18 U.S.C. § 4051 — Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other individuals

(a) Definitions. “Correctional officer” means a Bureau of Prisons correctional officer. “Covered institution” means a Federal penal or correctional institution. “Director” means the Bureau's Director. “Post-partum recovery” means the first 12 weeks after giving birth. “Primary caretaker parent” has the meaning in section 31903 of the Family Unity Demonstration Project Act (34 U.S.C. 12242); this section does not define it. “Prisoner” means a person incarcerated in a Federal penal or correctional institution, including a vulnerable person. “Vulnerable person” means a person who: (A) is under 21 or over 60; (B) is pregnant; (C) is a crime victim or witness; (D) has filed a nonfrivolous civil-rights claim in Federal or State court; or (E), during incarceration, has been found to have experienced or be experiencing severe trauma or to be a victim of gender-based violence by (i) a court or administrative judicial proceeding, (ii) a corrections official, (iii) the person's attorney or legal-service provider, or (iv) the person.

(b) Geographic placement. (1) The Director must establish a Bureau office that determines prisoner placement. (2) When placing a prisoner, that office must, if the prisoner has children, consider placing the prisoner as close to the children as possible, and must consider any other factor it finds appropriate.

(c) Pregnant prisoners and post-partum recovery. (1) A covered institution may not place a pregnant prisoner or a prisoner in post-partum recovery in a segregated housing unit unless the prisoner presents an immediate risk of harm to the prisoner or another person. (2) Such placement must be limited and temporary.

(d) Intake and assessments. At intake, the Director must assess the need for family-focused programs, including questions about children, interest in parenting resources, and concerns about children or caregiving. The Director must continue assessments to better inform, identify, and recommend services concerning the mother's parental role and family needs.

(e) Parenting classes. The Director must provide voluntary parenting classes to every prisoner who is a primary caretaker parent. The classes must be available to prisoners with limited English proficiency in compliance with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).

(f) Trauma screening. The Director must train every correctional officer and every Bureau employee who regularly interacts with prisoners, including instructors and health-care professionals. The training must include cultural competency and enable them to: (1) identify prisoners who may have mental or physical health needs related to experienced trauma; and (2) refer those prisoners to the proper health-care professional for diagnosis and treatment.

(g) Family-needs training. The Director must train correctional officers and Bureau employees who interact with prisoners' families about: (1) age-appropriate interaction with children and interaction with their caregivers; (2) basic childhood and adolescent development; and (3) basic customer-service skills.

(h) Prisoner health. (1) The Director must ensure that all prisoners receive adequate health care. (2) The Director must provide essential hygiene products, including shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and any other product the Director considers appropriate, without charge. The Director must make rules about distributing and making sanitary products accessible so that each prisoner who needs them receives an amount the prisoner considers sufficient. The rules must also provide that a visitor cannot be barred from visiting because the visitor uses sanitary products. (3) The Director must ensure that prisoners have access to a gynecologist when appropriate. (4) Paragraph (1) does not change the requirements of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.).