Attachment 4 - Offender Grievance Policy and Procedure.pdf

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

DEPARTMENT

PROCEDURE MANUAL

D5-3.2 Offender Grievance Effective Date: September 25, 2022

Signature on File

Anne L. Precythe, Department Director

I. PURPOSE: To provide guidelines for offenders and staff members for resolving issues of concern to offenders at the earliest opportunity possible.

A. AUTHORITY: Sections 217.040 and 217.175 RSMo.

B. APPLICABILITY: Each facility housing offenders under the jurisdiction of the division of adult institutions (DAI) or division of offender rehabilitative services (DORS) shall develop standard operating procedures (SOP) based on the guidelines established herein.

C. SCOPE: Nothing in this procedure is intended to give a protected liberty interest to an offender. This procedure is intended to guide staff members’ actions.

II. DEFINITIONS:

A. Abandonment: Closure of a complaint due to the offender’s failure, within applicable time frames, to:

1. file a formal grievance,

2. appeal the chief administrative officer’s (CAO) response,

3. sign receipt of a written response,

4. failure to provide a forwarding address to the grievance officer per this procedure,

5. failure to resubmit a complaint in proper format per this procedure.

B. Abuse of the Offender Grievance Procedure: An informal resolution request (IRR), offender grievance or grievance appeal containing abusive or profane language; threats of physical harm or the submission of intentionally unfounded complaints.

C. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Department Coordinator: A staff member appointed by the department director responsible for monitoring department compliance with state and federal disability laws by working with worksite ADA coordinators and division directors or designees to respond to requests for accommodations, complaints, or grievances.

D. ADA Grievance: A complaint alleging any action prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal Rehabilitations Act, and the Missouri Human Rights Act.

E. Calendar Day: All days, including weekends and holidays.

F. Chief Administrative Officer (CAO): The highest ranking individual at the worksite and in accordance with the CAO reference document available in the department’s computer system. Exception: Staff members at the worksite who do not report to the worksite CAO shall be accountable to the deputy or assistant division directors or central office section heads who are in their chain of command.

STATE 0000000500SL

Attachment 4

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Effective Date: September 25, 2022

G. Department Computer System: All computer systems used by staff members for department business in accordance with the department computer system reference document.

H. Duplicate Informal Resolution Requests (IRR) or Offender Grievances: Those IRRs, offender grievances, and offender grievance appeals filed more than once by the same offender on an issue and which have been, or are currently being, addressed through the offender grievance process.

I. Emergency IRR: A complaint concerning matters that, under regular time limits, will subject the offender to a substantial risk of personal injury or cause other serious risk or irreparable harm to the offender.

J. Exhaustion: Completion of the formal grievance procedure at the appeal level.

K. Grievable Issue: For the purpose of this procedure, all matters related to institutional life except probation and parole matters; actions of state legislature or other federal, state and local agencies; actions in institutions where the offender does not reside, unless said actions personally involve or directly affect the offender; judicial proceedings; and conditions which affect another offender without affecting the grieving offender personally.

L. Grievance Officer: A case manager assigned to perform tasks set forth by this procedure.

M. IRR: The first step in the grievance process which attempts to resolve an offender’s complaint through discussion between the offender and appropriate staff member.

N. Misuse of the Offender Grievance Procedure: Improper or incorrect use of the offender grievance process, including filing of duplicate or expanded IRRs, offender grievances, or offender grievance appeals.

O. Non-Grievable Issues: For the purpose of this procedure, matters concerning probation and parole;

actions of state legislature or other federal, state and local agencies; actions in institutions where the offender does not reside unless said actions personally involve or directly affect the offender; judicial proceedings; conditions which affect another offender without affecting the grieving offender personally.

The grievance appeal responses shall be considered non-grievable.

P. Offender on Offender Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse of an offender, by another offender includes any of the following acts, if the victim does not consent, is coerced into such act by overt or implied threats of violence, or is unable to consent or refuse:

1. Contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however slight.

2. Contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus.

3. Penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument.

4. Any other intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks of another person, excluding contact incidental to a physical altercation.

Q. Offender Sexual Harassment:

1. Repeated or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature by one offender directed toward another offender.

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2. Repeated or unwelcome verbal comments or gestures of a sexual nature to an offender or resident by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or derogatory comments about body or clothing, or obscene language or gestures.

R. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA): Federal law established to address the prevention, detection, response and monitoring of offender sexual abuse and harassment in prisons, jails and community confinement facilities.

S. PREA Emergency Grievance: Utilized when an offender is in substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse.

