach, what are your organization’s expectations of the auditor during this process?

Auditor Oversight: If an auditor presents as unwilling or unable to comply with prison safety guidelines and procedures during the course of his/her on-site audit to the extent it was brought to your attention by the client, what would be your method of resolution?

Consideration for Specificity of Worksite: Is your organization willing to individualize and tailor audit planning based on the needs of the FBOP and the mission of each individual institution?

For example: There are multiple missions and Adult in Custody (AIC) populations to whom the FBOP must render services and programming. Is your organization and the auditors you employ/contract willing to work with each institution separately based upon work hours, security level, and the various safety measures put in place to ensure the safety of employees, AICs, and visitors alike?