Defunding the PREA Resource Center:
What It Means for Correctional Facilities
Background Information
Effective April 23, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) terminated all funding for the National Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Resource Center (PRC). This action was part of a broader set of cancellations impacting several DOJ grant programs, resulting in the closure of the PRC. Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the PRC was originally established to support the implementation of PREA standards and assist DOJ audits of correctional facilities.
Although many advocacy groups condemned the termination of funding, some of these same organizations were previously outspoken critics of the lack of success in the PRC’s effectiveness in producing any measurable changes or positive effects years prior to its defunding. For many corrections officials, the DOJ PREA standards and audits resulted in considerable administrative and operational challenges including but not limited to:
- Inmate manipulation of housing / classification
- Inmate manipulation of staffing
- Reporting issues (substantiated versus unsubstantiated)
- Increased frivolous inmate-filed lawsuits
- Costly and potentially unsafe mandates that compromised safety and security, such as:
- Announcing officer presence before entering opposite gender cells/areas
- Policy definitions and requirements for juveniles
- Special privileges for LGBT inmates
- DOJ standards that increased liability, such as
- Requirements which conflict directly with state laws (e.g. gender definitions)
- PLRA being bypassed by PREA specific reporting system opposed to an established grievance system.
What Does Defunding Mean for Jails and Prisons?
Some organizations (i.e., ACA, AJA) chose to pursue PRC grant money and in process agreed to promulgate the DOJ PREA standards. This defunding may affect revenue and likely a shift in focus and priorities. Some agencies and even corrections administrators who sought after DOJ PREA certification or were trained as DOJ PREA Auditors may be disappointed because of the investment (time and money) spent. Other agencies may have felt compelled to be DOJ PREA compliant to keep federal ICE and Marshals inmates as it was included in many federal contracts by the DOJ. However, since the standards were first released in 2012, the National Institute for Jail Operations (NIJO) has always maintained its position that compliance to the DOJ PREA standards and dependence upon the PRC is not necessary – that an agency may choose to abide by those standards and be certified but it is a choice, not a requirement. The announcement of the PRC defunding does nothing to change that position and in fact solidifies what NIJO has been teaching for the last thirteen (13) years. Compliance to the Act can be accomplished successfully by agencies who strictly follows the PREA Act by adopting and implementing policies, procedures and practices which promulgate zero tolerance toward sexual abuse and assault within their facilities. The PREA Act provides agencies administrative discretion to decide how best to accomplish this requirement.
Key Legal Clarificiations
- DOJ PREA Standards Are Not Legally Enforceable on State and Local Agencies.
PREA standards are voluntary guidelines, not federal mandates. According to the PREA Act and the Department of Justice, “the DOJ PREA standards cannot be enforced upon states, local agencies and private correctional organizations.” (See 42 USC §15601(b); 28 CFR § 115 Executive Summary 1:A pg 2.)
“ … with respect to the thousands of State and local agencies, and private companies, that own and operate confinement facilities across the country, PREA provides the Department with no direct authority to mandate binding standards for their facilities. Instead, PREA depends upon State and local agencies to make voluntary decisions to adopt and implement them.”
– Executive Order 13132 / DOJ PREA Documentation
- DOJ PREA Standards Do Not Create Law or Liability.
The DOJ PREA standards will not help an agency in court nor will compliance to the standards create a defensible position in a lawsuit. Likewise, not following the standards could not hurt a facility in court – only the violation of clearly established law (rather than noncompliance to a standard) is the measuring factor courts consider.
“The standards are not intended to define the contours of constitutionally required conditions of confinement. Accordingly, compliance with the standards does not establish a safe harbor with regard to otherwise constitutionally deficient conditions involving inmate sexual abuse.”
– U.S. Department of Justice, National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape, Executive Summary, p. 4 (emphasis added).
- Federal Contracts Requiring DOJ PREA Compliance
Written contractual language mandating compliance to the DOJ PREA standards and its certification has gradually entered into housing contracts for both ICE and Marshals. This has become a source of frustration to many agencies who wanted to house federal inmates but did not want to abide by the standards, which require 100% compliance, and other costly and unnecessary requirements. Facilities have reported contract agreements can be over 250 pages!
As the Trump Administration has placed high priority on illegal immigrants, their need to cooperate and work with local law enforcement is paramount. In discussions with Western State Sheriffs’ Association (WSSA) at their March conference in Reno, federal officials met with leadership and also with NIJO administrators to discuss the concerns of these contractual agreements, particularly DOJ PREA. One outcome was the WSSA Resolution which called for the federal government to eliminate all contract language which required agencies to abide by federal standards which were not legally mandated. This included DOJ PREA.
Currently, NIJO is working with WSSA to create a new template for contracts which will make this clear and reduce the size to an estimated five (5) pages or less. Until then, the feds have promised the contractual language will be minimized and eliminate these unnecessary and costly contractual obligations. Some agencies have reported this to be true.
- Relevent Case Law and Guidance for Agencies Moving Forward
Agencies who may seek guidance on how to proceed should refer to existing case law and legal requirements related to the PREA Act. These include:
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- Duty to Protect
- Deliberate Indifference
- Failure to Train
- Failure to Supervise
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Facilities using the NIJO Legal-Based Jail Guidelines® can be confident in their ability to operate within constitutional parameters, regardless of changes to PRC funding or DOJ standards.
Current Information and Next Steps
To date, the DOJ has not issued formal updates or detailed guidance regarding the PRCE closure. The PRC website also remains inactive. Commentary online has largely come from sources critical of the funding decision. Notable articles include:
- https://theappeal.org/trump-doj-defunds-national-prison-rape-resource-center/
- https://whyy.org/articles/department-of-justice-grants-canceled/
- https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/04/just-defunded-a-national-program-to-end-itll-harm-queers-most/
- https://www.dailyjournal.com/article/385382-the-prison-rape-loophole-in-tough-on-crime-politics
NIJO will continue to provide analysis and guidance on this subject on its website, social media platforms, and deeper discussions at upcoming NIJO training events—including JAILCON conferences and ELITE Academies.
Conclusion
In summary, correctional facilities should keep running their jails safely and in accord with constitutional mandates, adhering to what the law requires – specific to its appropriate state statutes, circuit court rulings, and SCOTUS decisions, federal laws and acts. Facilities utilizing the NIJO Legal-Based Jail Guidelines® will know and be able to comply with existing case law to be constitutionally defensible in policy, procedure, and practice. PREA and any of these shifts or announced changes should not scare anyone who is acting according to legal requirements.
You may also be interested in “The Definition of Legal-Based and Why It’s Important to Your Jail”
