What are the implications for a secure juvenile facility that gets audited and meets full compliance prior to October 1, 2017, but was not audited on Standard 115.313(c) and does not meet the staffing ratio requirement after October 1, 2017? What information does the governor need about compliance with Standard 115.313(c) to certify the state’s or territory’s compliance?
As required under Standard 115.313(c), “…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 set forth in this paragraph shall have until October 1, 2017, to achieve compliance.” Thus, for many or most juvenile facilities, the juvenile staffing ratio requirement will not take effect until October 1, 2017, just over a month into Audit Year 2 of PREA Audit Cycle 2, which begins on August 20, 2017 and ends on August 19, 2018. Therefore, compliance with the juvenile staffing ratio will first impact each governor’s certification determination for Audit Year 2 of Audit Cycle 2, which will be due to the Department on
October 15, 2018. In order for a governor to submit a certification of full compliance with the PREA Standards for Audit Year 2 of Cycle 2, all facilities under the operational control of the executive branch, including facilities operated by private entities on behalf of the state’s or territory’s executive branch, must be in full compliance with all of the PREA Standards by August 19, 2018, which will include full compliance with Standard 115.313.
For example, in a given state or territory, some juvenile facilities may have been audited during Audit Year 1 of Audit Cycle 2 (August 20, 2016 – August 19, 2017), prior to the effective date of the juvenile staffing ratio requirement on October 1, 2017, and been found in full compliance. If these facilities have not yet implemented the juvenile staffing ratio requirement under Standard 115.313(c) by the end of Audit Year 2 of Audit Cycle 2 on August 19, 2018, these facilities would have met their auditing obligations under Standard 115.401. However, they would not be considered fully compliant with the PREA Standards because of their lack of compliance with the staffing ratio requirement in Standard 115.313(c).
For more information regarding the sources of information that governors should consider when making a PREA certification determination, please click here.