Transgender Inmate Count and Housing Placement (Department of Corrections)

Kathryn Sosin Oeser filed this request with the Department of Corrections of Virginia.

It is a clone of this request.

Multi Request Transgender Inmate Count and Housing Placement
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Tom Nash


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A complete and accurate count of all transgender inmates currently in custody in the Department of Corrections as mandated to be recorded by the Prison Rape Elimination Act including:
-the number of transgender women in custody
-the number of transgender women who are housed in men's facilities
-the number of transgender men in custody
-the number of transgender men who are housed in women's facilities
-the number of transgender people who are taking hormones

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Please note that I am a citizen of Virginia, and am using MuckRock's services to help manage and track my request.

Sincerely,

Tom Nash

From: Department of Corrections

Thank you for your request for records made in accordance with the Virginia
Freedom of Information Act (§2.2-3700 et seq.). You have requested records
relating to:

A complete and accurate count of all transgender inmates currently in
custody in the Department of Corrections as mandated to be recorded by the
Prison Rape Elimination Act including:
-the number of transgender women in custody
-the number of transgender women who are housed in men's facilities
-the number of transgender men in custody
-the number of transgender men who are housed in women's facilities
-the number of transgender people who are taking hormone

-This office has 2 pages responsive to your request; however, pursuant to
Section 2.2-3706(B)(4) of the Code of Virginia, these records are exempt
from mandatory disclosure. Accordingly, the Department is exercising its
discretion to withhold them in their entirety.

Thank you for contacting the Virginia Department of Corrections.
--
Ryan C. McCord, J.D.
Legal Issues Coordinator
Virginia Department of Corrections
Ryan.McCord@vadoc.virginia.gov
Ph: (804)887-8340

From: Kathryn Sosin Oeser

Other state Departments FOIAed for this information have responded to this request in full. PREA mandates these records are kept and it is in the public's interest they are released. Please list your legal justification for withholding them as a refusal to release them will result in legal action. Thank you

From: Department of Corrections

Good afternoon:

The statutory citation for withholding the responsive record, reiterated
below, was provided in the Department's original response to you on April
10th.

*§ 2.2-3706. Disclosure of law-enforcement and criminal records;
limitations.*
*B. Discretionary releases. The following records are excluded from the
mandatory disclosure provisions of this chapter, but may be disclosed by
the custodian, in his discretion, except where such disclosure is
prohibited by law: *
*4. All records of persons imprisoned in penal institutions in the
Commonwealth provided such records relate to the imprisonment; *

Thank you for contacting the Virginia Department of Corrections.
--
Ryan C. McCord, J.D.
Legal Issues Coordinator
Virginia Department of Corrections
Ryan.McCord@vadoc.virginia.gov
Ph: (804)887-8340

From: Kathryn Sosin Oeser

This records request is made as part of a nation-wide request of Depts. of Corrections wherein other states asked have submitted these records which are kept for PREA. I kindly ask that you submit these numbers, which are kept for PREA recording purposes, as other states have as they are in the public interest.

From: Department of Corrections

Mr. Nash,

Thank you for your request for records in accordance with the Virginia
Freedom of Information Act (section 2.2-3700 *et seq.*). You requested
records relating to a count of transgender inmates.

The numbers I am providing today are the count of inmates that have come
forward for a mental health assessment for gender dysphoria, or other
accommodations related to identifying as transgender.

Number of transgender females in custody: 77
Number of transgender women who are housed in men's facilities: 76
Number of transgender men in custody: 19
Number of transgender men who are housed in women's facilities: 19

The number of those on hormones is only an estimate because once an inmate
has been referred to endocrinology it is not tracked whether the inmate
begins or stays on the hormones prescribed. And unfortunately, the Virginia
Department of Corrections does not have electronic health records to help
track those cases more efficiently. Va. Code section 2.2-3704(D) reads ". .
. no public body shall be required to create a new record if the record
does not already exist." But there are approximately 15 transgender males
and 32 transgender females currently taking hormones.

Thank you for contacting the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Patrick S. Bolling
Legal Compliance Manager
Virginia Department of Corrections
6900 Atmore Drive
Richmond, Virginia 23225

804/887.7772

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