National Inmate Survey (NIS-4) 2018-19

(Solicitation)
On September 4, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Prison Rape Elimination
Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-79)(“PREA,” or “the Act”). The Act requires the Bureau of
Justice Statistics (BJS) to “carry out, for each calendar year, a comprehensive
statistical review and analysis of the incidence and effects of prison rape.” The
Act further instructs BJS to collect survey data: “the Bureau shall…use surveys
and other statistical studies of current and former inmates….” The law was passed
in part to overcome a shortage of available research on the incidence and prevalence
of sexual violence in correctional facilities.

To implement the Act, BJS developed the National Prison Rape Statistics Program,
which includes four separate data collection efforts: the Survey of Sexual
Victimization (SSV, formerly Survey of Sexual Violence), National Inmate Survey
(NIS), National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC), and National Former Prisoner
Survey (NFPS).

Each of these collections is independent and, while not directly comparable, they
provide measures of the prevalence and characteristics of sexual assault in
correctional facilities. The SSV collects information about incidents of sexual
violence reported to and investigated by adult and juvenile correctional authorities
and characteristics of substantiated incidents. The NIS collects allegations of
sexual assault self-reported by adult and juvenile inmates in correctional
facilities. The NSYC gathers self-reported sexual assault data from youth in
juvenile correctional facilities. The NFPS measures allegations of sexual assault
experienced during a person’s last incarceration, as reported by former inmates
under community active supervision.

This award will provide funding through a cooperative agreement for a collection
agent to administer the fourth round of the NIS (NIS-4). The NIS is an audio
computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) instrument administered to inmates in
correctional facilities to measure the prevalence of sexual assault at the facility
level. Project activities include drawing a national sample of federal and
state-operated prison facilities and privately operated prison facilities that house
inmates under federal or state jurisdiction; administering the survey to sampled
inmates in these facilities; and conducting all data collection, analyses, and
reporting activities.
Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on July 26, 2017.