Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 25, June 21, 2024
Section 90-9-4 - Initial Filing of Grievance4.1. Any inmate may file a grievance utilizing a grievance form within fifteen (15) days of any occurrence that would cause him/her to file a grievance. (See Attachment 1) These forms shall be made available to members of the inmate population at all institutions/facilities/centers. At a minimum, grievance forms shall be available in all inmate housing units and the law libraries.4.2. An inmate may grieve only one (1) issue or complaint per form, and, except for grievances pursuant to Section 7, the issue must directly pertain to the inmate filing the grievance.4.3. The grievance form shall initially be submitted by the inmate to his/her Unit Manager. Upon receipt of the grievance form, the Unit Manager shall log the grievance and assign it a number in conformity with the procedure set forth above.4.4. Prior to responding to the grievance, the Unit Manager shall inspect the grievance to determine whether the grievance was filed in a timely manner; whether the grievance contains excessive pages; whether the grievance is otherwise not submitted within the proper format; or whether the grievance seeks to discuss matters previously addressed in a prior grievance. If the grievance is not filed within a proper time frame, contains excessive pages, is not within the proper format or seeks to present an issue previously addressed, the Unit Manager shall reject the grievance, providing a brief explanation of the grounds for rejection, and return the grievance to the inmate, noting the rejection on the log. Except for grievances rejected due to having been previously address in a grievance or those filed beyond the time limits to file a grievance, the inmate shall have 5 days to correct the defect and re-file a new grievance. An inmate may appeal a rejection in the same manner as a decision but the scope of the appeal is limited only to the propriety of the rejection and not to the merits such that appeal the rejection to the commissioner does not exhaust administrative remedies on the issue presented in the defective grievance.4.5. It shall be the responsibility of the Unit Manager to ensure that an answer to the grievance is provided back to the inmate within 5 days. The response should be clear, concise, complete and professional. The Unit Manager is not required to personally answer the grievance, so long as he or she ensures that the grievance ultimately received is timely addressed and, if accepted, answered. Provided that the Unit Manager shall ensure that the staff member to which the grievance pertains shall not be responsible for answering the grievance. In the case of accepted grievances addressing questions of health care, the Unit Manager shall route the grievance to the facility's health care administrator to review and provide the inmate an answer. However, the Unit Manager, while not reading the grievance response from the medical unit, shall ensure that a response has been completed and provided to the inmate, logging the same.4.6. The inmate shall be provided a copy of his or her grievance form prior to submission at each level for the inmate's records. The inmate may attach to the grievance only one (1) 8.5 x 11 inch page with writing on a single side. Only one staple may be used to affix the pages together. The inmate may not tear, fold or affix tape to the forms, except that the forms may be folded and placed into a number 10 envelope.4.7. If the Unit Manager fails to answer or reject the grievance within the time frame noted in Section 4.5 of this Rule, the inmate may treat the non-response as a denial of his/her grievance. The inmate shall indicate on the form that the grievance that was set forth in the form to the Warden/Administrator was previously filed without a response to the Unit Manager. The Warden/Administrator shall investigate such allegation. If it is determined that the inmate had submitted a grievance without response the Warden/Administrator should require an immediate response from the Unit Manager. If it is determined by the Warden/Administrator that the inmate had either, not filed the form with the Unit Manager or had been given a timely response, the Warden/Administrator should initiate appropriate disciplinary action under Policy Directive 325.00.