Justice for the Unprotected Against Sexually Transmitted Infections among the Confined and Exposed Act of 2006 or the JUSTICE Act of 2006 - Requires the Attorney General to direct the Bureau of Prisons to allow community organizations to distribute sexual barrier protection devices (e.g., condoms) and to engage in sexually transmitted infection (STI) counseling and prevention education in federal correctional facilities. Prohibits a federal correctional facility from taking adverse action against a prisoner who possesses or uses a sexual barrier protection device.
Expresses the sense of Congress that states should allow for the legal distribution of sexual barrier protection devices in their correctional facilities.
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) conduct a survey of all educational, testing, and other programs in federal and state correctional facilities for reducing the spread of STIs; and (2) develop and implement a five-year strategy to reduce the prevalence and spread of STIs in such facilities.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6083 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6083
To reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections in correctional
facilities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 14, 2006
Ms. Lee (for herself, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms.
Waters, and Mr. Waxman) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections in correctional
facilities, 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 ``Justice for the Unprotected Against
Sexually Transmitted Infections among the Confined and Exposed Act of
2006'' or the ``JUSTICE Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS),
2,186,230 persons were incarcerated in the United States as of
midyear 2005. Between 1995 and midyear 2005, the number of
persons incarcerated in Federal or State correctional
facilities increased by an average of 3.4 percent per year. One
in every 136 United States residents was incarcerated in a
Federal, State, or local correctional facility as of midyear
2005.
(2) As of 2001, 64 percent of incarcerated persons were
racial or ethnic minorities. Based on current incarceration
rates, BJS estimates that 32 percent of African-American males
will enter State or Federal correctional facilities during
their lifetime, compared with 17 percent of Hispanic males and
5.9 percent of White males.
(3) There is a disproportionately high rate of HIV/AIDS
among incarcerated persons, especially among minorities.
Approximately 25 percent of the HIV-positive population of the
United States passes through correctional facilities each year.
BJS determined that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases is 3 times
higher among incarcerated persons than in the general
population. Minorities account for the majority of AIDS-related
deaths among incarcerated persons, with African-American
incarcerated persons 3.5 times more likely than White
incarcerated persons and 2.5 times more likely than Hispanic
incarcerated persons to die from AIDS-related causes.
(4) Studies suggest that other sexually transmitted
infections (STIs), such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis,
genital herpes, viral hepatitis, and human papillomavirus, also
exist at a higher rate among incarcerated persons than in the
general population. For instance, researchers have estimated
that the rate of Hepatitis C (HCV) infection among incarcerated
persons is somewhere between 8 and 20 times higher than that of
the general population.
(5) Correctional facilities lack a uniform system of STI
testing and reporting. Establishing a uniform data collection
system would assist in developing and targeting counseling and
treatment programs for incarcerated persons. Better developed
and targeted programs may reduce the spread of STIs.
(6) Although Congress has acted to reduce the spread of
sexual violence in correctional facilities by enacting the
National Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003, BJS
reported 8,210 allegations of sexual violence in correctional
facilities in 2004.
(7) Approximately 95 percent of all incarcerated persons
eventually return to society. According to one study, every
year approximately 100,000 persons infected with both HIV and
HCV are released from correctional facilities. These
individuals comprise approximately 50 percent of all persons
with both infections in the United States.
(8) According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), latex condoms, when used consistently and
correctly, are highly effective in preventing the transmission
of HIV. Latex condoms also reduce the risk of other STIs.
Despite the effectiveness of condoms in reducing the spread of
STIs, the Bureau of Prisons does not recommend their use in
correctional facilities.
(9) The distribution of condoms in correctional facilities
is currently legal in certain parts of the United States and
the world. The States of Vermont and Mississippi and the
District of Columbia allow condom distribution programs in
their correctional facilities. The cities of New York, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia also allow condom
distribution in their correctional facilities. However, these
States and cities operate fewer than 1 percent of all
correctional facilities. In one study, researchers found that
18 of 31 countries surveyed allowed condom distribution in
correctional facilities.
(10) In 2000 and 2001, researchers surveyed 300
incarcerated persons and 100 correctional officers at the
Central Detention Facility, a correctional facility operated by
the District of Columbia at which condoms are available.
Researchers found that both incarcerated persons and
correctional officers generally supported the condom
distribution program and considered it to be important.
Furthermore, the researchers determined that the program had
not caused any major security infractions. In Canada, the
Expert Committee on AIDS and Prisons surveyed more than 400
correctional officers in the Federal prison system of Canada in
1995 and reported that 82 percent of those responding indicated
that the availability of condoms had created no problems at
their facility.
(11) The American Public Health Association, the United
Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, and the World Health
Organization have endorsed the effectiveness of condom
distribution programs in correctional facilities.
