Code of Massachusetts Regulations
103 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION
Title 103 CMR 179.00 - RESTRICTIVE HOUSING OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE
Section 179.05 - Definitions
Administrator. The chief administrative officer of a county correctional facility.
Commissioner. The Commissioner of Correction.
Correctional Facility or Institution. Any building, enclosure, space or structure used for the custody, control and rehabilitation of committed offenders and of such other persons as may be placed in custody therein in accordance with law.
County Correctional Facility. Any correctional facility owned, operated, administered or subject to the control of a county of the Commonwealth.
Department Disciplinary Unit (DDU). A restricted area or areas designated by the Commissioner to which an inmate has received a sanction recommended by a Special Hearing Officer in accordance with 103 CMR 430.00: Inmate Discipline.
Disciplinary Restrictive Housing. A placement in restrictive housing, which includes the DDU, in a state or county correctional facility for disciplinary purposes after a finding has been made that the inmate has committed a breach of discipline.
Inmate. A committed offender or such other person as is placed in custody in a correctional facility in accordance with law.
Qualified Mental Health Professionals. Treatment providers who are psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, and others who by virtue of their education, credentials and experience are permitted by law to evaluate and care for the mental health needs of patients.
Restrictive Housing. A placement for disciplinary or non-disciplinary purposes that requires an inmate to be confined to a cell for at least 22 hours per day for the safe and secure operation of the facility. For purposes of 103 CMR 179.00, restrictive housing shall not include the following: any placement ordered by a medical or mental health provider, including but not limited to, the placement of an inmate in a Health Services Unit; the placement of an inmate in a hospital; the placement of an inmate in a medical setting where treatment is being provided; or the placement of an inmate on a mental health watch.
Restrictive Housing Oversight Committee. The Restrictive Housing Oversight Committee, hereinafter "Committee," that is established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 127, § 39G, consisting of: the Secretary of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the Commissioner of the Department of Correction or a designee; the Commissioner of Mental Health or a designee; and nine members appointed by the Governor, one of whom shall be a correctional administrator with expertise in prison discipline or prison programming, one of whom shall be a member of a correctional officers union, one of whom shall have significant and demonstrated experience in criminal justice or corrections policy research, one of whom shall be the president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs Association, Inc. or a designee, one of whom shall be a former judge designated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, one of whom shall be the Executive Director of Disability Law Center, Inc. or a designee, one of whom shall be the Executive Director of Prisoners' Legal Services or a designee, one of whom shall be the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Inc. or a designee, and one of whom shall be a licensed social worker designated by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Inc.
Serious Mental Illness (SMI). A current or recent diagnosis by a Qualified Mental Health Professional of one or more of the following disorders described in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
(a) schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders;
(b) major depressive disorders;
(c) all types of bipolar disorders;
(d) a neuro-developmental disorder, dementia or other cognitive disorder;
(e) any disorder commonly characterized by breaks with reality or perceptions of reality;
(f) all types of anxiety disorders;
(g) trauma and stressor related disorders; or
(h) severe personality disorders; or a finding by a Qualified Mental Health Professional that the inmate is at serious risk of substantially deteriorating mentally or emotionally while confined in restrictive housing, or already has so deteriorated while confined in restrictive housing, such that diversion or removal is deemed to be clinically appropriate by a Qualified Mental Health Professional.
Sheriff. The individual elected to the office of Sheriff for a county in accordance with M.G.L c. 37, § 1 and M.G.L. c. 54, § 159.
State Correctional Facility. Any correctional facility owned, operated, administered or subject to the control of the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
