BOP Program Statement 1330.18 § 4

■ American Correctional Association 3rd Edition Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions:

3-4236 and 3-4271

■ American Correctional Association 3rd Edition Standards for Adult Local Detention

Facilities: 3-ALDF-3C-22, and 3-ALDF-3E-11 5.

5. RESPONSIBILITY §542.11

a. The Community Corrections Manager (CCM), Warden, Regional Director, and

General Counsel are responsible for the implementation and operation of the

Administrative Remedy Program at the Community Corrections Center (CCC),

institution, regional and Central Office levels, respectively, and shall:

(1) Establish procedures for receiving, recording, reviewing, investigating and

responding to Administrative Remedy Requests (Requests) or Appeals (Appeals)

submitted by an inmate;

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See Section 13 for further information on remedy processing, including use of SENTRY.

(2) Acknowledge receipt of a Request or Appeal by returning a receipt to the

inmate;

The receipt is generated via SENTRY.

(3) Conduct an investigation into each Request or Appeal;

(4) Respond to and sign all Requests or Appeals filed at their levels. At the

regional level, signatory authority may be delegated to the Deputy Regional

Director. At the Central Office level, signatory authority may be delegated to the

National Inmate Appeals Administrator. Signatory authority extends to staff

designated as acting in the capacities specified in this §542.11, but may not be

further delegated without the written approval of the General Counsel.

§ 542.11 refers to Section 5 of this Program Statement.

For purposes of this Program Statement, the term “institution” includes Community Corrections

Centers (CCCs); the term “Warden” includes Camp Superintendents and Community

Corrections Managers (CCMs) for Requests filed by CCC inmates; and the term “inmate”

includes a former inmate who is entitled to use this program.

(5) The Warden shall appoint one staff member, ordinarily above the department head level, as

the Administrative Remedy Coordinator (Coordinator) and one person to serve as Administrative

Remedy Clerk (Clerk). The Regional Director and the National Inmate Appeals Administrator,

Office of General Counsel, shall be advised of these appointees and any subsequent changes.

To coordinate the regional office program, each Regional Director shall also appoint an

Administrative Remedy Coordinator of at least the Regional Administrator level, ordinarily the

Regional Counsel, and an Administrative Remedy Clerk. The National Inmate Appeals

Administrator, Office of General Counsel, shall be advised of these appointees and any

subsequent changes.

(6) The Administrative Remedy Coordinator shall monitor the program’s operation at the

Coordinator’s location and shall ensure that appropriate staff (e,g., Clerk, unit staff) have the

knowledge needed to operate the procedure. The Coordinator is responsible for signing any

rejection notices and ensuring the accuracy of SENTRY entries; e.g., abstracts, subject codes,

status codes, and dates. The Coordinator also shall serve as the primary point of contact for the

Warden or Regional Director in discussions of Administrative Remedies appealed to higher

levels.

(7) The Administrative Remedy Clerk shall be responsible for all clerical processing of

Administrative Remedies, for accurately maintaining the SENTRY index, and for generating

SENTRY inmate notices.

(8) The Unit Manager is responsible for ensuring that inmate notices (receipts, extension

notices, and receipt disregard notices from institutions, regions and the Central Office) are

printed and delivered daily for inmates in their units and for deleting those notices from

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SENTRY promptly after delivery to the inmate. CCMs are responsible for this function for

inmates under their supervision.

b. Inmates have the responsibility to use this Program in good faith and in an

honest and straightforward manner.

6. RESERVED

7. INFORMAL RESOLUTION §542.13

a. Informal Resolution. Except as provided in §542.13(b), an inmate shall first

present an issue of concern informally to staff, and staff shall attempt to

informally resolve the issue before an inmate submits a Request for

Administrative Remedy. Each warden shall establish procedures to allow for the

informal resolution of inmate complaints.

The Warden is responsible for ensuring that effective informal resolution procedures are in place

and that good faith attempts at informal resolution are made in an orderly and timely manner by

both inmates and staff. These procedures may not operate to limit inmate access to formal filing

of a Request.

b. Exceptions. Inmates in CCCs are not required to attempt informal resolution.

