Avery D. Niles, Commissioner Department of Juvenile Justice Jim Shuler, Director 3408 Covington Highway . Decatur, Georgia . 30032-1513 Office of Communications Telephone: (404) 508-7147 . Fax: (404) 508-7341

FYI @ DJJ STORY – SEPTEMBER EDITION DJJ PREA PROGRAM MANAGER’S PROJECT FEATURED IN NATIONAL CORRECTIONS PUBLICATION Commissioner Avery D. Niles is pleased to announce the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice is receiving national acknowledgement for its sexual safety strategies in juvenile justice detention settings. A three-page article on DJJ’s Zero Tolerance action-plans to prevent sexual abuse in youth detention centers appears in this summer’s edition of ‘Corrections Today Magazine’. ‘Corrections Today’ is the official publication of the American Correctional Association. The featured story in the magazine’s Juvenile Justice News section was written by DJJ’s designated PREA Coordinator, Adam Barnett. Entitled “PREA Compliance Measures Under Way at Georgia’s DJJ”, the article details preparations in progress at Georgia’s Department of Juvenile Justice. PREA Coordinator Adam Barnett chronicles agency efforts to meet the extensive national standards required under the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act. Barnett wrote the update at the request of the nationally recognized criminal justice publication. “Mr. Barnett was hired as DJJ’s first statewide PREA Coordinator on March 1, 2012,” said DJJ Commissioner Avery Niles. “Since then, he has come to be regarded as a PREA subject matter expert throughout Georgia,” said Niles. “ Mr. Barnett organized content for our PREA website and now that website ranks fifth nationwide for users running any “PREA” subject research on Google,” the Commissioner said. As PREA Coordinator, Adam Barnett helped unify DJJ’s existing safety and security policies and procedures with the new PREA National Standards. In his ‘Corrections Today’ article, Barnett writes how DJJ’s PREA oversight committee “routinely monitors and reviews all Georgia juvenile detention centers for PREA standards compliance.”

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1 (PAGE TWO) Today, those PREA goals are now “included in DJJ’s Strategic Plan to ensure PREA budget commitments and annual allocations of staff.” The agency PREA Committee evaluates “Georgia’s PREA planning and progress, provides technical assistance, delivers quality assurance documentation, and addresses deficits with corrective action plans to sustain improvements.”

“DJJ is known for engaging in best practices and its transparency in juvenile justice operations,” said Commissioner Niles. “The launch of DJJ’s PREA Oversight Committee has been an extremely useful innovation for implementing PREA standards on schedule and for reviewing priority PREA-related matters for the Office of the Commissioner,” said Niles.

“ Fortunately, many of our existing facility ‘accountability systems’ such as Closed Circuit Television monitoring, incident reporting, and counseling services were already established within PREA guidelines to help ensure the safety and security of Georgia’s youth in our secure facilities,” said PREA Coordinator, Adam Barnett.

“ Our PREA Coordinator documented these details in his article for ‘Corrections Today,” said Commissioner Niles. “But Mr. Barnett’s article also reports how having an agency PREA ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy like the one at DJJ, helps ensure that our committed youth know our rules are strictly enforced -- And that our staff are aware they’re responsible for the sexual safety of youth in DJJ custody.”

The DJJ article notes that more than 65-hundred Georgia juvenile justice staff members, volunteers and contractors have now completed DJJ’s new PREA training.

‘ Corrections Today Magazine’ has an international readership including professional members from every sector of the corrections and criminal justice fields shaping public policy on correctional issues. This is the 14th consecutive year the American Correctional Association has received award-winning recognition for excellence in corrections publications. “The Department of Juvenile Justice is proud to receive this invitation to contribute an article chronicling the nation’s ongoing dialogue about the Prison Rape Elimination Act,” said Coordinator Barnett.

Commissioner Niles said, “DJJ embraces the PREA Zero Tolerance policy against sexual abuse and sexual harassment within the Georgia juvenile justice system and we will continue to make serious and meaningful efforts to guarantee sexual safety inside Georgia’s detention facilities. We’re proud that Adam Barnett’s work was selected to be featured in this manner.” Read the entire content of DJJ’s ‘Corrections Today Magazine’ article at http://www.djjnewsandviews.org/fyiatdjj/acaprearticle.pdf.

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