33-103.005. Informal Grievance

(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.

(2) When submitting an informal grievance, the inmate shall use Form DC6-236, Inmate Request, and shall:

(a) Check the appropriate box indicating to whom he is submitting the informal grievance. If the inmate checks the box designated “other,” and elects to name a specific staff member, the final determination of the appropriate person to handle the grievance shall ultimately be made by staff. The inmate shall complete the other sections of the heading;

(b) On the line reading “Request,” the inmate shall check the box to indicate that Form DC6-236 is being used as an “Informal Grievance.” Failure to do this will cause the request to be handled routinely and it will not be considered an informal grievance. This will also cause the form to be unacceptable as documentation of having met the informal step if it is attached to a formal grievance submitted at the next step.

1. The act of asking questions or seeking information, guidance, or assistance is not considered to be a grievance. Answers to inmate requests of this nature shall not be considered as documentation of having met the informal step if they are attached to a formal grievance submitted at the next step. Inmate requests improperly submitted as informal grievances shall be treated as inmate requests and the inmate shall be advised that he cannot appeal the response.

2. When completing the inmate request form for submission as an informal grievance, the inmate shall ensure that the form is legible, that included facts are accurately stated, and that only one issue or complaint is addressed. The inmate must limit all grievance narrative to Form DC6-236, and only two additional pages of narrative will be allowed. The inmate shall sign and date the form and write in his Department of Corrections number and forward the informal grievance to the designated staff person. If an inmate fails to sign his grievance, it shall result in a delay in addressing the grievance until it can be verified that it is that inmate’s grievance. Form DC6-236 is incorporated by reference. Copies of this form are available from the Forms Control Administrator, 501 South Calhoun Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2500, http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10011. The effective date of the form is 11/18.

(3) Upon receipt of the informal grievance, the recipient shall note the date on the form. The institutional greivance coordinator shall date-stamp Form DC6-236, in the designated area on the form, with the date the grievance was retrieved from the grievance box.

(4) The informal grievance shall be responded to within 15 days of the initial receipt date as noted on the informal grievance log.

(a) The recipient shall provide the inmate with a written response even if an interview with the inmate has occurred concerning the subject matter of the grievance. This is required due to the fact that if the inmate desires to pursue his grievance at the next level, except in cases previously noted, he is required to attach a copy of his informal grievance and response.

(b) The recipient shall state that the grievance is either approved, denied, or returned without action. The response shall also state the reason or reasons for the approval, denial, or return.

(c) The recipient shall then sign and date the form and cause the informal grievance to be returned to the inmate. The inmate shall receive the original and one copy of the informal grievance. The second copy shall be forwarded to the correctional sentence specialist for placement in the inmate’s file.

(5) It is the policy of the department that all inmate request forms be answered.

Rulemaking Authority 944.09 FS. Law Implemented 944.09 FS. History–New 10-12-89, Amended 1-15-92, 12-22-92, 3-30-94, 4-17-94, 4-10-95, 8-10-97, 12-7-97, 2-17-99, Formerly 33-29.005, Amended 8-1-00, 2-9-05, 3-25-08, 1-31-10, 5-27-12, 11-7-12, 11-24-13, 4-20-14, 12-30-14, 11-7-18.