An informal resolution attempt is not required prior to submission to the regional

or Central Office as provided for in §542.14(d) of this part. An informal resolution

attempt may be waived in individual cases at the Warden or institution

Administrative Remedy Coordinator’s discretion when the inmate demonstrates

an acceptable reason for bypassing informal resolution.

For example, the Warden may waive informal resolution for Unit Discipline Committee (UDC)

appeals, or when informal resolution is deemed inappropriate due to the issue's sensitivity.

Although not mandatory, inmates may attempt informal resolution of DHO decisions. See the

Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program.

8. INITIAL FILING §542.14

a. Submission. The deadline for completion of informal resolution and

submission of a formal written Administrative Remedy Request, on the

appropriate form (BP-9), is 20 calendar days following the date on which the basis

for the Request occurred.

In accord with the settlement in Washington v. Reno, and for such period of time as this

settlement remains in effect, the deadline for completing informal resolution and submitting a

formal written Administrative Remedy Request, on the appropriate form (BP-9) (BP-229), for a

disputed telephone charge, credit, or telephone service problem for which the inmate requests

reimbursement to his/her telephone account, is 120 days from the date of the disputed telephone

charge, credit, or telephone service problem.

Administrative Remedy Requests concerning telephone issues that do not involve billing

disputes or requests for refunds for telephone service problems (such as Administrative Remedy

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Requests concerning telephone privileges, telephone lists, or telephone access) are governed by

the 20-day filing deadline.

b. Extension. Where the inmate demonstrates a valid reason for delay, an

extension in filing time may be allowed. In general, valid reason for delay means a

situation which prevented the inmate from submitting the request within the

established time frame. Valid reasons for delay include the following: an

extended period in-transit during which the inmate was separated from

documents needed to prepare the Request or Appeal; an extended period of time

during which the inmate was physically incapable of preparing a Request or

Appeal; an unusually long period taken for informal resolution attempts;

indication by an inmate, verified by staff, that a response to the inmate’s request

for copies of dispositions requested under §542.19 of this part was delayed.

Ordinarily, the inmate should submit written verification from staff for any claimed reason for

delay.

If an inmate requests an Administrative Remedy form but has not attempted informal resolution,

staff should counsel the inmate that informal resolution is ordinarily required. If the inmate

nevertheless refuses to present a request informally, staff should provide the form for a formal

Request. Upon receipt of the inmate’s submission, the Coordinator shall accept the Request if, in

the Coordinator's discretion, informal resolution was bypassed for valid reasons, or may reject it

if there are no valid reasons for bypassing informal resolution.

c. Form

(1) The inmate shall obtain the appropriate form from CCC staff or institution

staff (ordinarily, the correctional counselor).

The following forms are appropriate:

■ Request for Administrative Remedy, Form BP-9 (BP-229), is appropriate for filing at the

institution.

■ Regional Administrative Remedy Appeal, Form BP-10 (BP-230), is appropriate for

submitting an appeal to the regional office.

■ Central Office Administrative Remedy Appeal, Form BP-11 (BP-231), is appropriate for

submitting an appeal to the Central Office.

(2) The inmate shall place a single complaint or a reasonable number of closely

related issues on the form. If the inmate includes on a single form multiple

unrelated issues, the submission shall be rejected and returned without

response, and the inmate shall be advised to use a separate form for each

unrelated issue. For DHO and UDC appeals, each separate incident report

number must be appealed on a separate form.

Placing a single issue or closely related issues on a single form facilitates indexing, and promotes

efficient, timely and comprehensive attention to the issues raised.

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(3) The inmate shall complete the form with all requested identifying information

and shall state the complaint in the space provided on the form. If more space is

needed, the inmate may use up to one letter-size (8 1/2" by 11") continuation

page.

The inmate must provide an additional copy of any continuation page. The

inmate must submit one copy of supporting exhibits. Exhibits will not be

returned with the response. Because copies of exhibits must be filed for any

appeal (see § 542.15 (b) (3)), the inmate is encouraged to retain a copy of all

exhibits for his or her personal records.

