Kan. Admin. Regs. § 123-15-102

Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 40, October 3, 2024

Section 123-15-102 - Procedure

(a) Grievance level one; preliminary requirement; informal resolution and problem solving by or with the assistance of the program team.

(1) Each offender shall first seek information, advice, or help on any matter from the offender's program team or from a member of the team. If unable to solve the problem, the program team shall refer the offender to the proper office or department. The program team shall assist any offender who is unable to complete the form without assistance.

(2) If an offender does not receive a response from the program team within 10 calendar days, a grievance report may be sent to the superintendent without the program team's signature or signatures. Each grievance report form shall include an explanation of the absence of the signature or signatures.

(b) Grievance level two; complaint to the superintendent.

(1) If any offender receives a response but does not obtain a satisfactory resolution to the problem through the informal resolution process within 10 calendar days, the offender may complete an offender grievance report form and submit it, within three calendar days after the deadline for informal resolution, to a staff member for transmittal to the superintendent.

(2) The offender shall attach a copy of all offender request forms used to attempt to resolve the problem and shall provide the following information on the offender grievance report:

(A) A specific complaint that states what or who is the subject of the complaint, the related dates and places, and what effect the situation, problem, or person is having on the offender that makes the complaint necessary;

(B) the title and number, if possible, of any order or regulation that may be the subject of the complaint;

(C) the action that the offender wants the superintendent to take to solve the problem;

(D) the name and signature of each responsible facility employee from whom the offender sought assistance. This signature shall be on either the offender request form or the grievance report form. The date on which the help was sought shall be entered by the employee on the form; and

(E) the date the completed grievance report was delivered to the staff member for transmittal to the office of the superintendent.

(3) The staff member shall forward the report to the superintendent before the end of the next working day and shall give a receipt to the offender.

(4)

(A)

(i) Upon receipt of a grievance report form, the superintendent or designee shall assign a unique control number and record the date of its receipt. The nature of the grievance shall be ascertained by the superintendent or designee.

(ii) A response to the grievance shall be returned to the offender within 10 working days from the date on which the grievance was received.

(B) Each response shall contain findings of fact, conclusions drawn, the reasons for those conclusions, and the action taken by the superintendent. Each response shall inform the offender that the offender may appeal by submitting the appropriate form to the commissioner.

(C) The superintendent shall return the original and one copy of the grievance report to the offender, along with the superintendent's response. The original documents shall be used for an appeal to the commissioner if the offender elects to file an appeal of the superintendent's decision, and the copy may be retained by the offender.

(D) The superintendent shall retain a copy of all documents.

(E) Each facility shall maintain grievance report files indexed by offender name and by subject matter.

(F) Any grievance report form may be rejected by the superintendent if the form does not document any program team action as required by the preliminary informal resolution process. If rejected, the grievance report form shall be sent back to the program team for an immediate response to the offender. If not rejected for lack of documentation, a response shall provide by the superintendent as required by these regulations.

(G) If the superintendent fails to respond in the time allowed under these regulations, the aggrieved offender may submit the grievance to the commissioner for handling in accordance with grievance level three. A grievance submitted under this subsection shall contain an explanation for direct submission to the commissioner.

(c) Grievance level three; appeal to the commissioner.

(1) If the superintendent's response is not satisfactory to the offender, the offender may appeal to the commissioner's office. The offender shall specifically detail the reasons for the appeal and the action that the offender wants the commissioner to take to resolve the grievance. The offender's appeal shall be made within three calendar days of receipt of the superintendent's response or within three calendar days of the deadline for that response, whichever is earlier.

(2) The appeal, along with any other required documentation, shall be sent directly and promptly by U.S. mail to the commissioner's office.

(3) Whenever a superintendent's response is appealed, the commissioner shall have 20 working days from receipt of the grievance appeal to respond to the offender. The response shall include findings of fact, conclusions made, and actions taken and shall be returned to the offender along with the grievance report form.

(4) If a grievance report form that fails to document the superintendent's prior action is submitted to the commissioner, the form may be returned to the superintendent. If the superintendent fails to respond to the grievance in a timely manner, the form shall be accepted by the commissioner.

(5) A deputy commissioner may be designated by the commissioner to prepare a response to the grievance.

This regulation shall be effective on and after April 8, 2005.

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 123-15-102

Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 38-16,130, K.S.A. 2004 Supp. 75-7024, and K.S.A. 76-3203; effective April 8, 2005.