(12) Many correctional facilities in the United States do
not provide comprehensive testing and treatment programs to
reduce the spread of STIs. According to BJS surveys from 2000,
only 899 of the 1,668 Federal and State correctional facilities
(i.e. 54 percent) provided HIV/AIDS counseling programs. Only
1,104 of the 1,584 State correctional facilities (i.e. 70
percent) reported having a policy of treating incarcerated
persons for HCV.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO ALLOW COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE STI
COUNSELING, STI PREVENTION EDUCATION, AND SEXUAL BARRIER
PROTECTION DEVICES IN FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.
(a) Directive to Attorney General.--Not later than 30 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall direct
the Bureau of Prisons to allow community organizations to distribute
sexual barrier protection devices and to engage in STI counseling and
STI prevention education in Federal correctional facilities. These
activities shall be subject to all relevant Federal laws and
regulations which govern visitation in correctional facilities.
(b) Information Requirement.--Any community organization permitted
to distribute sexual barrier protection devices under subsection (a)
must ensure that the persons to whom the devices are distributed are
informed about the proper use and disposal of sexual barrier protection
devices in accordance with established public health practices. Any
community organization conducting STI counseling or STI prevention
education under subsection (a) must offer comprehensive sexuality
education.
(c) Possession of Device Protected.--No Federal correctional
facility may, because of the possession or use of a sexual barrier
protection device--
(1) take adverse action against an incarcerated person; or
(2) consider possession or use as evidence of prohibited
activity for the purpose of any Federal correctional facility
administrative proceeding.
(d) Implementation.--The Attorney General and Bureau of Prisons
shall implement this section according to established public health
practices in a manner that protects the health, safety, and privacy of
incarcerated persons and of correctional facility staff.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DISTRIBUTION OF SEXUAL BARRIER
PROTECTION DEVICES IN STATE PRISON SYSTEMS.
It is the sense of Congress that States should allow for the legal
distribution of sexual barrier protection devices in State correctional
facilities to reduce the prevalence and spread of STIs in those
facilities.
SEC. 5. SURVEY OF AND REPORT ON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY PROGRAMS AIMED AT
REDUCING THE SPREAD OF STIS.
(a) Survey.--The Attorney General, after consulting with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, State officials, and community
organizations, shall, to the maximum extent practicable, conduct a
survey of all Federal and State correctional facilities no later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act and annually
thereafter for five years to determine:
(1) Prevention education offered.--The type of prevention
education, information, or training offered to incarcerated
persons and correctional facility staff regarding sexual
violence and the spread of STIs, including whether such
education, information, or training--
(A) constitutes comprehensive sexuality education;
(B) is compulsory for new incarcerated persons and
for new staff; and
(C) is offered on an on-going basis.
(2) Access to sexual barrier protection devices.--Whether
incarcerated persons can--
(A) possess sexual barrier protection devices;
(B) purchase sexual barrier protection devices;
(C) purchase sexual barrier protection devices at a
reduced cost; and
(D) obtain sexual barrier protection devices
without cost.
(3) Incidence of sexual violence.--The incidence of sexual
violence and assault committed by incarcerated persons and by
correctional facility staff.
(4) Counseling, treatment, and supportive services.--
Whether the correctional facility requires incarcerated persons
to participate in counseling, treatment, and supportive
services related to STIs, or whether it offers such programs to
incarcerated persons.
(5) STI testing.--Whether the correctional facility tests
incarcerated persons for STIs or gives them the option to
undergo such testing--
(A) at intake;
(B) on a regular basis; and
(C) prior to release.
(6) STI test results.--The number of incarcerated persons
who are tested for STIs and the outcome of such tests at each
correctional facility, disaggregated to include results for--
(A) the type of sexually transmitted infection
tested for;
(B) the race and/or ethnicity of individuals
tested;
(C) the age of individuals tested; and
(D) the gender of individuals tested.
(7) Pre-release referral policy.--Whether incarcerated
persons are informed prior to release about STI-related
services or other health services in their communities,
including free and low-cost counseling and treatment options.
(8) Pre-release referrals made.--The number of referrals to
community-based organizations or public health facilities
offering STI-related or other health services provided to
incarcerated persons prior to release, and the type of
counseling or treatment for which the referral was made.
(9) Other actions taken.--Whether the correctional facility
has taken any other action, in conjunction with community
organizations or otherwise, to reduce the prevalence and spread
of STIs in that facility.
(b) Privacy.--In conducting the survey, the Attorney General shall
not request or retain the identity of any person who has sought or been
offered counseling, treatment, testing, or prevention education
information regarding an STI (including information about sexual
barrier protection devices), or who has tested positive for an STI.
(c) Report.--The Attorney General shall transmit to Congress and
make publicly available the results of the survey required under
subsection (a), both for the Nation as a whole and disaggregated as to
each State and each correctional facility. To the maximum extent
possible, the Attorney General shall issue the first report no later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act and shall issue
reports annually thereafter for 5 years.
