New Jersey-2024-S3530-Introduced

An Act establishing the "Female Incarcerated Person's Rights Protection Act," amending P.L.2019, c.410, and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Female Incarcerated Person's Rights Protection Act."

2. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Corrections shall establish a gender responsive risk and needs assessment as part of the institutional classification process. The assessment shall be based upon, but not limited to, the following principles:

(1) acknowledging that gender makes a difference;

(2) creating an environment based on safety, respect, and dignity;

(3) developing policies, practices, and programs that are relational and promote healthy connections to children, family, significant others, and the community;

(4) addressing substance use disorders, trauma, and mental health issues through comprehensive, integrated and culturally relevant services and appropriate supervision; and

(5) providing female incarcerated persons with opportunities to improve their socioeconomic conditions including, but not limited to, ensuring that female incarcerated persons are eligible to participate in the same programs and services, established by the commissioner pursuant to R.S.30:4-92, that are available to male incarcerated persons.

b. The commissioner shall establish a system of community supervision and reentry with comprehensive, collaborative services.

c. The commissioner shall prioritize increased direct supervision and oversight by correctional staff in order to identify potential issues and respond proactively before the issues escalate.

d. The commissioner shall institute mandatory in-service training for every correctional police officer that supervises female incarcerated persons regarding gender responsive policies. The commissioner shall ensure that every correctional police officer that supervises female incarcerated persons completes this training annually.

3. (New section) a. There is established in the Department of Corrections the Division of Women's Services. The division shall have all powers necessary or proper to enable it to carry out the division's duties, functions, and powers under this section. The commissioner shall designate a director of the division and provide appropriate staff to carry out the responsibilities of the division. The division shall develop policies, programs, and services to address:

(1) the specific needs of female incarcerated persons including treatment for physical or sexual abuse or other trauma; parenting issues; and child reunification;

(2) the establishment of a system of structured incentives for female incarcerated persons including, but not limited to, the establishment of:

(a) honors housing;

(b) recreational and group activities;

(c) an advisory group consisting of female incarcerated persons chosen by other female incarcerated persons to act as a liaison between correctional facility administration and the incarcerated persons population;

(3) the implementation of procedures which encourage female incarcerated persons to congregate in common areas rather than in isolated cells; and

(4) any other areas deemed appropriate by the commissioner.

b. Within the Division of Women's Services there is established a Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Compliance Unit. The unit shall be responsible for ensuring the department is in compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, 34 U.S.C. s.30301.

The commissioner shall designate a director of the unit and provide appropriate staff to carry out the responsibilities of the unit.

4. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Corrections shall provide doula services to incarcerated females who are pregnant. A person providing doula services shall be permitted to attend and provide assistance during labor and childbirth.

b. The commissioner shall allow an incarcerated female to have a support person present during labor and childbirth.

c. The commissioner shall provide support services to incarcerated mothers including, but not limited to, parenting classes. The incarcerated mother may participate in all prenatal and parenting classes made available by the commissioner.

d. The commissioner shall make parenting classes and family reunification programs available to any incarcerated person in this State who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within six months.

e. As used in this section, "doula services" means services provided by a trained doula for physical, emotional, or informational support to a pregnant woman before, during, and after the delivery of a child including, but not limited to, support and assistance during labor and childbirth; prenatal and postpartum education; breastfeeding assistance; parenting education; and support in the event that an incarcerated female has been or will become separated from the incarcerated female's child.

5. (New section) The Commissioner of Corrections, upon request by an incarcerated person, shall provide any incarcerated person in this State who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within six months:

a. the opportunity to participate in counseling sessions; and

b. resources from approved nonprofit incarcerated person reentry services, including information concerning organizations and programs, whether faith-based or secular, which provide assistance and services to incarcerated persons reentering society after a period of incarceration.

6. a. (New section) There shall be established within the Department of Corrections, under the Special Investigations Division, a special victim's unit. The unit shall have all powers necessary or proper to thoroughly investigate allegations of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct in State correctional facilities. The unit shall investigate every allegation of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct in a State correctional facility made by a victim or third party through a verbal, written, telephonic, electronic, or anonymous report in accordance with State and federal law.

b. The unit shall be adequately funded and staffed with the requisite number of investigators with expertise and training necessary to carry out the duties of the unit.

c. Every investigator and supervisor assigned to the special victim's unit shall receive ongoing specialized training regarding investigating sexual assault or sexual misconduct allegations, including best practices for conducting gender informed and victim centered investigations.

d. The commissioner shall ensure that there is a confidential interview space in each State correctional facility for reporting sexual assault or sexual misconduct and interviewing victims or witnesses.

e. Every alleged victim shall be treated with dignity and respect and the unit shall ensure confidentiality and safety for the victim.

