Topeka ? The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced Friday it has reached a settlement agreement with the Kansas Department of Corrections to prevent sexual abuse of female prisoners at the Topeka Correctional Facility.

The settlement stems from a report by federal investigators in September 2012 that found women prisoners at TCF were subjected to a pattern or practice of sexual abuse.

“This will go a long way toward reducing the harm women have experienced while being held at the TCF,” said Barry Grissom, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas. “The state of Kansas and the KDOC are to be commended for working with the Justice Department to reform the state’s correctional practices.”

TCF is a women’s prison that houses more than 700 inmates.

Corrections Department spokesman Jeremy Barclay said the department was pleased with the settlement.

“We’ve been working with the federal government on this for two years, and we’ve been working on fixing the situation for more than four years,” Barclay said.

He said the prison has undergone several changes in response to the report, including the hiring of more female correctional officers and additional training about gender-specific issues with female prisoners.

“It’s easy to think that a prisoner is a prisoner, but female prisoners have specific needs,” he said.

In addition, he said, the prison has upgraded its security with the addition of 300 security cameras so officials can more closely monitor movement among prisoners and staff.

The report in 2012 found that the state failed to employ accepted practices to protect female prisoners from sexual abuse and misconduct,and that TCF did not have effective procedures to classify and manage predatory guards and prisoners, the Justice Department said.

It also found that TCF lacked effective investigative and grievance processes and did not have enough officers, including female officers, to appropriately supervise and monitor prisoners.

The agreement requires the state to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act National Standards and that the state mandate zero tolerance of all forms of sexual abuse and sexual harassment, the Justice Department said. It also requires the state to implement specific policies and procedures designed to prevent, detect and respond to such conduct.

The state is also required to adopt policies to ensure that it responds effectively to any allegations of sexual abuse or sexual harassment and that it ensures prompt corrective action, up to and including firing any staff member who sexually assaults or abuses an inmate.

Finally, TCF will ensure that all staff are trained on their responsibilities to prevent sexual abuse and on how to identify, detect, report and respond to allegations of sexual abuse. The female prisoners at TFC will similarly be educated on these issues. Implementation of the agreement will be overseen by a monitor who will issue a compliance report every six months.