Title: Dignity Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act of 2019 or the Dignity Act
This bill establishes requirements for the treatment of prisoners.
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) must provide adequate health care, provide videoconferencing free of charge, train employees to identify trauma-related health needs, and make specified health products (e.g., tampons) available free of charge.
Additionally, with respect to prisoners who are primary caretaker parents, the BOP must provide parenting classes, allow visitation from family members, and establish a pilot program to allow overnight visits from family members.
Finally, the bill allows a prisoner who is pregnant or a primary caretaker parent to participate in a residential substance abuse treatment program, even if the individual failed to disclose a substance abuse problem.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2034 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2034

To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker 
                    parents, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2019

 Ms. Jayapal (for herself and Ms. Bass) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker 
                    parents, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act 
of 2019'' or the ``Dignity Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE TREATMENT OF PRIMARY CARETAKER PARENTS AND OTHER 
              INDIVIDUALS IN FEDERAL PRISONS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 4051. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other 
              individuals
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `correctional officer' means a correctional 
        officer of the Bureau of Prisons;
            ``(2) the term `covered institution' means a Federal penal 
        or correctional institution;
            ``(3) the term `Director' means the Director of the Bureau 
        of Prisons;
            ``(4) the term `post-partum recovery' has the meaning given 
        the term `postpartum recovery' in section 4322;
            ``(5) the term `primary caretaker parent' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 31903 of the Family Unity 
        Demonstration Project Act (34 U.S.C. 12242);
            ``(6) the term `prisoner' means an individual who is 
        incarcerated in a covered institution, including a vulnerable 
        person; and
            ``(7) the term `vulnerable person' means an individual 
        who--
                    ``(A) is under 21 years of age or over 60 years of 
                age;
                    ``(B) is pregnant;
                    ``(C) identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
                transgender, or intersex;
                    ``(D) is victim of or witness to a crime;
                    ``(E) has filed a nonfrivolous civil rights claim 
                in Federal or State court;
                    ``(F) has a serious mental or physical illness or 
                disability; or
                    ``(G) during the period of incarceration, has been 
                determined to have experienced or to be experiencing 
                severe trauma or to be the victim of gender-based 
                violence--
                            ``(i) by any court or administrative 
                        judicial proceeding;
                            ``(ii) by any corrections official;
                            ``(iii) by the individual's attorney or 
                        legal service provider; or
                            ``(iv) by the individual.
    ``(b) Visitation Rules.--The Director shall promulgate regulations 
for visitation between prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and 
their family members under which--
            ``(1) a prisoner may receive visits not fewer than 6 days 
        per week, which shall include Saturday and Sunday;
            ``(2) a Federal penal or correctional institution shall be 
        open for visitation for not fewer than 8 hours per day;
            ``(3) a prisoner may have up to 5 adult visitors and an 
        unlimited number of child visitors per visit; and
            ``(4) a prisoner may have physical contact with visitors 
        unless the prisoner presents an immediate physical danger to 
        the visitors.
    ``(c) Prohibition on Placement of Pregnant Prisoners or Prisoners 
in Post-Partum Recovery in Segregated Housing Units.--
            ``(1) Placement in segregated housing units.--A covered 
        institution may not place a prisoner who is pregnant or in 
        post-partum recovery in a segregated housing unit unless the 
        prisoner presents an immediate risk of harm to the prisoner or 
        others.
            ``(2) Restrictions.--Any placement of a prisoner described 
        in subparagraph (A) in a segregated housing unit shall be 
        limited and temporary.
    ``(d) Parenting Classes.--The Director shall provide parenting 
classes to each prisoner who is a primary caretaker parent.
    ``(e) Trauma Screening.--The Director shall provide training to 
each correctional officer and each employee of the Bureau of Prisons 
who regularly interacts with prisoners, including each instructor and 
healthcare professional, to enable those correctional officers and 
employees to--
            ``(1) identify a prisoner who has a mental or physical 
        health need relating to trauma the prisoner has experienced; 
        and
            ``(2) refer a prisoner described in paragraph (1) to the 
        proper healthcare professional for treatment.
    ``(f) Ombudsman.--The Attorney General shall designate an ombudsman 
to oversee and monitor, with respect to Federal penal and correctional 
institutions--
            ``(1) prisoner transportation;
            ``(2) use of segregated housing;
            ``(3) strip searches of prisoners; and
            ``(4) civil rights violations.
    ``(g) Telecommunications.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Director--
                    ``(A) may not charge a fee for a telephone call 
                made by a prisoner; and
                    ``(B) shall make videoconferencing available to 
                prisoners in each Federal penal or correctional 
