Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT › Part I - Corrections › Chapter 7 - Youth Services › Subchapter C - Field Operations › Section I-765 - Correspondence and Packages

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Purpose.
				  To establish the deputy secretary's policy and procedures for sending and
				  receiving mail and packages at all secure care facilities.
B. Applicability-Assistant Secretaries,
				  Deputy Assistant Secretaries and All Facility Directors. Each director is
				  responsible for implementing and for conveying the contents of this policy to
				  youth, affected employees and affected members of the public.
C. Policy. It is the deputy secretary's
				  policy that reasonable restrictions (consistent with acceptable custody
				  practices and the interests of crime victims) may be placed on youth's ability
				  to receive letters, publications and packages through the mail. Reading or
				  censorship of letters and publications should generally be limited to those
				  items containing material that interferes with legitimate youth services (YS)
				  objectives (including, but not limited to, deterrence of delinquency, youth
				  rehabilitation, facility security, freedom from sexual harassment) or if
				  reading or censorship is necessary to prevent the commission of a crime or to
				  protect the interests of crime victims. All outgoing mail shall be stamped to
				  indicate that it originated from a secure care facility. The receipt of
				  packages through the mail must conform to the list of approved package items.
				  Packages must be inspected and handled in accordance with this policy. All
				  incoming and outgoing mail and packages must include the youth's JIRMS
				  number.
D. Definitions
Indigent Youth
- a youth under the
					 supervision of YS who has little or no money.
E. Procedures for Letters
1. Receiving and Sending Letters through the
				  Mail
a. Restrictions on the number of letters
				  written or received and the length or the language of the letter must be
				  justified in accordance with this policy and documented. Restrictions on whom
				  youth may send letters to and receive letters from must be justified in
				  accordance with this policy. Youth may not send or receive letters to or from
				  inmates in adult prisons unless the person is officially listed in their record
				  as an identifiable parent, legal spouse, sibling or grandparent, or unless the
				  director has approved the exception.
b. Upon written request of the person
				  receiving correspondence from a youth, or if requested by the minor's parent or
				  legal guardian, the facility may refuse to mail correspondence addressed to
				  that person.
c. All incoming and
				  outgoing mail shall be handled without unjustified delay. Letters should be
				  held no longer than 24 hours and packages should be held no longer than 48
				  hours, exclusive of weekends, holidays and emergencies. This does not prohibit
				  the holding of mail for youth who are temporarily absent from the
				  facility.
d. No record shall be
				  kept of whom a youth corresponds with except when the director determines that
				  it is necessary for legitimate YS objectives or to prevent the commission of a
				  crime or to protect the interests of crime victims. The keeping of such record
				  must be authorized in writing. Facility staff may maintain copies/logs for
				  verification purposes.
e. Youth may
				  not initiate contact with the victim(s) of their crime(s) or the victims'
				  family members except in accordance with specific procedures established by the
				  director in conjunction with Crime Victims Services Bureau.