Incarcerated people who are Deaf or hard of hearing often face communication barriers that make it difficult for them to report sexual abuse and access supportive services. In this webinar, presenters will share some foundational information about Deaf and hard of hearing communities and discuss practical strategies for making PREA reporting and access to outside confidential support accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing people in custody.

PREA Standard § 115.71 Criminal and administrative agency investigations provision (e) requires: the credibility of an alleged victim, suspect, or witness shall be assessed on an individual basis and shall not be determined by the person’s status as inmate or staff. This 90-minute webinar covers many aspects of credibility assessments and better defines what is meant by documentation of credibility assessments as mentioned in the Standards, to include a review of the discussion in the PREA Final Rule.

On Thursday, August 3, 2023, Beth hosted a live Q&A session as a follow-up to the July 25, 2023 Credibility Assessments webinar, for which participants pre-submitted questions that were addressed during the live Q&A session.

Do you work for an agency or facility and are you interested in learning more about how to work through the Pre-Audit Questionnaire (PAQ) in the OAS? Are you an auditor who is curious about what agency- and facility-based users see as they work through the PAQ in the OAS? This webinar demonstrates the OAS from the perspective of the PREA Coordinator and PREA Compliance Manager, including how to respond to standards-based questions in the PAQ, how to upload evidence and submit the PAQ, and tips and tricks on how to maximize efficacy and efficiency in the OAS.

This webinar demonstrates the OAS from the auditor’s perspective, including how to review responses and documentation provided by the agency/facility and generate an issue log; make and discuss overall compliance determinations; complete your post-audit reporting information; upload supporting documentation; and submit or generate your report, as well as tips and tricks on how to maximize efficacy and efficiency in the OAS.

During this webinar, we cover PREA Standard 115.64 Staff first responder duties. The purpose of this standard is:

• To ensure that the first security staff member to respond to an allegation or report of sexual abuse will address the victims’ immediate safety and maintain security and control over the crime scene so that any physical evidence is preserved until an investigator arrives. Investigators will then have access to evidence that has not been accidentally or negligently compromised or destroyed, which will safeguard the quality of the investigation.