[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5575 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5575
To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker
parents, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2018
Mr. Taylor (for himself and Mrs. Watson Coleman) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker
parents, 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 ``Pathway to Parenting Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PRIMARY CARETAKER PARENTS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS IN
FEDERAL PRISONS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 4050. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other
individuals
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) the term `correctional officer' means a correctional
officer of the Bureau of Prisons;
``(2) the term `Director' means the Director of the Bureau
of Prisons;
``(3) the term `primary caretaker parent' has the meaning
given the term in section 31903 of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13882); and
``(4) the term `prisoner' means an individual who is
incarcerated in a Federal penal or correctional institution.
``(b) Geographic Placement.--
``(1) Establishment of office.--The Director shall
establish within the Bureau of Prisons an office that
determines the placement of prisoners.
``(2) Placement of prisoners.--In determining the placement
of a prisoner, the office established under paragraph (1)
shall--
``(A) if the prisoner has children, place the
prisoner as close to the children as possible; and
``(B) consider any other factor that the office
determines appropriate.
``(c) Visitation Rules.--The Director shall promulgate regulations
for visitation between prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and
their family members under which--
``(1) a prisoner may receive visits not fewer than 6 days
per week, which shall include Saturday and Sunday;
``(2) a Federal penal or correctional institution shall be
open for visitation for not fewer than 8 hours per day;
``(3) a prisoner may have up to 3 adult visitors and an
unlimited number of child visitors per visit; and
``(4) a prisoner may have physical contact with visitors
unless the prisoner presents an immediate physical danger to
the visitors.
``(d) Placement in Segregated Housing Units; Prohibition on
Shackling.--
``(1) Placement in segregated housing units.--
``(A) In general.--A Federal penal or correctional
institution may not place a prisoner who is pregnant or
in the first 8 weeks of postpartum recovery in a
segregated housing unit unless the prisoner presents an
immediate risk of harm to others or herself.
``(B) Restrictions.--Any placement of a prisoner
described in subparagraph (A) in a segregated housing
unit shall be limited and temporary.
``(2) Prohibition on shackling.--A Federal penal or
correctional institution may not use instruments of restraint,
including handcuffs, chains, irons, straitjackets, or similar
items, on a prisoner who is pregnant.
``(e) Parenting Classes.--The Director shall provide parenting
classes to each prisoner who is a primary caretaker parent.
``(f) Trauma-Informed Care.--
``(1) In general.--The Director shall provide trauma-
informed care to each prisoner who is diagnosed with trauma.
``(2) Identification and referral.--The Director shall
provide training to each correctional officer and each other
employee of the Bureau of Prisons who regularly interacts with
prisoners, including health care professionals and instructors,
to enable the employees to identify prisoners with trauma and
refer those prisoners to the proper health care professional
for treatment.
``(g) Mentoring by Former Prisoners.--The Director shall promulgate
regulations under which an individual who was formerly incarcerated in
a Federal penal or correctional institution may access such an
institution to--
``(1) act as a mentor for prisoners; and
``(2) assist prisoners in reentry.
``(h) Ombudsman.--The Attorney General shall designate an ombudsman
to oversee and monitor, with respect to Federal penal and correctional
institutions--
``(1) prisoner transportation;
``(2) use of segregated housing;
``(3) strip searches of prisoners; and
``(4) civil rights violations.
``(i) Telecommunications.--
``(1) In general.--The Director--
``(A) may not charge a fee for a telephone call
made by a prisoner to their child; and
``(B) shall make videoconferencing available to
prisoners in each Federal penal or correctional
institution, which shall be free of charge in the case
of videoconference between a prisoner and the
prisoner's child.
``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1)(B)
shall be construed to authorize the Director to use
videoconferencing as a substitute for in-person visits.
``(j) Gynecologist Access.--The Director shall ensure that female
prisoners have access to a gynecologist.
``(k) Use of Sex-Appropriate Correctional Officers.--
``(1) Regulations.--The Director shall promulgate
regulations under which--
``(A) a correctional officer may not conduct a
strip search of a prisoner of the opposite sex unless--
``(i) the prisoner presents a risk of
immediate harm to herself or himself or others;
and
``(ii) no other correctional officer of the
same sex as the prisoner is available to
assist; and
``(B) a correctional officer may not enter a
restroom reserved for prisoners of the opposite sex
unless--
``(i)(I) a prisoner in the restroom
presents a risk of immediate harm to herself or
himself or others; or
``(II) there is a medical emergency in the
restroom; and
``(ii) no other correctional officer of the
appropriate sex is available to assist.
``(2) Relation to other laws.--Nothing in paragraph (1)
shall be construed to affect the requirements under the Prison
Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (42 U.S.C. 15601 et seq.).''.
(b) Substance Abuse Treatment.--Section 3621(e) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Eligibility of primary caretaker parents and pregnant
women.--The Bureau of Prisons may not prohibit a prisoner who
is a primary caretaker parent (as defined in section 4050) or
pregnant from participating in a program of residential
substance abuse treatment provided under paragraph (1) based on
the failure of the individual, before being committed to the
custody of the Bureau, to disclose to any official that the
individual had a substance abuse problem.''.
(c) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``4050. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other
individuals.''.
SEC. 3. OVERNIGHT VISIT PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Bureau
of Prisons;
(2) the term ``primary caretaker parent'' has the meaning
given the term in section 31903 of the Violent Crime Control
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13882); and
(3) the term ``prisoner'' means an individual who is
incarcerated in a Federal penal or correctional institution.
(b) Pilot Program.--The Director shall carry out a pilot program
under which prisoners who are primary caretaker parents and meet
eligibility criteria established by the Director may receive overnight
visits from family members.
(c) Eligibility Criteria.--In establishing eligibility criteria for
the pilot program under subsection (b), the Director shall--
(1) require that a prisoner have displayed good behavior;
and
(2) prohibit participation by any prisoner who has been
convicted of a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of
title 18, United States Code).
SEC. 4. PRENATAL PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Authorization.--The Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall
carry out a pilot program in which provides prenatal care to groups of
not more than 12 pregnant female prisoners (as such term is defined in
section 3) in accordance with this section.
(b) Meeting.--The groups of prisoners described in subsection (a)
shall meet not less than 10 times during pregnancy and the early
postpartum period. Each such meeting shall be for a period of not less
than 90 minutes and not more than 120 minutes, and shall be led by a
facilitator appointed by the Director, who shall facilitate discussions
among the participants, and provide the services described in
subsection (c).
(c) Comprehensive Approach to Prenatal Care.--The pilot program
under this section shall integrate health, physical assessment,
education, childcare skills, and other appropriate support.
(d) Facilitator Requirements.--Each facilitator appointed by the
Director under subsection (b) shall have experience providing a
comprehensive approach to prenatal care in a group setting, and shall
be a physician or nurse practitioner licensed or certified to provide
services in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sections 3 and
4, and, in addition to amounts otherwise made available, section 4050
of title 18, United States Code, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2019 through 2023.
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