The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) mandates a ZERO TOLERANCE toward all forms of sexual abuse and harassment.
It is the policy of the Department of Youth Services to comply with the requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) to protect its youth from all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment. In accordance with PREA, DYS seeks to prevent, detect, and respond to allegations of such conduct. All allegations of sexual boundary violations, sexual abuse, sexual harassment or retaliation for reporting such conduct against youth by employees shall be considered a serious incident, investigated and may subject employees to appropriate discipline in accordance with these procedures.
Federal legislation passed in 2012 which requires states to come into compliance with a comprehensive set of standards focused on safety from sexual assault for all people confined in correctional settings. This legislation includes youth confined in both staff secure and hardware secure residential programs. In 2014, DYS completed its first round of PREA audits and achieved the highest rating of “compliance” in all programs reviewed. The 2014 PREA audit was the first of a three series process where 1/3 of our programs will be audited each year from now through August 2016.
The Department of Youth Services completed its second round of PREA audits July 2015. In 2016, the Department of Youth Services completed its third round of PREA audits.
The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services is proud to share that the final Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) audit reports were completed in July 2016, and findings by a certified PREA Auditor, who also serves a Correctional Consultant for the US Department of Justice, are available on this webpage.
The PREA auditor concluded this about DYS in the final 3-year summary audit report letter:
“Department of Youth Services’ commitment to the implementation of the PREA standards and PREA compliance across the full spectrum of service providers (state operated programs and contract vendor providers) is second to none. Massachusetts has created a seamless and coordinated implementation of the PREA standards across its ENTIRE juvenile justice.
I do not believe there is any other state that can claim the entire juvenile justice system (intake, detention, residential treatment, aftercare and privately operated programs) in their state is in full compliance with PREA. In my professional opinion, youth involved in the Massachusetts juvenile justice system are some of the safest youth in the country in terms of protection from sexual violence.”
Additional Resources
PREA Annual Reports
These reports summarize the most recent findings of the Survey of Sexual Violence, State Juvenile Systems Summary Form as submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).
2021 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2020 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2019 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2018 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2017 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2016 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2015 Annual Report PREA Investigations
2014 Annual Report PREA Investigations
First Round of Fourth DYS PREA Audit Cycle
Third Round of Third Cycle of PREA Reports
Second Round of Third Cycle of PREA Reports
First Round of Third Cycle of PREA Reports
2020 PREA Audit - Bright Futures
2020 PREA Audit - Center for Human Development (CHD)
2020 PREA Audit - Gandara Alternative Options
2020 PREA Audit - Gandara RISE
2020 PREA Audit - Harvard House
2020 PREA Audit - Judge Connolly
2020 PREA Audit - Northeast Youth Service Center
Third Round of Second DYS PREA Audit Cycle
Second Round of Second DYS PREA Audit Cycle
First Round of Second DYS PREA Audit Cycle 2017
2017 Audit Report - Allen Hall
2017 Audit Report - Bright Futures
2017 Audit Report - The Center for Human Development
2017 Audit Report - Harvard House
2017 Audit Report - Judge Connelly Youth Center
2017 Audit Report - Northeast Youth Service Center
2017 Audit Report - OCY Brockton Boys
Third Round of DYS PREA Reports
2016 PREA Audit - Alliance House
2016 PREA Audit - Amesbury Assessment
2016 PREA Audit - Central Region ALP
2016 PREA Audit - CHD CATP and ALP
2016 PREA Audit - Douglas Academy
2016 PREA Audit - Fall River LEAD
2016 PREA Audit - Grafton Campus (GGP and REACH)
2016 PREA Audit - Leahy Center
2016 PREA Audit - Merrimack RP
2016 PREA Audit - New River Academy