Persons with Mental Illnesses

During this reporting period the Nevada Division of Child and Family services discussed the timeline for closing the grant on September 30, 2023. The team also discussed the possibility of obtaining an NCE. The coaches expressed concern about submitting a third NCE request due to the continued lack of progress on overall grant activities. The coaches also reviewed information provided by the agency for a borough-based confinement facility attached to a medical center and provided the agency with guidance.

During this reporting period, JDI coaches were able to schedule check in with officials from the Michigan Department of Corrections at least once a month. Within the last couple of months, Michigan staff enrolled in the PREA Academy course. MDOC staff also had a meeting with their IT department, ADSS, to discuss updating current IT systems that would draw down on allocated grant funds. Unfortunately, ADSS is in the early stages of a complete agency-wide IT overhaul, which means that any updates to the existing system with grant funds would be short-lived.

During this review period, the coach had monthly contact with the grantee. The site is focused on working with their IT vendor to get the new risk assessment into their system. The vendor has been very slow, so there have not been any substantial updates from the site. The grantee is on task and focused on project goals and timeline. The coach has no reservations about the site's ability to complete its activities on time.

During this reporting period, the coach met less frequently with the site during this reporting period. The project has wrapped up grant activities and is just working on satisfying the match requirement.

During this reporting period both OYA and DOC wrapped up final project tasks. They will begin closeout activities in the next reporting period. Both sites continue to be thoughtful in their PREA implementation efforts and they have completed tasks successfully. The grant successfully closed out on 9/30/23.

During this reporting period, the coaches and the site intended to meet once per month, but twice it was determined that there were no major updates and the site provided an email update. The newly hired mental health staff are keeping quite busy doing assessments and follow-ups with people who express prior sexual victimization. This is exactly what they wanted these positions to do, so they are seeing the fruits of their labor.

During this reporting period, the agency coach from JDI is pleased to report that the DOC and OYA are making progress on their individualized plans for coming into PREA compliance. Not only are they making progress on things like policy revisions, educational materials, and creating internal work groups, but they are each growing in their confidence around their jobs. This is especially important for the DYA PREA Coordinator.

During this reporting period, the second-year funds from the Great Lake Leadership Training were reallocated to host the Annual National PREA Coordinators Conference in Buffalo, NY in July 2024. The female curriculum and training execution is complete.

During this reporting period, the PREA education video was discussed and will be gender responsive and intended to comply with the DOJ settlement agreement at the female facility. The RFP is in procurement and a vendor cannot be identified until the RFP is released. Video scripting and purposes. Discussions were conducted with the group regarding the pros/cons of use of actual inmates and staff for videos. Suggestion by some staff to use former inmates, which would be less complicated. Staff will discuss with administration.

During this reporting period, the current PREA screening tool, instructions/procedures, and other related content was reviewed and revised. The agency requested guidance to develop an objective PREA risk assessment to determine the resident risk of victimization or abusiveness. PREA risk assessment instructions will be provided with the revised risk assessment tool. The team discussed numerical weightings for the risk screening tool.
TMG coaches met with the agency contacts for a coaching session on October 25, 2023.