Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 377 - Office of Juvenile Affairs
Chapter 3 - Administrative Services
Subchapter 1 - Office of the Executive Director
Part 3 - OFFICE OF THE ADVOCATE GENERAL
Section 377:3-1-28 - General Grievance Procedure

Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 377:3-1-28

Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024

(a) Informal grievances.

(1) Informal grievances are issues relating to daily life at the juvenile's placement, which can be resolved at the facility or local level. Informal grievances include, but are not limited to:
(A) grooming and hygiene;

(B) clothing;

(C) cottage cleanliness;

(D) food;

(E) disrespect not involving threats of harm;

(F) restrictions; or

(G) routine problems with the JSU; i.e., complaints against a JSU worker.

(2) A juvenile shall try to informally resolve his or her grievance by talking with the Advocate Defender, supervising employee or other appropriate staff , excluding a staff member who is the subject of the grievance, within three (3) working days, excluding weekends and holidays, of the incident. If the issue is not resolved the juvenile may submit in writing a brief description of the problem and what efforts have been made to resolve the issue within (7) seven working days, excluding weekend and holidays, of the incident. The grievance should include the name of the person or group with whom the juvenile wants to meet to discuss the problem. The juvenile may put the written information in a designated grievance box or give the grievance to any staff member.

(3) The grievance must be numbered and logged in a grievance log on the day the grievance is received and distributed to the appropriate staff , excluding a staff member who is the subject of the grievance, for processing and possible resolution.

(4) The assigned staff shall review each grievance and attempt to resolve the grievance with the juvenile.

(5) If the grievance is not resolved within (5) five working days (excluding weekends and holidays), the juvenile may seek review by the supervisor.

(6) The supervisor shall have (10) ten working days (excluding weekends and holidays) from receipt of the review to resolve the grievance.

(7) If the juvenile does not accept the resolution of the supervisory review, he/she may file a formal grievance, which shall be received within 5 working days (excluding weekends and holidays) from the receipt of the review.

(8) The grievance log must also indicate the disposition of the grievance and the date of the resolution or the review. OJA Form OJA-AG-2 may be used to facilitate the grievance resolution process.

(b) Formal Grievances.

(1) Formal grievances are those grievances, which are appeals of informal grievances or those which cannot otherwise be resolved at the facility or local level. Issues which cannot be resolved at the facility or local level include, but are not limited to:
(A) placement;

(B) treatment;

(C) psychological services;

(D) social services;

(E) educational services;

(F) recreation; or

(G) abuse, neglect, or caretaker misconduct.

(2) Grievances which contain allegations of abuse, neglect, or caretaker misconduct shall be processed in accordance with 377:3-1-25 and 377:3-1-26.

(3) Formal grievances may be filed with any staff member , excluding a staff member who is the subject of the grievance, but shall be routed to the Advocate General for appropriate distribution and resolution by OJA State Office as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. Form OJA-AG-3 may be used to facilitate the formal grievance process.

(c) Emergency Grievances. Any situation where the juvenile believes that he or she is subject to substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, may file a grievance as an emergency grievance. Immediately upon the discovery that an emergency grievance has been filed, the emergency grievance shall be forwarded to the superintendent or designee, who may take corrective action within 48 hours.

(d) Grievances received by Advocate General. Upon receipt of an appeal of an informal grievance or formal grievance, the Advocate General's Office shall post the date of receipt. The Advocate General shall review the grievance and the accompanying documentation to determine what additional information is necessary for disposition of the grievance within five (5) working days and set deadlines for receipt of required information. If the Advocate General finds that an appeal or formal grievance was prematurely filed, the Advocate General shall send a reply containing suggestions regarding the proper procedure to the person that sent the grievance. The Advocate General shall review the applicable OJA rules, policy, and/or Oklahoma law to determine if the appeal or formal grievance is appropriate and provide an opinion regarding possible resolution.

(e) Appeal to the Division Director/final decision. The Advocate General shall prepare a cover worksheet or memorandum for the appeal or formal grievance and forward a copy to the Division Director/designee for response. The response shall be completed within ten (10) working days (extension may be granted by the Advocate General where a formal, legal opinion or policy decision is necessary). Upon receipt of the proposed resolution, the Advocate General shall forward a copy to the juvenile and/or to other appropriate person named in the grievance and to the appropriate advocate defender or grievance coordinator. A copy of the resolution shall be inserted in the juvenile's master file. Resolutions, which will change or create OJA rules, are submitted to the appropriate division responsible for drafting new or revised rules. The Advocate General shall ensure that resolutions containing directives for specific action are completed.

(f) Board notification. All matters referred to the Division Director for final decision may be placed on the agenda for the next, regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Juvenile Affairs upon authorization of the Executive Director. If the Executive Director denies the request the OJA Board shall be informed. The Executive Director shall review any such grievance with the Board during Executive Session. At that time, the Advocate General will be allowed to voice concerns, the wishes of the juvenile, or such other matters as are relevant to the Board's understanding of the issues presented in the appeal.

(g) Review by juvenile. The grievance coordinator, Advocate Defender, or Advocate General (whoever filed the last grievance), shall review the Division Director's resolution with the juvenile and notify the juvenile that his or her administrative remedies have been exhausted. If the juvenile does not accept the resolution, a copy of the grievance, appeals, and proposed resolutions shall be forwarded to the Office of Juvenile Systems Oversight.

(h) Grievances originated by the Advocate General. The Advocate General may, on behalf of all or part of the juveniles committed to OJA, originate a grievance at the State Office level concerning:

(1) the substance or application of any written or unwritten policy, rule, or regulation of:
(A) OJA;

(B) an agent of OJA; or

(C) an OJA contractor; or

(2) any decision, behavior, or action of
(A) an OJA employee;

(B) an agent of OJA;

(C) an OJA-contractor; or

(D) any other person committed to OJA.

(i) The Advocate General may write the grievance by way of a detailed memorandum.

(j) The appropriate Division Director and Advocate General may determine there is misuse of the grievance process. Types of misuse, include, but are not limited to:

(1) Grievances intended to harass another;

(2) The continual and repeated submitting of frivolous grievances (frivolous grievances are those with no basis in fact or law);

(3) The repeated submitting of grievances about an issue, which has been adequately and completely addressed by staff.

(4) If misuse of the process is determined, the juvenile will be notified in writing, citing the above listed reason or reasons the grievance will not be processed through the grievance procedure. A copy of the determination will be placed in the offender's field file, Advocate General's and Advocate Defender's file. The agency may discipline a resident for filing a grievance related to alleged sexual abuse only where the agency demonstrates that the resident filed the grievance in bad faith.

(k) Non-grievable issues include;

(1) any appeals finalized and resolved by the disciplinary hearing process shall not be processed through the grievance process, or

(2) Requests for disciplinary action against staff.

(l) At any level of the administrative process, including the final level, if the juvenile does not receive a response within the time allotted for reply, including any properly noticed extension, the juvenile may consider the absence of a response to be a denial at that level.

Added at 13 Ok Reg 3887, eff 8-21-96 (emergency); Added at 14 Ok Reg 1842, eff 6-2-97; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 465, eff 11-23-98 (emergency); Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2949, eff 7-12-99; Amended at 18 Ok Reg 2614, eff 7-1-01; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2419, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 2060, eff 7-1-05; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 1392, eff 7-1-07; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2241, eff 7-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 2182, eff 7-15-10

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oklahoma 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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