T. Remedy: An action taken in response to an IRR, grievance or grievance appeal to resolve a grievable issue.

U. Staff Member: Any person who is employed by the department (permanent, temporary, part-time, hourly, per diem) and is paid by the State of Missouri’s payroll system; contracted to perform services on a recurring basis within a department facility (i.e., medical services, mental health services, education services, vocational services, substance use treatment services, etc.) pursuant to a contractual agreement and has been issued a permanent department identification card; a volunteer in corrections; a student intern;

or issued a department identification card or special access in accordance with the department procedure regarding staff member identification.

V. Staff Member on Offender Sexual Abuse: Sexual abuse of an offender by a staff member, including any of the following acts, with or without consent of the offender, detainee, or resident:

1. Contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however slight.

2. Contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus.

3. Contact between the mouth and any body part where the staff member, contractor, or volunteer has the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire.

4. Penetration of the anal or genital opening, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument, that is unrelated to official duties or where the staff member, contractor, or volunteer has the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire.

5. Any other intentional contact, either directly or through the clothing, of or with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks, that is unrelated to official duties or where the staff member, has the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire.

6. Any attempt, threat, or request by a staff member to engage in the activities described in paragraphs (1 through 5) of this definition.

7. Any display by a staff member of his1 uncovered genitalia, buttocks, or breast in the presence of an offender.

8. Voyeurism by a staff member which is an invasion of privacy of an offender, for reasons unrelated to the staff members’ official duties, such as peering at an offender who is using a toilet in his cell to perform bodily functions; requiring an offender to expose his buttocks, genitals, or breasts; or taking images of all or part of an offender’s naked body or of an offender performing bodily functions.

1 All references in this procedure to the male gender are used for convenience only and shall be construed to include both female and male genders.

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W. Unfounded: There is clear and convincing (strong, positive, and free from doubt; highly and substantially more likely to be true than untrue) evidence to show the allegation did not occur (false or baseless).

X. Worksite ADA Coordinator: An individual appointed by the CAO or designee at each institution, office, regional or field services office, to review, address and propose resolutions of requests for accommodations, complaints, or grievances based on the ADA, Rehabilitation Act and Missouri Human

Rights Act at that location.

III. PROCEDURES:

A. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. This procedure shall be available to offenders in institutional libraries and to staff members in the department policy and procedure manual. This procedure shall be kept current in accordance with department procedures regarding procedures and forms development and maintenance.

2. Each offender shall be able to use the offender grievance procedure unless limitations have been placed on the offender as a result of misuse of the offender grievance procedure.

3. Offenders are required to begin the process by filing an informal resolution request (IRR) form except as stated in this procedure.

4. Staff members shall ensure all offenders have the opportunity to pursue resolution of complaints through the offender grievance process and shall assist or arrange assistance for those offenders who cannot complete the forms themselves.

5. The offender grievance flow chart reference document shall assist in understanding the offender grievance process.

6. All allegations of offender sexual abuse are to follow the process in accordance with the prison rape elimination act (PREA) grievance and PREA emergency grievance sections of this procedure.

B. TRAINING OF OFFENDERS AND STAFF MEMBERS

1. Offenders shall receive orientation as part of the reception program at the diagnostic centers and shall receive follow-up education during the reception and orientation process at the facility to which they are assigned.

a. When possible, the institutional grievance officer or designee shall provide instruction.

(1) When training staff members, trainers may use the grievance manual, located in the department computer system.

2. Staff members shall receive instruction on the offender grievance procedure during basic training and core training.

C. REPRISALS FOR USING THE OFFENDER GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

1. No reprisals shall be taken against an offender for use of, or participation in, the offender grievance procedure.

a. Offenders may be held accountable for misusing or abusing the offender grievance procedure as stated in this procedure. This action is not considered a reprisal.

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2. If an offender believes a reprisal has occurred, the offender may obtain an offender grievance appeal form from the grievance officer or designee, shall state the alleged reprisal and bypass filing an IRR and grievance.

3. The offender shall return the offender grievance appeal form to the grievance officer or designee who shall maintain a record of the form and forward the original reprisal and pertinent information such as a copy of the original complaint, conduct violation reports, staff member memos, and classification hearing forms to the appropriate division director or designee for review.

4. If the division director or designee determines the offender may have been subject to a reprisal for use of, or participation in, the offender grievance process, the division director or designee shall respond to the offender’s grievance appeal and shall initiate appropriate action.

5. If the division director or designee determines the complaint is not a reprisal, the original offender grievance appeal form shall be sent back to the grievance officer or designee at the institution from which the complaint was initiated.

6. Upon receipt of the original offender appeal form, the grievance officer or designee shall:

a. deliver a copy of the offender grievance appeal form and division director’s response to the offender; and

b. shall instruct him to resubmit the complaint on the IRR form.

