How Wellpath's PREA Protections Work — what families should know (check local applicability for Davis County Jail)
Worried about a loved one's safety? PREA—the Prison Rape Elimination Act—is the main framework jails and their contractors use to prevent and respond to sexual abuse and harassment. Here's how Wellpath describes its PREA protections at the corporate level, and what you should verify locally for Davis County Jail.
PREA is a set of national standards from the U.S. Department of Justice (28 C.F.R. Part 115) designed to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and harassment in custody. Wellpath's corporate policy aims to bring its facilities in line with those DOJ standards. Wellpath frames its approach as "zero tolerance." Each facility is expected to maintain a current policy that bans sexual abuse and harassment - and spells out how staff should prevent it, watch for warning signs, and respond to reports. For families, the key point: this corporate policy sets a baseline, but the actual reporting channels and day-to-day enforcement can still vary from one jail to the next.
Wellpath's corporate policy requires facilities to refer all sexual abuse or harassment allegations to a law enforcement agency with authority to conduct criminal investigations. The only exception: allegations that don't involve potentially criminal behavior. The policy also mandates documentation of those referrals. If you're reporting a concern, this paper trail matters. It's one of the few concrete things you can ask about to confirm whether a report was formally routed for investigation - rather than handled informally.
Safety protection to ask about: Wellpath’s policy says that if the accused person is an employee, contractor, or volunteer, there must be no contact between that person and the victim while the investigation is pending.
At the corporate level, Wellpath designates a PREA Coordinator (the Director of Security Operations) with time and authority to oversee PREA compliance across required facilities. This isn't a symbolic title - the policy describes hands-on involvement around incidents and ongoing oversight. Two parts of that oversight matter most for families trying to understand accountability. The corporate PREA Coordinator reviews the results of every sexual abuse investigation and compiles an annual report on findings and corrective actions. That's a corporate layer above whatever the jail does locally.
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- ✓ Confirm whether Wellpath actually provides medical and/or mental health services at Davis County Jail (don’t assume based on other counties or older information).
- ✓ Ask the jail for its PREA reporting options (phone, email, in-person reporting) and the name/title of the local PREA point of contact.
- ✓ Ask who investigates PREA allegations there - specifically whether reports are referred to a law enforcement agency with authority to investigate, and how those referrals are documented.
- ✓ If your concern involves a staff member/contractor/volunteer, ask what steps are taken to ensure there is no contact between the accused person and your loved one while an investigation is pending.
- ✓ If you’re not getting traction locally and you believe escalation is appropriate, ask the jail whether there is a Wellpath PREA Coordinator channel for the facility and how that coordinator is notified of incidents and investigation outcomes.
- ✓ If you choose to contact Wellpath at the corporate level, be clear that you are trying to identify the correct PREA pathway for the facility (not just sending a general complaint).
Wellpath lists a corporate press contact email at corpcomm@wellpath.us. Its corporate contact page also shows a corporate office address (3340 Perimeter Hill Drive, Nashville, TN 37211) and phone numbers (1-800-592-2974; IT Help Desk – 866-631-0051). These are corporate contacts - not the same as a jail's PREA reporting line. If you need to protect someone right now, the fastest path is usually reporting through the facility's PREA process and asking who the investigating law enforcement agency is. Corporate outreach makes more sense as an escalation step: when you need help finding the right internal Wellpath channel, or when you want to document that you raised the issue beyond the facility level.
- Confirm Wellpath’s role at the jail - Ask whether Wellpath is the current medical and/or mental health provider for Davis County Jail, and whether PREA-related medical/mental health responses involve Wellpath staff.
- Get the jail’s PREA reporting instructions in writing - Ask for the exact phone numbers, emails, forms, and hours for reporting sexual abuse/harassment concerns.
- Ask who investigates - Find out whether investigations are handled by local law enforcement or another agency, and what “referral” looks like in practice.
- Ask what documentation exists - If you make a report, ask how it’s logged and how you can reference it later (incident/report number, date/time, receiving office).
- Clarify timelines and notifications - Ask what the jail can tell you about next steps, expected response times, and what information (if any) families are notified about.
- Identify the local PREA compliance lead - Ask for the name/title of the person responsible for PREA compliance at the facility and the best way to reach them.
Verify locally: A corporate PREA policy sets expectations, but the practical details - who takes reports, who investigates, and what families are told - can vary by jail and jurisdiction.
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