Use the following information to write The purpose of the proposed project (i.e., what the project will do and why it is necessary). Each year corrections agencies hire approximately 31,000 staff to work in 
prisons, jails, juvenile detention, community confinement, and lockups across the 
United States1. These staff are often required to attend corrections training academies, attend a 
series of in-person trainings, and/or complete eLearning modules on several corrections topics 
to prepare for their new careers in corrections. Training includes learning their responsibilities 
under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to detect, prevent, and respond to allegations of 
sexual abuse and sexual harassment. PREA was enacted in 2003 to make the prevention of 
sexual abuse and sexual harassment a priority in confinement facilities across the nation. It 
established a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual abuse and harassment in prison, jail, lockup, 
community confinement, and juvenile facilities. Overall, PREA aims to create safer
environments for incarcerated individuals and hold facilities accountable for preventing sexual 
violence. A key component to ensuring that PREA is implemented in facilities is staff training. 
Specifically, PREA Standard 115.31/115.131/115.231/115.331, describes topics the agency or 
facility must provide their new staff prior to having contact with people who are confined. 
Corrections agencies meet this requirement in different ways. Currently, most corrections 
agencies provide PREA training in their corrections academies or learning management 
systems that includes from one hour to several days of training on the requirements in the 
Standard. The requirements are complex, and facilities are placed in corrective action or fail to 
comply with Standard 115.31/115.131/115.231/115.331 during PREA audits each year. Given 
the challenges posed by the complexity of the Standards and the variation in amount and quality 
of training, BJA will support the development of a national training curriculum for corrections 
agencies to assist them in complying with the requirements of training and educating new 
corrections staff on their responsibilities of preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual 
abuse and sexual harassment in confinement. 
The award recipient will develop and deliver a national training curriculum that corrections 
agencies and facilities across the country can use to train new correctional staff with the 
enumerated requirements under the previously mentioned PREA Standards. The recipient will 
develop, pilot, adjust, and finalize a training curriculum that facilities and agencies across the 
country can use and tailor to their specific needs in the four respective facility types that PREA 
covers (prisons and jails, juvenile detention, community confinement, and lock ups). When 
developing this curriculum, the recipient will identify and build on successful and compliant 
existing PREA training that is a part of corrections training academies across the country and
incorporate scenario-based training exercises as well as adult learning theories to assist staff in 
understanding this comprehensive material. The recipient must propose content structure, 
delivery method (e.g., in-person, virtual, and/or hybrid learning models), and materials format 
(e.g., visual aids such as slide decks, lecture, etc.) based on their understanding of facility and 
agency training needs and participant comprehension. These must come together in an off the 
shelf curriculum that agencies can tailor and provide a more robust and compliant initial training, 
and also use portions of the training (e.g., modules) for refresher training as needed. Applicants 
1 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Correctional Officers and 
Bailiffs, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/correctional-officers.htm (visited October 24, 2024).
U.S. Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs | Bureau of Justice Assistance | NOFO | ojp.gov | 9
Eligibility Program 
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may propose four distinct and separate curriculums for each respective facility type identified in 
the PREA Standards or a single curriculum that is modified for each facility type and its 
respective Standard requirements.