D. ABUSE OR MISUSE OF THE OFFENDER GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

1. All offenders are encouraged to utilize this procedure for the redress of grievances; however, offenders shall refrain from knowingly and deliberately filing improper, duplicate, expanded or frivolous IRRs, offender grievances, or offender grievance appeals.

2. Abuse of the offender grievance procedure:

a. Abusive or profane language: If an offender submits an IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form containing abusive, offensive, or profane language or drawings, the receiving staff member shall consult with the grievance officer or designee.

(1) The IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form shall be entered into the department computer system as outlined in this procedure.

(2) The grievance officer or designee may return a copy of the IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form to the offender and direct him, in writing, to rewrite the form in a proper manner.

(3) The offender shall be given 5 calendar days to resubmit the form.

(4) If the offender fails to resubmit the IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form or resubmit in the proper format, it shall be considered abandoned.

b. Threats: If an offender submits an IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form containing a threat of bodily harm to a specific individual, appropriate action may be taken.

(1) Upon approval of the division director or designee, a conduct violation may be issued for threats. This conduct violation shall not be viewed as retaliation reprisal.

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c. Continued filing of abusive, profane or threatening complaints shall be considered abuse of the procedure and shall be dealt with as stated in this procedure.

3. Misuse of the offender grievance procedure:

a. Duplicate complaints are prohibited. Specific issues or incidents shall be addressed only once by an IRR form, offender grievance form, or an offender grievance appeal form.

b. Expanded complaints are prohibited. Each IRR form, offender grievance form, and offender grievance appeal form is limited to one grievable issue. The addition of other issues during the review process is prohibited.

c. Unfounded complaints are prohibited.

d. Continued filing of duplicate, expanded or unfounded IRR forms, offender grievance forms, or offender grievance appeal forms shall be considered misuse of the procedure and shall be dealt with as stated in this procedure.

4. Restrictions for abuse or misuse of the offender grievance procedure: Offenders who misuse or abuse the grievance procedure shall be brought to the attention of the chief administrative officer (CAO) within 5 working days.

a. The CAO shall review documentation relating to the misuse or abuse.

(1) The CAO may issue a letter of caution.

(2) The CAO may issue a letter of limited filing status, limiting the offender to 2 new complaints per week for a maximum duration of 90 calendar days.

(3) Subsequent restrictions shall be approved by the division director or designee and shall be for no more than an additional 90 calendar days.

(4) When there is evidence to support an unfounded allegation, the CAO or designee shall issue a conduct violation and the CAO or designee shall issue a letter of limited filing status.

b. In no instance shall an IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form, which would qualify for an emergency complaint be denied due to restrictions.

(1) These complaints shall be processed under the procedures for handling emergency grievances until a determination is made that the complaint is not an emergency issue, as stated in this

c. A list of offenders on restriction shall be documented on the offender grievance restriction log form.

E. EMERGENCY IRR

1. Staff members shall determine if an IRR is to be considered an emergency. If considered an emergency, the receiving staff member shall deliver the IRR form to the CAO or designee within the same work day.

a. The CAO or designee may confer with the offender grievance unit at central office to make a determination if the IRR shall be handled as an emergency.

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b. If the IRR is handled as an emergency, the CAO shall immediately refer it to the first official in the chain of command who may be able to initiate immediate corrective steps.

(1) The first official in the chain of command who receives the emergency IRR shall respond to the offender within 7 calendar days.

c. Allegations of offender abuse by a staff member shall immediately be reported in accordance with department procedures regarding offender physical abuse or offender sexual abuse and harassment.

d. If the offender wishes to appeal the response, the offender may continue to the grievance phase of the procedure.

e. All appeals from the IRR that are considered to be emergencies shall be responded to within 7 calendar days from receipt.

2. If not considered an emergency, the offender shall be informed that the complaint shall be processed in accordance with this procedure.

F. LETHAL INJECTION COMPLAINTS

1. If a capital punishment offender wishes to file a grievance on the lethal injection process he may request an offender grievance appeal form from the grievance officer or designee.

a. The grievance officer or designee shall ensure the offender has been sentenced to death and if so shall provide an offender grievance appeal form.

2. The offender shall complete the offender grievance appeal form and return it to the grievance officer or designee.

3. The grievance officer or designee shall maintain a copy and shall forward the original to the offender grievance unit at central office.

4. The offender grievance unit at central office shall immediately record receipt of the offender grievance appeal form in the department computer system and shall record the complaint log number on the

5. The appeal shall then be processed in accordance with this procedure.

G. PROBATION AND PAROLE COMPLAINTS

1. Offenders may grieve all matters related to institutional life, except:

a. probation and parole matters;

(1) All decisions of the board of probation and parole shall be pursued in accordance with the guidelines in the probation and parole procedure regarding the appeal of parole decisions.

