Florida Administrative Code › 33 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS › 33 - Departmental › Chapter 33-103 - INMATE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE › Section 33-103.005 - Informal Grievance

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(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.