7. Section 1 of P.L.2019, c.410 (C.30:1B-6.13) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. In addition to the duties of the commissioner set forth in section 6 of P.L.1976, c.98 (C.30:1B-6), the commissioner shall institute a mandatory annual in-service training program of at least 40 hours for each correctional police officer in every State correctional facility. The commissioner shall establish and incorporate in the in-service training program curriculum the concept that the core mission of a State correctional police officer is to treat every inmate with dignity, fairness, and respect.

b. At least four hours of the mandatory 40 hours of training required by subsection a. of this section shall include training in:

(1) sexual assault, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment prevention as required pursuant to the provisions of the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), including but not limited to:

(a) relevant terminology set forth in the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act;

(b) the methods available to report incidents of sexual abuse or sexual harassment of an incarcerated person;

(d) how to access emotional support services for incarcerated persons who are victims of sexual abuse or sexual harassment;

(2) non-fraternization and undue familiarity; and

(3) conditioning and manipulation awareness.

c. Sixteen hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall be dedicated to topics chosen by the training department of each State correctional facility from a list of approved courses developed by the commissioner.

d. The training required in subsection a. of this section shall be in addition to firearms qualification training and use-of force training.

e. Twenty hours of the training required by subsection a. of this section shall include training in:

(1) de-escalation, including training in interacting with combative or threatening inmates and inmates experiencing mental health crises;

(2) minimization of use of force;

(3) cultural diversity and implicit bias;

(4) appropriate methods of engaging with inmates of diverse cultures and religions and inmates who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) community and gender nonconforming inmates;

(5) the rights of inmates;

(6) lifestyle stressors, self-awareness, and self-regulation;

(7) officer and inmate safety;

(8) communication skills; and

(9) any other topic deemed necessary by the commissioner to advance the core mission of treating inmates with dignity, fairness, and respect.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.305, s.2)

8. (New section) The Commissioner of Corrections shall require information regarding sexual abuse and sexual harassment of incarcerated persons to be provided to every incarcerated person at orientation upon in-take and periodically thereafter. The information shall include but not be limited to:

a. duties and responsibilities of the Department of Corrections under State and federal law regarding zero tolerance for sexual abuse and sexual harassment of incarcerated persons;

b. definitions of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, gender, gender identity, trauma informed searches, and privacy;

c. official duties of correctional police officers related to allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment by an incarcerated person and mandatory reporting requirements;

d. the rights of incarcerated persons related to sexual abuse or sexual harassment;

e. methods for reporting sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and retaliation as a result of the report;

f. how to access emotional support and trauma informed services;

g. identifying and addressing retaliatory actions and the commissioner's responsibility to protect against retaliation; and

h. confidentiality requirements regarding the report of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.

9. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment except that the Commissioner of Corrections may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the "Female Incarcerated Person's Rights Protection Act." Under the bill, the Commissioner of Corrections is required to establish a gender responsive risk and needs assessment as part of the institutional classification process based upon certain principles. In addition, the commissioner is required to establish a system of community supervision and reentry with comprehensive, collaborative services and prioritize increased direct supervision and oversight by correctional staff in order to identify potential issues and respond proactively before the issues escalate.

The bill also provides that the commissioner is required to institute a mandatory in-service training for every correctional police officer that supervises female incarcerated persons regarding gender responsive policies and ensure that every correctional police officer that supervises female incarcerated persons completes this training annually.

Further, the bill establishes in the Department of Corrections the Division of Women's Services. The division is to develop policies, programs, and services to address: 1) the specific needs of female incarcerated persons including treatment for physical or sexual abuse or other trauma; parenting issues; and child reunification; 2) the establishment of a system of structured incentives for female incarcerated persons; 3) the implementation of procedures which encourage female incarcerated persons to congregate in common areas rather than isolated cells, and 4) any other areas deemed appropriate by the commissioner. There is also established a Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Compliance Unit within the division that is responsible for ensuring the department is in compliance with the federal PREA.

Under the bill, the commissioner is required to provide doula services to incarcerated females who are pregnant and provide support services to incarcerated mothers, including but not limited to parenting classes. In addition, the commissioner is required to make parenting classes and family reunification programs available to any incarcerated person in the State who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within six months.

The bill also provides that the commissioner is required, upon request of an incarcerated person, to provide any incarcerated person in this State who is scheduled to be released from incarceration within six months the opportunity to participate in counseling sessions and provide resources from approved nonprofit incarcerated person reentry services.

The bill also establishes within the Department of Corrections a special victim's unit which is to be under the Special Investigations Division. The unit is to have the powers necessary or proper to investigate allegations of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct at State correctional facilities. The unit is required to investigate every allegation of sexual assault or other sexual misconduct in a State correctional facility made by a victim or third party through a verbal, written, telephonic, electronic, or anonymous report in accordance with State and federal law. In addition, every investigator is required to receive ongoing specialized training regarding investigating sexual assault or sexual misconduct allegations, including best practices for conducting gender informed and victim centered investigations.

The bill also provides that as part of the mandatory in-service training for correctional police officers, the officers are to receive training regarding relevant terminology set forth in PREA; the methods available to report incidents of sexual abuse or sexual harassment of an incarcerated person; confidentiality requirements related to reports of sexual abuse or sexual harassment of an incarcerated person; and how to access emotional support services for incarcerated persons who are victims of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.

Finally, the bill requires certain information as set forth in the bill regarding sexual abuse and sexual harassment of incarcerated persons to be provided to every incarcerated person at orientation upon in-take and periodically thereafter.