Kentucky Administrative Regulations
Title 505 - JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY CABINET - DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
Chapter 1 - Child Welfare
Section 505 KAR 1:270 - Grievances
Universal Citation: 505 KY Admin Regs Service 1:270
Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 6, December 1, 2024
RELATES TO: KRS 15A.065, 15A.0652, 15A.067, 200.080-200.120, Chapters 600-645
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 15A.065(1), 15A.0652, 15A.160, 15A.210, 605.150, 635.095, and 640.120 authorize the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet and the Department of Juvenile Justice to promulgate administrative regulations for the proper administration of the cabinet and its programs. This administrative regulation establishes the grievance process for juveniles in the custody of the department or attending a department day treatment program.
Section 1. General Information.
(1) Staff shall explain the
grievance process to a juvenile upon intake and post the process in the program
and living areas. The handbook shall include instructions for the grievance
process.
(2) A juvenile shall have
the right to file a grievance without fear of retaliation.
(3) A juvenile may file a grievance regarding
the following:
(a) Violation of federal or
state law;
(b) Violation of
department policies and procedures;
(c) Violation of department standard
operating procedures;
(d) Claimed
unsafe or unsanitary living conditions within the facility or program;
or
(e) The level of care provided
within the facility or program.
(4) A juvenile shall not file a grievance on
issues already grieved and decided.
(5) Non-grievable issues shall include:
(a) Court decisions;
(b) Disciplinary review decisions;
and
(c) Legislative
actions.
(6) An untimely
filed grievance or one that concerns a non-grievable issue shall be returned to
the juvenile with an explanation.
(7) A grievance that is missing information
shall be returned to the juvenile explaining the information needed and the
juvenile shall have five business days to return the grievance with the missing
information. The time for a grievance response shall not begin until the
grievance is returned with the missing information.
(8) Grievance forms shall be located in an
area that is easily accessible to the juveniles and each facility shall provide
one or more clearly marked lockboxes for the submission of a grievance. The
lockbox shall be in an open area accessible to all juveniles.
(9) Each facility shall have a designated
grievance officer. The grievance officer shall manage the lockboxes and oversee
the grievance process.
(10)
Deadline. A grievance shall be submitted by the juvenile within fourteen (14)
days of the grieving incident occurrence. If the juvenile files a grievance
after the deadline, the juvenile shall explain the reason for the delay on the
grievance form when the grievance is filed for a delay determination by the
facility manager. The exception to this shall be if the incident falls under
the classification of a Prison Rape Elimination Act occurrence. A PREA incident
shall not have a time limit applied.
(11) Informal Resolution. Prior to filing a
grievance, an effort shall be made to resolve the issue informally. The
juvenile shall discuss the matter either with the staff person involved or the
grievance officer. In determining whether to deny a grievance for failure to
attempt informal resolution, the grievance officer shall consider the
juvenile's and staff person's ability or barriers to informally resolve the
grievance issue.
(12) Special
Incident and PREA. A special incident shall not be handled informally or
through the grievance process and shall be reported immediately to the facility
manager and Internal Investigation Branch. A PREA incident shall be reported
through the hotline or in writing to the commissioner or director of
compliance.
Section 2. Grievance Process.
(1) The grievance form
shall be submitted in writing and signed and dated by the juvenile. The
grievance shall include:
(a) Name of the
juvenile filing the grievance;
(b)
Name of facility;
(c) Details
concerning the issue being grieved;
(d) Date of occurrence being
grieved;
(e) Information concerning
the effort to informally resolve the issue; and
(f) The desired resolution.
(2) If a juvenile is unable to
adequately express the grievance in writing, the juvenile shall be allowed to
present the grievance to the designated grievance officer verbally. The
designated grievance officer shall make a written summary of the verbal
grievance on a grievance form and have the juvenile sign and date it.
(3) A grievance or notification of intent to
present a verbal grievance shall be deposited, by the juvenile, into a
grievance lockbox.
(4) Grievances
shall be retrieved from the lockbox within twenty-four (24) hours for juvenile
detention centers and within two (2) business days for group homes, YDCs, and
day treatment centers.
(5) The
juvenile shall receive a written response with findings within three (3)
business days. If a grievance is a medical issue, a facility nurse or regional
nurse shall be involved in the resolution process at the facility
level.
(6) A juvenile may withdraw
a current or previously filed grievance at any time.
(7) The juvenile shall acknowledge all
grievance findings, including withdrawals, with their signature. The grievance
officer shall document any refusals to acknowledge the grievance findings on
the grievance form.
(8) A copy of
the grievance shall be placed in the juvenile's individual client record and a
copy shall be given to the juvenile.
Section 3. Grievance Appeal Process.
(1) If dissatisfied with the resolution,
within forty-eight (48) hours, the juvenile may appeal the resolution of the
grievance to the facility manager by indicating on the grievance form that the
juvenile is appealing and depositing it into the lockbox. The juvenile shall
provide all previous information submitted.
(2) Within three (3) business days of
receiving the appealed grievance resolution, the facility manager shall meet
with the designated grievance officer and the juvenile and may meet with the
staff involved and other witnesses.
(3) The facility manager shall have up to
five (5) business days to present a written final response to the
juvenile.
Section 4. Grievance Process Deadlines.
(1) If the
grievance process deadlines are not met by the juvenile, the juvenile shall
explain the reason for the delay in filing the grievance on the grievance form
when the grievance is filed.
(2)
The grievance officer shall forward the grievance delay explanation to the
facility manager to determine if the grievance may proceed through the process.
The facility manager shall decide this within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt
and return the grievance to the grievance officer for further steps. The
grievance officer shall deny the grievance with an explanation if the delay is
not approved by the facility manager or an explanation for the delay is not
made by the juvenile.
(3) If the
time frames are not met by the grievance officer, the grievance shall
automatically be referred to the facility manager by the grievance officer. The
facility manager shall follow the grievance appeal process deadlines in this
section.
(4) If an essential party
is unavailable, the time frames may be extended by the facility manager. The
reason for the extension shall be noted on the grievance
documentation.
(5) If more than ten
(10) grievances are received by the grievance officer in any one (1) work week,
the grievance officer may call a moratorium on the time limits for those
grievances.
Section 5. Grievance Limits. If the facility manager determines that a juvenile has abused the grievance process by filing numerous frivolous or harassing grievances, the facility manager may limit the number of grievances which may be filed by the juvenile. A juvenile whose grievances have been limited shall be allowed to file no more than one (1) grievance every ten (10) business days. This limitation shall be placed into effect for no more than six (6) months at which time the juvenile may apply to the facility manager for removal of restricted status. Restrictions shall be removed or extended for periods not to exceed six (6) months at each application for release.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 15A.065(1), 15A.0652, 15A.160, 605.150, 635.095, 640.120
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Kentucky may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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