(2) Other probation and parole matters, including complaints concerning transitional centers and offender sexual abuse and harassment, may be pursued in accordance with the probation and parole procedure regarding complaints/inquiries and investigations.

(3) The probation and parole procedure regarding complaints, inquiries and investigations is located in the institutional library.

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H. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) IRR, OFFENDER GRIEVANCES, AND OFFENDER

GRIEVANCE APPEALS

1. If an IRR form, offender grievance form, or offender grievance appeal form appears to be related to an alleged physical or mental disability; a corrections case manager (CCM) or grievance staff member shall consult with the worksite ADA coordinator who shall determine whether the complaint is related to the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, or Missouri Human Rights Act.

2. If the complaint is related to the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, or Missouri Human Rights Act, the ADA site coordinator shall notify the grievance officer or designee and offender that it shall be processed as an ADA complaint.

3. An IRR shall be tracked and processed pursuant to this procedure. The ADA site coordinator shall be responsible for the informal discussion with the offender, following the steps outlined in this

4. If the IRR cannot be resolved by discussion, the ADA site coordinator shall conduct an informal, but thorough, investigation when necessary affording all interested persons an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint.

a. The ADA site coordinator shall prepare a written response to the IRR and provide it to the CCM staff member. A review of the response with the offender shall proceed in accordance with this

5. If the offender is not satisfied after completing the IRR process, he may file a formal grievance in

a. The ADA site coordinator shall be given a copy of the offender grievance complaint and shall prepare a written response.

6. Offender appeals of ADA grievances shall be processed in accordance with this procedure.

7. The grievance officer or designee shall refer all ADA grievance appeals to the department ADA coordinator for a response.

8. The ADA site coordinator shall be copied at each level of the offender grievance process.

9. Each ADA site coordinator shall file the ADA complaint or grievances form with the department ADA coordinator on a monthly basis.

I. REMEDIES

1. Remedies shall be determined by the respondent with the goal of appropriately resolving legitimate complaints at the lowest level possible.

2. Each complaint filed in accordance with this procedure shall be answered in writing at each level of decision and review. The response shall state the reason the decision was reached.

a. All grievances filed in accordance with this procedure which are found to be of merit, shall be afforded an appropriate remedy, which may include:

(1) a recommendation for change or modification of policy, procedure or condition;

(2) restitution of funds or monetary compensation for offender property lost or damaged while under the direct control of staff members or due to staff members ‘negligence;

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(A) Replacement or reimbursement of offender property shall be in accordance with department procedures regarding responsibility for lost or damaged offender property.

(B) When an item is replaced or compensation awarded, the grievance staff member shall notify the property officer in writing so this information can be documented in the offender’s personal property file.

(3) correction of records (e.g., dismiss and expunge violations, reissue or rehear conduct violations, reclassifications, sentence calculation); or

(4) other remedies, as appropriate, which may include reasonable accommodation or a reasonable modification to a condition, program, or service.

b. Personnel action taken as a result of a complaint is confidential and shall not be specified in the response to the offender.

c. Consequential or punitive damages shall not be provided.

J. IRR PROCESS

1. Offenders who wish to file an IRR on a grievable issue shall do so within 15 calendar days from the date of the alleged incident. The functional unit manager (FUM) may waive this time period in extenuating circumstances when an offender is unable to file the request within the specified time frame, because he is on outcount from the institution.

a. There shall be no time limit for submitting complaints regarding allegations of offender sexual abuse. All complaints regarding offender sexual abuse shall be processed as outlined in

b. The offender shall request an IRR form from the staff member responsible for processing IRRs and shall state the subject of the complaint (i.e.; sexual abuse, emergency, protective custody issue).

(1) The offender shall be provided one form for each complaint.

(2) If an offender requests more than one form at one time, the offender shall state the subject of each separate complaint.

(3) It shall be the staff member’s discretion to determine if multiple forms shall be provided or if the offender shall be required to turn in the form before another form is provided.

(A) The offender shall provide whatever material or information is available to him.

(B) The time limitation shall be suspended in the event a court orders exhaustion of administrative remedies prior to filing a lawsuit.

(1) If a determination is made that the complaint shall be handled as a court-ordered grievance, the staff member shall immediately provide all information to the grievance officer or

2. Only original IRR forms shall be accepted.

3. If the complaint concerns impounded or confiscated property or censored mail, the CCM shall notify the property room in writing and the property shall be held until the grievance process is finalized.

