The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services has joined a distinguished list of correctional systems and programs across the United States, as the most recent recipient of the Lucy Webb Hayes award. NDCS Director Scott R. Frakes accepted the award this month at the national conference of the American Correctional Association (ACA) in Nashville, Tennessee.

The award is named in honor of Lucy Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes served as the ACA’s first president in 1870, when the organization was founded, and again from 1883 to 1892. His wife Lucy is credited with influencing his interest in prison issues.

The Hayes award recognizes those agencies dedicated to enhancing public safety and the well-being of those in its care. To qualify for consideration, recipients must be fully accredited by the ACA and fully compliant with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). PREA, passed by Congress in 2003, established national standards around the prevention, detection and response to sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual harassment in prisons, jails and other facilities.