                institution free of charge.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1)(B) 
        shall be construed to authorize the Director to use 
        videoconferencing as a substitute for in-person visits.
    ``(h) Inmate Health.--
            ``(1) Healthcare access.--The Director shall ensure that 
        all prisoners receive adequate healthcare.
            ``(2) Healthcare products.--
                    ``(A) Availability.--The Director shall make the 
                healthcare products described in subparagraph (C) 
                available to prisoners for free, in a quantity that is 
                appropriate to the healthcare needs of each prisoner.
                    ``(B) Quality of products.--The Director shall 
                ensure that the healthcare products provided under this 
                paragraph conform with applicable industry standards.
                    ``(C) Products.--The healthcare products described 
                in this subparagraph are--
                            ``(i) tampons;
                            ``(ii) sanitary napkins;
                            ``(iii) moisturizing soap, which may not be 
                        lye-based;
                            ``(iv) shampoo;
                            ``(v) body lotion;
                            ``(vi) Vaseline;
                            ``(vii) toothpaste;
                            ``(viii) toothbrushes;
                            ``(ix) aspirin;
                            ``(x) ibuprofen; and
                            ``(xi) any other healthcare product that 
                        the Director determines appropriate.
            ``(3) Gynecologist access.--The Director shall ensure that 
        all prisoners have access to a gynecologist as appropriate.
    ``(i) Use of Sex-Appropriate Correctional Officers.--
            ``(1) Regulations.--The Director shall make rules under 
        which--
                    ``(A) a correctional officer may not conduct a 
                strip search of a prisoner of the opposite sex unless--
                            ``(i) the prisoner presents a risk of 
                        immediate harm to the prisoner or others, and 
                        no other correctional officer of the same sex 
                        as the prisoner, or medical staff, is available 
                        to assist; or
                            ``(ii) the prisoner has previously 
                        requested that an officer of a different sex 
                        conduct searches;
                    ``(B) a correctional officer may not enter a 
                restroom reserved for prisoners of the opposite sex 
                unless--
                            ``(i) a prisoner in the restroom presents a 
                        risk of immediate harm to the prisoner or 
                        others; or
                            ``(ii) there is a medical emergency in the 
                        restroom and no other correctional officer of 
                        the appropriate sex is available to assist;
                    ``(C) a transgender prisoner's sex shall be 
                determined according to the sex with which the prisoner 
                identifies; and
                    ``(D) a correctional officer may not search or 
                physically examine a prisoner for the sole purpose of 
                determining the prisoner's genital status or sex.
            ``(2) Relation to other laws.--Nothing in paragraph (1) 
        shall be construed to affect the requirements under the Prison 
        Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.).''.
    (b) Substance Abuse Treatment.--Section 3621(e) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Eligibility of primary caretaker parents and pregnant 
        women.--The Director of the Bureau of Prisons may not prohibit 
        an eligible prisoner who is a primary caretaker parent (as 
        defined in section 4051) or pregnant from participating in a 
        program of residential substance abuse treatment provided under 
        paragraph (1) on the basis of a failure by the eligible 
        prisoner, before being committed to the custody of the Bureau 
        of Prisons, to disclose to any official of the Bureau of 
        Prisons that the eligible prisoner had a substance abuse 
        problem on or before the date on which the eligible prisoner 
        was committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons.''.
    (c) Implementation Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall 
submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on 
the implementation of this section and the amendments made by this 
section.
    (d) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Table of sections.--The table of sections for chapter 
        303 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at 
        the end the following:

``4051. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other 
                            individuals.''.
            (2) Healthcare products.--Section 611 of the First Step Act 
        of 2018 (Public Law 115-391; 132 Stat. 5194) is repealed.

SEC. 3. OVERNIGHT VISIT PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Bureau 
        of Prisons;
            (2) the term ``primary caretaker parent'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 31903 of the Family United 
        Demonstration Project Act (34 U.S.C. 12242); and
            (3) the term ``prisoner'' means an individual who is 
        incarcerated in a Federal penal or correctional institution.
    (b) Pilot Program.--The Director shall carry out a pilot program 
under which prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and meet 
eligibility criteria established by the Director may receive overnight 
visits from family members.
    (c) Eligibility Criteria.--In establishing eligibility criteria for 
the pilot program under subsection (b), the Director shall--
            (1) require that a prisoner have displayed good behavior; 
        and
            (2) prohibit participation by any prisoner who has been 
        convicted of a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of 
        title 18, United States Code).
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