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4. The grievance officer or designee shall assist or arrange assistance for offenders who cannot complete the forms themselves.

5. Upon receipt, as soon as time permits, the CCM shall record receipt of the form in the department computer system and shall record the complaint log number in the complaint number section of the

IRR form.

a. The first set (XXX-00-0000) shall be the institutional call letters.

b. The second set (XXX-00-0000) shall be the year the complaint was received.

c. The third set (XXX-00-0000) shall be the sequential number of the complaint for that institution for that calendar year.

d. One of the following categories or subcategories shall be indicated in the department computer system as determined by the CCM. The categories and subcategories may include, but are not limited to:

(1) Classification

(A) administrative segregation;

(B) custody score;

(C) cell assignment;

(D) cellmate;

(E) vocational education and educational assignment services;

(F) institutional assignment;

(G) Missouri sex offender program;

(H) protective custody;

(I) program assignment;

(J) initial and reclassification analysis;

(K) strip, dry cell, and suicide watch;

(L) sentencing issues;

(M) transfers;

(N) work assignment; or

(O) adult internal management system

(P) program failure

(2) Activities and Privileges

(A) canteen;

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(B) vocational education and educational assignment services;

(C) food service;

(D) legal service;

(E) mail service;

(F) religious issues;

(G) recreation;

(H) visitation;

(I) legal mail;

(J) censored mail; or

(K) other

(3) Due Process

(A) sanctions imposed;

(B) accuracy of the violation report; or

(C) due process of violation

(4) Harassment

(A) cell search;

(B) discrimination;

(C) sexual harassment by an offender;

(D) sexual harassment by a staff member;

(E) verbal harassment by an offender;

(F) verbal harassment by a staff member;

(G) search of person; or

(H) other

(5) Medical

(A) dental treatment;

(B) medical treatment issues;

(C) mental health services; or

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(D) operational issues

(6) Property

(A) wages;

(B) loss of property;

(C) damage of property;

(D) denial of property; or

(E) offender account issues

(7) Use of Force

(A) excessive use of force;

(B) sexual abuse by an offender;

(C) sexual abuse by a staff member;

(D) physical abuse by an offender; or

(E) physical abuse by a staff member

(8) Other

(A) conditions of confinement;

(B) violation of policy by a staff member;

(C) accident or injury;

(D) failure to protect;

(E) offender grievance procedure;

(F) lethal injection process; or

(G) other

e. Details of the complaint shall be entered in the comments section in the department computer system.

6. The staff member receiving the IRR shall review the complaint to ensure it is within the guidelines as outlined in this procedure.

a. The staff member shall attempt to discuss the issue with the offender prior to developing a response. The staff member shall document the results of the discussion and action taken to resolve the complaint in the appropriate section of the IRR form.

b. If the offender refuses to discuss the complaint, the staff member shall document on the IRR form that the offender refused to discuss the complaint.

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c. The offender shall review the summary of the discussion as documented by the staff member and shall indicate his response by selecting the resolved or unresolved section of the IRR form.

(1) If the complaint is resolved by discussion, the staff member shall provide a copy of the offender IRR form to the offender. It is the offender’s responsibility to copy additional attachments for his personal file prior to submitting the complaint.

d. The offender and staff member shall sign and date the IRR form.

(1) If the offender refuses to sign this portion of the IRR form, the staff member shall document such by notating refused to sign in the offender’s signature box and process the IRR in

e. The staff member shall enter the discussion date in the department computer system.

(1) If the complaint is resolved by discussion, this information shall be entered in the department computer system.

7. If the complaint is not resolved by discussion, the CCM or designee shall investigate and develop a proposed response for the approval of the FUM or designee and the deputy warden or designee.

a. The staff member shall enter the “to reviewer” date in the department computer system.

b. Upon approval, the CCM or designee shall sign as the investigator, the FUM or designee shall sign as the respondent and the deputy warden or designee shall sign as a reviewer.

c. Complaints that are referred to a contract services provider shall be referred to the appropriate section head for investigation and development of a response.

(1) If the contract includes responding to IRRs, offender grievances, and offender grievance appeals, responders shall follow the chain of command within the appropriate section of the contract services provider.

(2) If the complaint is being responded to by a contract services provider, the section head or designee shall sign as respondent on the IRR form.

(3) The deputy warden or designee shall review all responses by contract providers to ensure compliance with department procedures regarding office of professional standards (OPS).

d. The department staff member shall enter the “from reviewer”, date, action, outcome, and outcome date in the department computer system.

e. IRRs shall be responded to as soon as practical, but within 40 calendar days of receipt.

