Sec. 606. Gender-responsive prison conditions
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/bill/117/hr/7394/ih/section-606·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Director shall ensure all institutions that house female incarcerated persons maintain the same minimum standard of care and conditions as institutions that house male incarcerated persons. Lack of resources shall not be sufficient reason for failing to meet minimum standards of treatment or conditions where such failure constitutes a violation of incarcerated persons’ constitutional or statutory rights. The term standard of conditions means the provision of adequate care and treatment in compliance with the United States Constitution and laws of the United States, and shall at minimum include— safe and orderly conditions in all correctional institutions; a goal to prepare prisoners to live law-abiding lives upon release, and to facilitate prisoners’ reintegration into free society by implementing appropriate conditions of confinement and by sustained planning for such reintegration; protection of incarcerated persons from harm, with restrictions placed on incarcerated persons only that are necessary and proportionate to the legitimate objectives for which those restrictions are imposed; a respect of the human rights and dignity of incarcerated persons, with no incarcerated person being subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or conditions; for a convicted individual, loss of liberty and separation from society should be the sole punishments imposed by imprisonment; appropriate levels of correctional officers and employees; implementation of internal processes for continually assessing and improving each correctional facility; humane and healthful living conditions; necessary health care; freedom from staff harassment and invidious discrimination; freedom of religion and substantial freedom of expression; equal conditions conducive to maintaining healthy relationships with families; equal opportunities to participate in constructive activity and rehabilitative programs; access to gender-responsive and comprehensive community-based reentry programs and planning, including family reunification legal clinics within correctional facilities where present; all Bureau of Prisons physical facilities shall— be adequate to protect and promote the health and safety of incarcerated persons and staff; be clean and well-maintained; include appropriate housing, laundry, health care, food service, visitation, recreation, education, and program space; have appropriate heating and ventilation systems; not deprive prisoners or staff of natural light, of light sufficient to permit reading throughout prisoners’ housing areas, and of reasonable darkness during the sleeping hours; be free from tobacco smoke and excessive noise; allow unrestricted access for prisoners to potable drinking water and to adequate, clean, reasonably private, and functioning toilets and washbasins; and comply with health, safety, and building codes, subject to regular inspection; all Bureau of Prisons facility housing conditions shall— include living quarters of adequate size, with single-occupancy cells as the preferred form of housing, but facilities that must use multiple-person living quarters should provide sufficient staffing, supervision, and personal space to ensure safety for persons and security for their belongings, and to ensure that all living quarters and personal hygiene areas are designed to facilitate adequate and appropriate supervision of incarcerated persons and to allow such persons privacy consistent with their security classification; at a minimum, include a bed and mattress off the floor for each incarcerated person, a writing area and seating, an individual secure storage compartment sufficient in size to hold personal belongings and legal papers, a source of natural light, and light sufficient to permit reading; and sufficient access to showers at an appropriate temperature to enable each incarcerated person to shower as frequently as necessary, and allowing for gender appropriate separation, to maintain general hygiene; living quarters and associated common areas shall be maintained in a sanitary condition; correctional authorities should provide prisoners with clean, appropriately sized clothing suited to the season and facility temperature and to the prisoner’s work assignment and gender identity, in quantities sufficient to allow for a daily change of clothing and permitting incarcerated persons opportunities to mend and machine launder their clothing if the facility does not provide these services; to the extent practicable and consistent with safety concerns, correctional authorities should minimize the periods during the day in which prisoners are required to remain in their cells; incarcerated persons shall be provided daily opportunities for significant out-of-cell time and for recreation at appropriate hours that allows them to maintain physical health and, for incarcerated persons not otherwise prohibited by specific health or safety concerns, to socialize with other incarcerated persons, and at minimum all incarcerated persons shall be offered the opportunity for at least one hour per day of exercise, in the open air if the weather permits; and incarcerated persons should be permitted, whenever practicable, to eat in a congregate setting, whether that is a specialized room or a housing area dayroom, absent an individualized decision that a congregate setting is inappropriate for a particular individual, and incarcerated persons shall be allowed an adequate time to eat each meal.
The Director, in consultation with the Director of the Women and Special Populations Branch, shall ensure that incarcerated persons during the time of menstruation are treated with dignity and respect, and that such incarcerated persons are given appropriate medical and hygienic care, including as necessary for pain relief. This shall include free and adequate supply of menstrual materials as well as sufficient access to toilet paper