Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 291 - DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
Division 205 - VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM
Section 291-205-0010 - Authority, Purpose and Policy
Universal Citation: OR Admin Rules 291-205-0010
Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) Authority: The authority for these rules is granted to the Director of the Department of Corrections in accordance with ORS 179.040, 423.020, 423.030, 423.075 and 423.615.
(2) Purpose: The purpose of this rule is to further the Department of Correction's mission, vision and core values by establishing policy and procedures for the operation and administration of the department's Victim Services Programs.
(3) Policy:
(a) The objective of the department's Victim
Services Programs is to benefit and assist people who have been harmed by crime
and to help inmates make amends or restitution for the harm caused by their
crime.
(b) Within the inherent
limitations of resources and the need to maintain facility security, safety,
discipline, health and good order, it is the policy of the Department of
Corrections to:
(A) Provide crime victims and
survivors and concerned members of the general public with timely information
about any changes in the incarceration status of department inmates, including
an inmate's physical release from a Department of Corrections facility, through
the Victim Information and Notification Everyday Program (VINE);
(B) Permit victim-initiated facilitated
dialogues between victims or survivors of serious and violent crimes and
inmates in Department of Corrections facilities through the Facilitated
Dialogue Program;
(C) Permit a
structured responsibility letter writing process to offer inmates the
opportunity to express remorse and personal responsibility to crime victims
/survivors of their crimes through the Responsibility Letter Bank
Program;
(D) Provide other general
services to crime victims and survivors and to inmates who are working to make
amends and restitution for their crimes through the department's Victim
Services Programs and;
(E)
Collaborate with other agencies, people, and community organizations to assist
crime victims and survivors, and inmates.
(c) Facilitated dialogues can promote justice
and healing for crime victims or survivors and aid inmates in the process of
their rehabilitation. When authorized by the functional unit manager or
designee, a facilitated dialogue is permitted neither as a matter of right nor
as a privilege of a crime victim or survivor or an inmate. Rather, a
facilitated dialogue is permitted by the functional unit manager or designee,
in his or her sole discretion, when it is determined the facilitated dialogue
may further the correctional goals and mission of the department, and the
healing process for crime victims or survivors. Such dialogues must always be
consistent with the safe, secure, and orderly management and operation of the
Department's correctional facilities.
(d) In order for the Facilitated Dialogue
Program to be successful, participants must be able to speak openly and
honestly about the crime and its impact, knowing that what they communicate
will not be shared with other people or used against them later, except as
required by law. Accordingly, it is the policy of the Department of Corrections
to maintain the confidentiality of all facilitated dialogue communications to
the maximum extent permitted by law and in accordance with these rules.
(e) The Responsibility Letter Bank
Program promotes healing for crime victims or survivors and the rehabilitation
and acceptance of responsibility on the part of inmates who participate in the
program. In order for these letter exchanges to be effective and meaningful,
and to ensure that victims and survivors have control over whether they receive
a letter or not, it is the policy of the Department of Corrections to maintain
the confidentiality of all Responsibility Letter Bank communications to the
maximum extent permitted by law and in accordance with these rules.
Statutory/Other Authority: 179.040, 423.020, 423.030, 423.075 & 2017 Or Laws Ch 114
Statutes/Other Implemented: 179.040, 423.020, 423.030 & 423.075
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oregon 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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