8. The offender shall review the findings and recommendations in the presence of the CCM and indicate his response by marking either the satisfactory or unsatisfactory section of the IRR form.

a. The offender shall sign and date the IRR form.

b. The CCM shall provide a copy of the offender’s IRR form and IRR response if the response is not contained on the form itself to the offender.

(1) It shall be the offender’s responsibility to copy attachments, more than 6 pages, for his personal file prior to submitting the complaint. Staff members shall provide copies of the completed IRR form, the formal response, and no more than 6 pages of attachments.

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c. If the offender refuses to sign the IRR form, such shall be noted in the appropriate signature line of the IRR form and the complaint shall be considered abandoned.

d. The staff member shall enter the offender’s response and date.

e. If the offender chooses to file a grievance, an offender grievance form shall be provided.

9. Upon completion, the original IRR form and all investigative materials shall be forwarded to the grievance office for filing purposes.

10. Expiration of the response time limit during the process shall allow the offender to move to the next stage of the process by notifying the grievance officer or designee.

a. The staff member shall enter the offender response as “exceeded time frame” in the department

11. Offenders who transfer from one institution to another and have a complaint about the institution from which they transferred, may bypass the IRR process and proceed by filing a grievance within 15 calendar days of the transfer date.

12. If an offender is transferred during the processing of an IRR, a copy of the IRR form shall be forwarded to the grievance officer or designee at the receiving institution for processing. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the response as transferred in the department computer

a. The grievance officer or designee at the receiving institution shall issue a copy of the IRR and an offender grievance form to the offender.

b. If the offender wishes to continue the grievance process, he is responsible for submitting the completed offender grievance form within 15 calendar days of receipt of the offender grievance form with the receiving institution’s grievance officer or designee, who shall forward it to the sending institution’s grievance officer or designee for processing.

13. A monthly IRR log form shall be maintained including all IRR forms submitted during each month.

a. All original IRR materials shall be transferred to the grievance officer or designee for filing or formulation of an offender grievance file.

b. A copy of all IRR materials shall be maintained in the IRR file.

K. OFFENDER GRIEVANCE PROCESS

1. After completing the IRR process, if the offender is not satisfied, he may obtain an offender grievance from a designated staff member.

2. A staff member providing the offender grievance form shall enter the complaint number in the designated space of the offender grievance form.

3. The offender shall complete the offender grievance form and submit the original to the designated staff member to submit to the grievance officer or designee. Only the signed original form shall be accepted.

4. A grievance shall be filed within 7 calendar days after the offender receives the response on the IRR form. Failure to do so shall result in the complaint being abandoned.

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5. The time limitation shall be suspended for extenuating circumstances.

a. In the event that a court orders exhaustion of administrative remedies prior to filing a lawsuit.

b. If a determination is made that it shall be handled as a court-ordered grievance, the staff member shall immediately provide all information to the grievance officer or designee.

c. The offender shall provide a copy of the court’s order to be attached to the offender grievance which is filed beyond the time limit.

d. The grievance officer or designee receiving a grievance with an attached court order shall verify the court document for authenticity.

6. The grievance officer or designee shall assist or arrange assistance for those offenders who cannot complete the forms themselves.

7. Upon receipt, each grievance shall be entered in the department computer system including the date of receipt.

8. Within 15 calendar days, the grievance officer or designee shall:

a. prepare a grievance file containing the original IRR form and all documents pertinent to the grievance;

b. forward the offender grievance form to appropriate staff member for response, if the division of offender rehabilitative services (DORS) or a contract service is involved; and

c. if the grievance officer or designee determines that the offender’s complaint is an ADA issue, he shall consult with the worksite ADA coordinator to determine the status and outcome.

9. The grievance officer or designee shall prepare a proposed response using the recommended CAO’s response.

a. Issues that are to be referred to a contract services provider shall be referred to the appropriate section head for investigation and development of a response.

b. If the contract includes responding to grievances, responders shall follow the chain of command within the appropriate section of the contract services provider.

c. The proposed response shall be attached to the offender grievance form and, along with all investigative materials, shall be submitted to the CAO or designee who shall approve, modify or disapprove.

(1) The CAO or designee shall review all responses by contract providers to ensure compliance with department procedures regarding OPS.

d. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the “to reviewer” date in the department computer

e. The CAO or designee shall respond to offender grievances within 40 calendar days of receipt.

f. When finalized for return to the offender, the CAO or designee shall sign the offender grievance

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(1) If the response concerns medical, mental health, education, treatment centers, or contract services, the appropriate section head or designee and the CAO or designee shall co-sign the offender grievance form.

(2) Medical and mental health staff shall utilize the offender grievance log as an independent method of tracking responses to their respective offender grievances.

g. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the “from reviewer”, date, action and outcome date in the department computer system.