(4) The inmate shall date and sign the Request and submit it to the institution

staff member designated to receive such Requests (ordinarily a correctional

counselor). CCC inmates may mail their Requests to the CCM.

d. Exceptions to Initial Filing at Institution

(1) Sensitive Issues. If the inmate reasonably believes the issue is sensitive and

the inmate’s safety or well-being would be placed in danger if the Request

became known at the institution, the inmate may submit the Request directly to

the appropriate Regional Director. The inmate shall clearly mark “Sensitive”

upon the Request and explain, in writing, the reason for not submitting the

Request at the institution. If the Regional Administrative Remedy Coordinator

agrees that the Request is sensitive, the Request shall be accepted. Otherwise,

the Request will not be accepted, and the inmate shall be advised in writing of

that determination, without a return of the Request. The inmate may pursue the

matter by submitting an Administrative Remedy Request locally to the Warden.

The Warden shall allow a reasonable extension of time for such a resubmission.

(2) DHO Appeals. DHO appeals shall be submitted initially to the Regional

Director for the region where the inmate is currently located.

See the Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program.

(3) Control Unit Appeals. Appeals related to Executive Panel Reviews of Control

Unit placement shall be submitted directly to the General Counsel.

See the Program Statement Control Unit Programs.

(4) Controlled Housing Status Appeals. Appeals related to the Regional

Director’s review of controlled housing status placement may be filed directly

with the General Counsel.

See the Program Statement Procedures for Handling HIV Positive Inmates Who Pose

Danger to Other.

9. APPEALS § 542.15

a. Submission. An inmate who is not satisfied with the Warden’s response may

submit an Appeal on the appropriate form (BP-10) to the appropriate Regional

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Director within 20 calendar days of the date the Warden signed the response. An

inmate who is not satisfied with the Regional Director’s response may submit an

Appeal on the appropriate form (BP-11) to the General Counsel within 30 calendar

days of the date the Regional Director signed the response. When the inmate

demonstrates a valid reason for delay, these time limits may be extended. Valid

reasons for delay include those situations described in §542.14(b) of this part.

Appeal to the General Counsel is the final administrative appeal.

These deadlines specify the date of the Appeal’s receipt in the regional office or the Central

Office. The deadlines have been made deliberately long to allow sufficient mail time. Inmates

should mail their Appeals promptly after receiving a response to ensure timely receipt.

Ordinarily, the inmate must submit written verification from institution staff for any reason for

delay that cannot be verified through SENTRY.

In many cases, courts require a proper Appeal to the General Counsel before an inmate may

pursue the complaint in court.

b. Form

(1) Appeals to the Regional Director shall be submitted on the form designed for

regional Appeals (BP-10) and accompanied by one complete copy or duplicate

original of the institution Request and response. Appeals to the General Counsel

shall be submitted on the form designed for Central Office Appeals (BP-11) and

accompanied by one complete copy or duplicate original of the institution and

regional filings and their responses. Appeals shall state specifically the reason

for appeal.

(2) An inmate may not raise in an Appeal issues not raised in the lower level

filings. An inmate may not combine Appeals of separate lower level responses

(different case numbers) into a single Appeal.

(3) An inmate shall complete the appropriate form with all requested identifying

information and shall state the reasons for the Appeal in the space provided on

the form. If more space is needed, the inmate may use up to one letter-size (8

1/2" x 11") continuation page. The inmate shall provide two additional copies of

any continuation page and exhibits with the regional Appeal, and three additional

copies with an Appeal to the Central Office (the inmate is also to provide copies

of exhibits used at the prior level(s) of appeal). The inmate shall date and sign

the Appeal and mail it to the appropriate Regional Director, if a Regional Appeal,

or to the National Inmate Appeals Administrator, Office of General Counsel, if a

Central Office Appeal (see 28 CFR part 503 for addresses of the Central Office

and Regional Offices).

c. Processing. The appropriate regional office to process the Appeal is the regional office for

the institution where the inmate is confined at the time of mailing the Appeal, regardless of the

institution that responded to the institution filing.

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