Florida Administrative Code › 33 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS › 33 - Departmental › Chapter 33-103 - INMATE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE › Section 33-103.015 - Inmate Grievances - Miscellaneous Provisions

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Inmates shall be allowed to seek
				assistance from other inmates or staff members in completing the grievance
				forms as long as the assistance requested does not interfere with the security
				and order of the institution.
(2)
				Form DC6-236, Inmate Request, and Form DC1-303, Request for Administrative
				Remedy or Appeal, shall be available as a minimum from the institutional
				library, classification department, classification staff, and the housing
				officer of any living unit or confinement unit. Form DC6-236 is incorporated by
				reference in Rule  33-103.005, F.A.C. Form DC1-303
				is incorporated by reference in Rule
				 33-103.006, F.A.C.
(3) The warden, assistant warden or deputy
				warden (deputy warden applicable to private facilities only) is authorized to
				designate other staff to receive, review, and investigate any grievance of an
				institutional nature. The warden is authorized to designate the assistant
				warden or deputy warden (deputy warden applicable to private facilities only)
				to grant and implement relief as approved by the warden, except as to
				grievances involving discipline, grievances alleging violation of the Americans
				with Disabilities Act, grievances challenging placement in close management and
				subsequent reviews, grievances of an emergency nature, or grievances of
				reprisal that are filed directly with the warden. For grievances filed directly
				with the warden, the decision to approve, return, or deny the grievance shall
				be made by the warden; the assistant warden or deputy warden shall only be
				authorized to sign as acting warden in the warden's absence, and must indicate
				"Acting Warden" beside his or her signature.
(4) All informal and formal grievances,
				except those administrative appeals filed directly with the Office of the
				Secretary, must be filed at the institution or facility to which the inmate is
				presently assigned. "Presently assigned" means the institution or facility in
				which the inmate is housed at the time he files either the informal or formal
				grievance. When either the informal or formal grievance complaint concerns an
				informal or formal grievance that occurred at another location, it shall remain
				the responsibility of the staff at the inmate's present location to handle the
				informal or formal grievance. The final resolution of the informal or formal
				grievance is the responsibility of the warden at the institution to which the
				inmate is presently assigned. Direct contact with outside staff may be
				necessary in resolving the informal or formal grievance.
(5) The response to an informal grievance and
				a formal grievance shall include the following statement, or one similar in
				content and intent if the grievance is denied: You may obtain further
				administrative review of your complaint by obtaining Form DC1-303, Request for
				Administrative Remedy or Appeal, completing the form, providing attachments as
				required, and forwarding your complaint to the warden, assistant warden, deputy
				warden or the Bureau of Policy Management and Inmate Appeals.
(6) At no time will an inmate who is alleging
				that he was physically abused as described in Section
				 944.35(3),
				F.S., or alleging reprisal by staff, as defined in Rule
				 33-103.002, F.A.C., be directed
				to submit his or her grievance to the staff person who is the subject of the
				complaint, nor will the grievance be referred to a staff person who is the
				subject of the complaint.
(7)
				Writing paper and writing utensils shall be provided to those inmates who have
				insufficient funds in their accounts at the time the materials are requested if
				such are needed to prepare the grievance or grievance appeal. These supplies
				shall be available from the institution library, classification department
				classification staff, and the housing officer of any living unit or confinement
				unit.
(8) Copying services for
				documents to be included as attachments to a grievance or grievance appeal
				shall be handled according to Rule
				 33-501.302, F.A.C., except that
				copying services shall not be provided to make copies of Form DC6-236 or Form
				DC1-303, attachments that are a continuation of the request portion of Form
				DC6-236, or attachments that are a continuation of Part A of Form
				DC1-303.
(9) If an inmate files
				more than one grievance or appeal dealing with the same or very similar issues,
				the institution or central office has the option of consolidating these
				grievances for purposes of providing a response to the inmate.
(10) A copy of these rules shall be available
				for access by inmates at a minimum in the inmate library and from the housing
				officer of any confinement unit.
(11) Provisions shall be made to ensure that
				grievances submitted by confinement inmates are collected on a daily basis, and
				that those grievances which require mailing are processed in accordance with
				Rule  33-103.006, F.A.C.
(12) Staff shall respond to inquiries made by
				the Bureau of Policy Management and Inmate Appeals by the close of business on
				the seventh day after the request.
(13) If an inmate elects to withdraw a
				grievance they should notify staff using Form DC6-236, Inmate Request. The
				request should include the date the grievance was filed along with the subject
				matter of the grievance. Staff should indicate on the grievance log that the
				grievance was withdrawn at the request of the inmate along with the date of the
				request to withdraw.
Rulemaking Authority
					 944.09 FS. Law Implemented
					 944.09,
					 944.241
					 FS.
New 10-12-89, Amended 1-29-92, 9-3-92, 12-22-92, 7-11-93,
					 5-3-94, 4-10-95, 9-23-96, 8-10-97, 12-7-97, 5-10-98, 2-17-99, Formerly
					 33-29.015, Amended 8-1-00, 10-11-00, 2-7-01, 5-27-02, 1-2-03, 2-9-05, 9-4-05,
					 10-28-07, 5-27-12, 11-7-12, 11-24-13.