10. The offender shall review the response in the presence of the grievance officer or designee and indicate his response by marking either accept or appeal on the offender grievance form.

11. The offender shall sign and date the offender grievance form.

12. The grievance officer or designee shall provide a copy of the offender’s grievance and grievance response if the response is not contained on the form itself. It is the offender’s responsibility to copy attachments for his personal file prior to submitting the complaint.

13. If the offender refuses to sign the form, such shall be noted in the offender signature section of the offender grievance form and the complaint shall be considered abandoned.

14. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the offender’s response and date in the department

15. If the offender chooses to appeal, the grievance officer or designee shall provide the offender with the offender grievance appeal form.

16. Upon completion, the original offender grievance form and all investigative materials shall be maintained in the individual offender grievance file.

17. The grievance officer or designee shall be responsible for monitoring logs and time frames. Problems with meeting response time frames shall be reported to the CAO and monitored by the offender grievance unit at central office.

18. Expiration of the response time limit during the process shall allow the grievant to notify the grievance officer or designee as specified in standard operating procedures (SOP).

a. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the offender response as “exceeded time frame” in the department computer system.

L. APPEAL

1. If the offender wishes to appeal the outcome of a grievance, the offender shall submit the original offender grievance appeal form to the grievance officer or designee within 7 calendar days. Failure to do so shall result in the appeal being considered abandoned.

2. Upon receipt, each appeal shall be entered in the department computer system, including the date of receipt in the grievance office.

3. Appeals shall be referred to the appropriate division director or designee. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the “to central office” date in the department computer system.

4. Upon receipt by central office, the “received in central office” date shall be entered in the department

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5. All appeals shall be reviewed to determine if additional action is necessary and shall then be responded to by the division director or designee.

6. An appeal response shall be provided as soon as practical, but within 100 calendar days of receipt.

7. A designated central office staff member shall enter the action, outcome, outcome date, and returned to institution date in the department computer system and shall return the offender grievance file to the institution.

8. Upon receipt, the grievance office shall enter the “received in institution” date.

9. The offender shall review the response in the presence of the grievance officer or designee.

a. The offender shall sign and date the form.

b. The grievance officer or designee shall provide a copy of the offender grievance appeal form and offender grievance appeal response if the response is not contained on the form itself. It is the offender’s responsibility to copy attachments for his personal file prior to submitting the complaint.

c. If the offender refuses to sign the form, such shall be noted in the offender signature section of the offender grievance appeal form and the complaint shall be considered exhausted.

10. The grievance officer or designee shall enter the offender’s response and date in the department

11. Upon completion, the original offender grievance appeal form, and all investigative materials shall be maintained in the individual offender grievance file.

12. After receiving the offender grievance appeal response, the offender has exhausted the grievance process.

M. PREA GRIEVANCE AND APPEALS

1. The department shall not impose a time limit on when an offender may submit a complaint regarding an allegation of offender sexual abuse.

a. The department shall not require an offender to use the informal grievance process or to otherwise attempt to resolve with staff members, an alleged incident of offender sexual abuse.

b. All complaints pertaining to sexual abuse shall bypass the IRR process and proceed immediately to the grievance stage.

c. If an offender files an allegation of sexual abuse on an IRR form, the IRR shall be stamped

“Grievance” and be treated as a grievance. An offender shall not be required to rewrite the complaint on a grievance form.

2. Offender grievances or offender grievance appeals containing allegations of offender sexual abuse shall be processed in the manner outlined in this section.

a. An offender who alleges offender sexual abuse may submit an offender grievance, or offender grievance appeal without submitting it to a staff member who is subject to the complaint.

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b. A complaint of sexual abuse against a staff member shall not be referred to the staff member for response, nor shall that staff member be the respondent of the complaint.

3. When the staff member responsible for offender grievances or offender grievance appeals receives a complaint alleging offender sexual abuse, a copy of the form shall be forwarded to the shift commander and PREA site coordinator and the offender sexual abuse coordinated response shall be initiated in accordance with department procedures regarding PREA.

4. Offender grievances alleging sexual abuse shall be processed as follows:

a. The complaint shall be reviewed by the CAO or the PREA site coordinator for determination on if the complaint shall be treated as a PREA grievance or PREA emergency grievance.

b. If determined to be a non-emergency the CAO or designee shall respond within 30 calendar days of receipt.

5. Non-emergency offender grievance appeals alleging offender sexual abuse shall be processed as follows:

a. a response shall be provided as soon as practical, but no later than 60 calendar days of receipt.

b. Computation of the 60 day time period shall not include the days between the offender’s receipt of the offender grievance response and receipt of the offender grievance appeal by the offender grievance unit at central office. Appeals shall be referred to the deputy division director or

c. An extension of time to respond, of up to 70 calendar days, may be claimed if the normal time period for response is insufficient to make an appropriate decision.

