Kansas Administrative Regulations
Agency 123 - JUVENILE JUSTICE AUTHORITY
Article 12 - OFFENDER CONDUCT AND PENALTIES
Section 123-12-601 - Mail

(1)

(2)

(1) Each offender shall comply with the mail procedures and restrictions established by the applicable facility order. Failure to comply with mail procedures or restrictions, or circumventing or attempting to circumvent mail procedures or restrictions by any means, shall be prohibited. The delivery of mail through an employee, volunteer, teacher, or any other person who is not authorized to perform functions related to the established mail-handling system shall be prohibited.

(2) Items identified as contraband shall be dealt with as provided in subsection (d) and then either returned to the sender, at the offender's expense, or destroyed, at the offender's option. All items that are illegal under Kansas or federal law shall be seized and held as evidence for other law enforcement officers.

(3) All incoming mail shall identify the offender recipient by name and offender identification number.

(4) Each violation of mail regulations of the juvenile justice authority, facility orders, or the laws of Kansas or the United States may result in additional mail restrictions upon the offender that are sufficient to prevent the continuation or reoccurrence of the violation.

(5) All funds sent to offenders shall be in the form of a money order, a cashier's check, or a certified check.

(6) Any incoming or outgoing mail other than legal, official, or privileged mail may be inspected or read at any time.

(7) Incoming mail addressed solely to a specified offender and not otherwise subject to censorship shall be delivered regardless of whether the mail is sent free of charge or at a reduced rate. All incoming mail shall nonetheless bear the sender's name and address on the envelope, or this mail shall not be delivered and shall be subject to censorship in accordance with subsection (d).

(8) Any outgoing first-class letters may be sent to as many people and to whomever the offender chooses, subject to the restrictions in this regulation.

(9) Outgoing offender mail shall bear the full official name, offender number, and address of the sender, and the name and address of the intended recipient. No other words, drawings, or messages shall be placed on the outside of the envelope or package by an offender except words describing the mail as being legal, official, or privileged, or words intended to aid postal officials in delivery of the item. Outgoing offender mail shall be stamped by the institution to indicate that it was mailed from a juvenile correctional facility and that it has not been censored.

(10) No offender shall correspond with any person who has filed a written objection to the correspondence with the superintendent of the facility.

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (f)(3), outgoing privileged, official, or legal mail sent by any offender shall be opened and read only upon authorization of the superintendent for good cause shown. However, if any offender threatens or terrorizes any person through this mail, any subsequent mail, including official or legal mail, from the offender to the person threatened or terrorized may, at the request of that person, be read and censored for a time period and to the extent necessary to remedy the abuse.

(2) Incoming mail clearly identified as legal, official, or privileged mail shall be opened only in the offender's presence. This mail shall be inspected for contraband but shall not be read or censored, unless authorized by the superintendent based upon a documented previous abuse of the right or other good cause.

(1) Incoming or outgoing mail, other than legal, official, or privileged mail, may be censored only when there is reasonable belief in any of the following:

(2) If any communication to or from an offender is censored, all of the following requirements shall be met:

(1) The proposed correspondents are members of the same immediate family or are parties in the same legal action, or one of the persons is a party and the other person is a witness in the same legal action.

(2) Permission for the correspondence is granted due to exceptional circumstances. Verification and approval of offender correspondence shall be conducted pursuant to the internal management policies and procedures.

(1) Stationery shall be available for purchase from the offender canteen.

(2) Indigent offenders, as defined by the internal management policies and procedures, shall receive reasonable amounts of free writing paper, envelopes, and postage for first-class domestic mail weighing one ounce or less, not to exceed four letters per month or any other limits established by the commissioner or superintendent.

(3) All postage for legal and official mail shall be paid by the offender, unless the offender is indigent, as defined by the internal management policies and procedures. The cost of postage for legal or official mail paid by the facility on behalf of an indigent offender shall be deducted from the offender's funds, if available. Credit for postage for legal and official mail shall be extended to indigent offenders under the terms and conditions of the internal management policies and procedures. Outgoing legal or official mail sent with postage provided on credit shall be subject to inspection and cursory reading in the presence of the offender for the purpose of ascertaining that the mail is indeed legal or official mail, and the offender shall then be permitted to seal the envelope containing the mail.

(4) The facility shall not pay postage for offender groups or organizations.

(1) Offenders may receive books, newspapers, and periodicals as approved by the internal management policies and procedures or facility orders, except for offenders while assigned to an intake, reception, and diagnostic unit for evaluation purposes. All books, newspapers, and periodicals shall be purchased through special purchase orders. Only books, newspapers, and periodicals received directly from a publisher or a vendor shall be accepted. However, each offender shall be permitted to receive printed material, including newspaper and magazine clippings, if the material is included as part of a first-class letter that does not exceed one ounce in total weight.

(2) The procedures for censorship of mail listed in subsection (d) of this regulation shall be used for censorship of publications.

(3) No publication that meets either of the following conditions shall be allowed into the facility:

(4) Each offender shall have the option of having censored publications in their entirety either mailed out of the facility at the offender's expense or discarded.

(5) Before transferring between institutions or before being released on conditional release, the offender shall arrange for a change of address for newspapers and periodicals. Newspapers and periodicals shall not be forwarded for more than 30 days after the date of the transfer or release.