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Defender General tells committee prisoners' rights office is stretched; recommends outside review and national expertise
Summary
M. Valerio, the state's Defender General, told the Corrections and Institutions Committee that the Prisoners' Rights Office has expanded but remains under-resourced, that PREA/PRIA complaints and medical-contractor disputes (including a Wellpath surgical-review example) are frequent, and recommended periodic external review and national expert advice.
M. Valerio, the state Defender General, told the House Corrections and Institutions Committee that the Prisoners' Rights Office handles frequent PREA-related complaints and remains chronically under-resourced, and urged the committee to consider outside expert review of correctional medical and housing practices.
"We used to have two people; we doubled the size of the Prisoners' Rights Office — now we have four lawyers and two investigators," Valerio said, describing a unit that is still stretched thin given the volume of complaints. He told lawmakers that the office represents people in custody on conditions-of-confinement issues and that medical care complaints are a leading category of work.
Valerio described recurring operational tensions and examples of how PREA complaints can have downstream effects: transfers, loss of jobs or privileges and, in some cases, allegations of retaliation. He said inmates frequently complain about the PREA complaint process itself and that timeliness and transparency vary across facilities.
Valerio also raised concerns about the department's medical contractor, Wellpath. He said the contractor recently convened a committee to review a previously approved gender-affirming surgery decision from 18 months earlier and warned that the review could lead to litigation. "Wellpath created a committee now to review the decision that was already decided 18 months ago. It's going to end up in litigation at some point," he said.
On the broader policy discussion, Valerio urged the committee to seek national best-practice expertise on housing and medical care for transgender and gender-diverse people in corrections, noting the challenges of balancing safety, security and health in facilities that are not designed around those needs. "You should get somebody who's nationally recognized...to come in and talk to you about what best practices are in housing and addressing the needs of this population," he said.
Valerio emphasized the importance of a robust PREA complaint process and said that, while the system can produce meaningful remedies, its implementation is imperfect. "Our concern...is that [PREA complaints] are handled expeditiously, appropriately and that inmates are not disadvantaged by either making or not making complaints," he said.
The committee thanked Valerio and scheduled additional line-by-line work on H.550 after floor business; lawmakers indicated they may invite outside experts to brief the panel on gender-affirming care and PREA implementation.
No formal committee vote followed the testimony.