(1) The offender shall be notified in writing of such extension and shall be provided a date by which a response shall be provided.

d. During the administrative process, including the offender grievance appeal level, if the offender does not receive a response within the time allotted for a reply, including extension, the offender may proceed to the next level of the offender grievance process.

6. Third Party Reporting: Third parties, including fellow offenders, staff members, family members, attorneys, and outside advocates, shall be permitted to assist offenders in filing requests for grievances or appeals relating to allegations of offender sexual abuse. This assistance cannot interfere with the safety and security of the institution.

a. When a staff member receives a request from a third party to file a complaint via the offender grievance procedure on behalf of an offender regarding allegations of offender sexual abuse, the staff member shall require the party making the complaint to submit such in writing.

b. An administrative staff member or a CCM shall then prepare an incident report form for possible investigation or inquiry.

c. When a staff member receives the documentation from the reporting third party, it shall be attached to the grievance form and shall immediately be recorded in accordance with this procedure. A copy of the documentation shall also be forwarded to the CAO or designee in order to be attached to the possible investigation or inquiry.

d. The CCM shall attempt to discuss the issue with the offender (victim) prior to developing a response to confirm if the alleged victim agrees to have the request filed on his behalf.

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e. If the offender declines to have the request processed on his behalf, the CCM shall document the offender’s decision and the complaint shall be considered withdrawn for grievance purposes.

f. If the offender agrees to have the request processed on his behalf, it shall then be documented and shall be processed normally in accordance with this procedure.

7. Nothing in this section shall restrict the agency’s ability to defend against an offender lawsuit on the ground that the applicable statute of limitations has expired.

N. PREA – EMERGENCY GRIEVANCE

1. When a staff member receives the completed grievance form from the offender, the staff member shall record receipt of the form in accordance with this procedure and it shall be taken to the CAO, PREA site coordinator or designee immediately for possible investigation or inquiry.

2. If the CAO or the PREA site coordinator determines that the complaint meets the definition of a PREA emergency grievance, the grievance shall be addressed as follows:

a. The CAO or designee shall prepare an initial response which shall be attached to the grievance and provided to the offender within 48 hours of receipt of the initial filing date. The offender shall sign and date the response.

b. A final response from the CAO or designee shall be provided to the offender within 5 calendar days from the initial filing date. The offender shall sign and date the form.

c. The initial and final response for the grievance shall document the department’s determination whether the offender is in substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse and the action taken in response to the emergency grievance.

d. If the offender is unsatisfied with the final, response for the grievance the offender may file a grievance appeal if they choose.

e. The offender grievance unit at central office shall respond to the grievance appeal within 85 calendar days of receipt.

f. Computation of the 85 calendar day time period shall not include the days between the offender’s receipt of the offender grievance response and receipt of the offender grievance appeal by the offender grievance unit at central office. Appeals shall be referred to the deputy division director or designee.

g. An extension of time to respond, of up to 70 calendar days, may be claimed if the normal time period for response is insufficient to make an appropriate decision.

(1) The offender shall be notified in writing of such extension and shall be provided a date by which a response shall be provided.

h. During the administrative process, including the offender grievance appeal level, if the offender does not receive a response within the time allotted for reply, including extension, the offender may proceed to the next level of the offender grievance process.

O. REPORTS

1. Statistical reports shall be generated for each level of the offender grievance process from the department computer system.

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P. FILE MAINTENANCE

1. IRR files and offender grievance files shall be generated in anticipation of litigation.

2. All relevant reports, requests, statements, procedures or other pertinent evidence or related documents shall be maintained in a file assigned to that IRR, offender grievance or appeal.

3. IRR or grievance files shall be maintained in accordance with department procedures regarding records retention.

a. The IRR or grievance files shall be filed away in the department computer system in regard to the reference document DAI offender grievance officer’s filebound instructions.

Q. ACCESS TO FILES

1. Consistent with ensuring confidentiality and security, staff members who are participating in the investigation and disposition of a grievance shall only access records essential to the resolution of the

IRR or offender grievance, including necessary medical and investigative files.

2. Consistent with ensuring confidentiality and security, the CAO may authorize access to staff members who are participating in an investigation and disposition of an IRR, offender grievance or similar complaint to records essential to the resolution of the issue under review.

3. Offender grievance files and materials therein shall be confidential and shall not be distributed except at the direction of the division director or designee or department director or pursuant to a court order.

4. Copies of investigative materials: such as investigation reports, staff member statements, staff member reports and employee personnel information shall not…