Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 33-103.005 - Informal Grievance
(1) Inmates
shall utilize the informal grievance process prior to initiating a formal
grievance. Inmates may skip this step and initiate the process at the formal
institutional level for issues pertaining to the following: grievance of an
emergency nature, grievance of reprisal, grievance alleging violations of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, medical grievance, grievance involving gain
time governed by rule
33-601.101,
F.A.C. Incentive Gain Time, grievance challenging placement in close management
or subsequent reviews, grievances regarding the return of incoming mail
governed by subsection
33-210.101(14),
F.A.C., grievances regarding disciplinary action (does not include corrective
consultations) governed by rules
33-601.301
-.314, F.A.C., and grievances regarding allegations of sexual abuse as defined
in subsection
33-103.002(17),
F.A.C. Inmates may proceed directly to the Office of the Secretary on the
following issues as governed by subsection
33-103.007(6),
F.A.C.: grievance of emergency nature, grievance of reprisal, protective
management, admissible reading material, sentence structure issues (release
date calculations), and inmate banking issues. Grievances alleging a violation
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) must be
filed directly with the Office of the Secretary using the Request for
Administrative Appeal, Form DC1-303, Request for Administrative Remedy or
Appeal. Form DC1-303 is incorporated by reference in rule
33-103.006,
F.A.C.
(a) An informal grievance shall be
submitted to the designated staff by placing the informal grievance in a locked
grievance box. Locked boxes shall be available to inmates in open population
and special housing units. A staff person from classification, the grievance
coordinator's office, or the assistant warden's office shall be responsible for
the key. If the staff member collecting the grievances is from classification
or the assistant warden's office, he or she shall retrieve the grievances and
appeals and deliver them to the institutional grievance coordinator in a locked
container. The warden shall designate one (1) staff member who shall log all
informal grievances and distribute to the appropriate department or staff.
Grievances shall be picked up and forwarded by the institutions daily Monday
through Friday.
(b) After being
logged, informal grievances shall be forwarded to the staff member who is
responsible in the particular area of the problem, the classification team, the
appropriate section head, or other institutional staff. When an informal
grievance is received by the reviewing authority as defined in rule
33-103.002,
F.A.C., the reviewing authority shall respond to the grievance or refer the
grievance to a staff member for response.
(c) The inmate shall not file duplicate
informal grievances with different staff members.
(2) When submitting an informal grievance,
the inmate shall use Form DC6-236, Inmate Request, and shall:
(a) Check the appropriate box indicating to
whom he is submitting the informal grievance. If the inmate checks the box
designated "other," and elects to name a specific staff member, the final
determination of the appropriate person to handle the grievance shall
ultimately be made by staff. The inmate shall complete the other sections of
the heading;
(b) On the line
reading "Request," the inmate shall check the box to indicate that Form DC6-236
is being used as an "Informal Grievance." Failure to do this will cause the
request to be handled routinely and it will not be considered an informal
grievance. This will also cause the form to be unacceptable as documentation of
having met the informal step if it is attached to a formal grievance submitted
at the next step.
1. The act of asking
questions or seeking information, guidance, or assistance is not considered to
be a grievance. Answers to inmate requests of this nature shall not be
considered as documentation of having met the informal step if they are
attached to a formal grievance submitted at the next step. Inmate requests
improperly submitted as informal grievances shall be treated as inmate requests
and the inmate shall be advised that he cannot appeal the response.
2. When completing the inmate request form
for submission as an informal grievance, the inmate shall ensure that the form
is legible, that included facts are accurately stated, and that only one issue
or complaint is addressed. The inmate must limit all grievance narrative to
Form DC6-236, and only two additional pages of narrative will be allowed. The
inmate shall sign and date the form and write in his Department of Corrections
number and forward the informal grievance to the designated staff person. If an
inmate fails to sign his grievance, it shall result in a delay in addressing
the grievance until it can be verified that it is that inmate's grievance. Form
DC6-236 is incorporated by reference. Copies of this form are available from
the Forms Control Administrator, 501 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-2500,
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10011.
The effective date of the form is 11/18.
(3) Upon receipt of the informal grievance,
the recipient shall note the date on the form. The institutional greivance
coordinator shall date-stamp Form DC6-236, in the designated area on the form,
with the date the grievance was retrieved from the grievance box.
(4) The informal grievance shall be responded
to within 15 days of the initial receipt date as noted on the informal
grievance log.
(a) The recipient shall provide
the inmate with a written response even if an interview with the inmate has
occurred concerning the subject matter of the grievance. This is required due
to the fact that if the inmate desires to pursue his grievance at the next
level, except in cases previously noted, he is required to attach a copy of his
informal grievance and response.
(b) The recipient shall state that the
grievance is either approved, denied, or returned without action. The response
shall also state the reason or reasons for the approval, denial, or
return.
(c) The recipient shall
then sign and date the form and cause the informal grievance to be returned to
the inmate. The inmate shall receive the original and one copy of the informal
grievance. The second copy shall be forwarded to the correctional sentence
specialist for placement in the inmate's file.
(5) It is the policy of the department that
all inmate request forms be answered.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority 944.09 FS. Law Implemented 944.09 FS.
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