Standards Q&A: Applicability of Female Standards

Q: Our facility only holds incarcerated females on-site for up to 72 hours but not longer. Do Standards B-06 Contraception and F-05 Counseling and Care of the Pregnant Inmate apply to us since the women are not here for more than three days?

A: If your facility houses females in custody for any length of time, whether on a temporary hold basis for two to three days or for extended periods of time, Standards B-06 and F-05 do apply. It should be noted that compliance indicators 9 and 10 in Standard E-02 Receiving Screening would also apply in your situation: if a woman is pregnant, an opiate history must be obtained, and any woman who reports current opiate use must immediately be offered a pregnancy test to avoid opiate withdrawal risks to the fetus. 

Wendy Habert, MBA, CCHP, is director of NCCHC’s accreditation program. Send your standards-related questions to [email protected].