SEC. 6. STRATEGY.
(a) Directive to Attorney General.--The Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, State
officials, and community organizations, shall develop and implement a
5-year strategy to reduce the prevalence and spread of STIs in Federal
and State correctional facilities. To the maximum extent possible, the
strategy shall be developed, transmitted to Congress, and made publicly
available no later than 180 days after the transmission of the first
report required under subsection 5(c) of this Act.
(b) Contents of Strategy.--The strategy shall include the
following:
(1) Prevention education.--A plan for improving prevention
education, information, and training offered to incarcerated
persons and correctional facility staff, including information
and training on sexual violence and the spread of STIs, and
comprehensive sexuality education.
(2) Sexual barrier protection device access.--A plan for
expanding access to sexual barrier protection devices in
correctional facilities.
(3) Sexual violence reduction.--A plan for reducing the
incidence of sexual violence among incarcerated persons and
correctional facility staff, developed in consultation with the
National Prison Rape Elimination Commission.
(4) Counseling and supportive services.--A plan for
expanding access to counseling and supportive services related
to STIs in correctional facilities.
(5) Testing.--A plan for testing incarcerated persons for
STIs during intake, during regular health exams, and prior to
release, and that--
(A) is conducted in accordance with guidelines
established by the Centers for Disease Control;
(B) includes pre-test counseling;
(C) requires that incarcerated persons are notified
of their option to decline testing at any time;
(D) requires that incarcerated persons are
confidentially notified of their test results in a
timely manner; and
(E) ensures that incarcerated persons testing
positive for STIs receive post-test counseling, care,
treatment and supportive services.
(6) Treatment.--A plan for ensuring that correctional
facilities have the necessary medicine and equipment to treat
and monitor STIs and for ensuring that incarcerated persons
living with or testing positive for STIs receive and have
access to care and treatment services.
(7) Strategies for demographic groups.--A plan for
developing and implementing culturally appropriate, sensitive,
and specific strategies to reduce the spread of STIs among
demographic groups heavily impacted by STIs.
(8) Linkages with communities and facilities.--A plan for
establishing and strengthening linkages to local communities
and health facilities that provide counseling, testing, care,
and treatment services and that may receive persons recently
released from incarceration who are living with STIs.
(9) Other plans.--Any other plans developed by the Attorney
General for reducing the spread of STIs or improving the
quality of health care in correctional facilities.
(10) Monitoring system.--A monitoring system that
establishes performance goals related to reducing the
prevalence and spread of STIs in correctional facilities and
which, where feasible, expresses such goals in quantifiable
form.
(11) Monitoring system performance indicators.--Performance
indicators that measure or assess the achievement of the
performance goals described in paragraph (9).
(12) Cost estimate.--A detailed estimate of the funding
necessary to implement the strategy at the Federal and State
levels for all 5 years, including the amount of funds required
by community organizations to implement the parts of the
strategy in which they take part.
(c) Report.--The Attorney General shall transmit to Congress and
make publicly available an annual progress report regarding the
implementation and effectiveness of the strategy described in
subsection (a). The progress report shall include an evaluation of the
implementation of the strategy using the monitoring system and
performance indicators provided for in paragraphs (9) and (10) of
subsection (b).
SEC. 7. APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this Act for each of the fiscal years
2007 through 2013.
(b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts made available under paragraph
(1) are authorized to remain available until expended.
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) Correctional facility.--The term ``correctional
facility'' means any prison, penitentiary, adult detention
facility, juvenile detention facility, jail, or other facility
to which persons may be sent after conviction of a crime or act
of juvenile delinquency within the United States.
(2) Incarcerated person.--The term ``incarcerated person''
means any person who is serving a sentence in a correctional
facility after conviction of a crime.
(3) Sexually transmitted infection.--The term ``sexually
transmitted infection'' or ``STI'' means any disease or
infection that is commonly transmitted through sexual activity,
including HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, genital
herpes, viral hepatitis, and human papillomavirus.
(4) Sexual barrier protection device.--The term ``sexual
barrier protection device'' means any FDA-approved physical
device which has not been tampered with and which reduces the
probability of STI transmission or infection between sexual
partners, including female condoms, male condoms, and dental
dams.
(5) Comprehensive sexuality education.--The term
``comprehensive sexuality education'' means sexuality education
that includes information about abstinence and about the proper
use and disposal of sexual barrier protection devices and which
is--
(A) based on evidence;
(B) free from bias; and
(C) comprehensive.
(6) Community organization.--The term ``community
organization'' means a public health care facility or a non-
profit organization which provides health or STI related
services according to established public health standards.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of
Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North Mariana
Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the
United States.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7504)
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line