Operational Support

During the reporting period, Oregon Department of Corrections was able to complete the goals and objectives in the two-year time frame. Oregon DOC used grant funds to allocate a portion of an existing staff person's time to be used on this project. The previous PREA demonstration grant used funds to pay for the newly established PREA Compliance Specialist. This allowed the agency to observe the benefits of having this position. As a result, at the end of the grant the agency decided to make this a permanent, state-funded position.

During this review period, the coach met with the site monthly and via email during the reporting period. The video they produced was in the final editing phase and was just awaiting the Director's review and approval. The coach viewed the video early in the quarter. While technically the video was fine, and covered topics required by the PREA standards, overall the video was a disappointment.

During this reporting period, there has been improved communications between the funder and the sites in-between calls. The DOC has gone in person multiple times to work with the funder on reporting requirements. There have been reasons why DYA has not done this, and DYA continues to submit insufficient information for reporting purposes. The funder has said for a couple of months that they intend to speak with the Director of DYA about the challenges, but this has not happened for a number of reasons.

During this reporting period, TDCJ continued to lack communication from the TDCJ finance department, alerting the person managing the grant about how much remains to be spent in each grant. The grant manager is poised to use the funds but does not want to over or under-spend. The coach is going to reach out to TDCJ. The other struggle has to do with the organization around PREA. The Safe Prisons Program is housed within TDCJ. However, the PREA Coordinator is also the PREA Ombudsman and is not employed by TDCJ, but by the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.

During this reporting period, the Vermont Department of Corrections managed to meet with the coaches on a monthly basis. At the beginning of this period, the Vermont Department of Corrections (VT DOC) grant team wrapped up their regional PCM training, which took place September 30th to October 2nd. The first portion of the training was presented to the PCMs exclusively, and the site asked superintendents and leadership to join the second portion to receive the information alongside PCMs and to share their input and experiences.

During this reporting period, the coach has been in regular contact with Maine DOC. As mentioned in previous reports, the agency has had turnover in the PREA Coordinator position in the last year. The agency appointed an interim PC, but they did not want to make changes to the grant without the permanent PC being in place. A permanent PC was soon appointed and the interim and the new PC seemed poised to quickly move the grant along. For example, they got a translation of the PRC intake video done for those who speak Somali.

Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC) is committed to making sure that transgender people in their custody are supported as they prepare to transfer to facilities that align with their gender identity. As such, the WADOC requested technical assistance to develop workshops to support transgender people in this process. More specifically, the technical assistance will include the development of a series of pre-and posttransfer workshops for both trans men and trans women.

The Colorado Division of Human Services Division of Youth Services (DYS) operates 15 secure youth detention centers across the state. DYS has requested technical assistance to review and revise the agency?s policies and practices related to the objective risk screening and placement decisions of youth. JDI will review the DYS screening and placement policies, making recommendations, as needed.

The following activities occurred during this reporting period:

· Newly released resources were added to the COSSUP Resource Center website, as well as new announcements, funding opportunities, and learning opportunities.

The following Community of Practice activities occurred during this reporting period:

• Hosted a State Agency Community of Practice meeting (July and September 2024)
• Hosted OFR Data System User Group meetings (August, October, and December 2024)
• Hosted Next-of-Kin Interview Learning Community convenings (September 2024)
• Hosted Grantee monthly cohort calls (August – December 2024)