For the purposes of this part—

(a) Act means the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Public Law 96-247, 94 Stat. 349 (42 U.S.C. 1997).

(b) Applicant means a state or political subdivision of a state that submits to the Attorney General a request for certification of a grievance procedure.

(c) Attorney General means the Attorney General of the United States or the Attorney General's designees.

(d) Grievance means a written complaint by an inmate on the inmate's own behalf regarding a policy applicable within an institution, a condition in an institution, an action involving an inmate of an institution, or an incident occurring within an institution. The term “grievance” does not include a complaint relating to a parole decision.

(e) Inmate means an individual confined in an institution for adults, who has been convicted of a crime.

(f) Institution means a jail, prison, or other correctional facility, or pretrial detention facility that houses adult inmates and is owned, operated, or managed by or provides services on behalf of a State or political subdivision of a State.

(g) State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any of the territories and possessions of the United States.

(h) Substantial compliance means that there is no omission of any essential part from compliance, that any omission consists only of an unimportant defect or omission, and that there has been a firm effort to comply fully with the standards.

Each applicant seeking certification of its grievance procedure for purposes of the Act shall adopt a written grievance procedure. Inmates and employees shall be afforded an advisory role in the formulation and implementation of a grievance procedure adopted after the effective date of these regulations, and shall be afforded an advisory role in reviewing the compliance with the standards set forth herein of a grievance procedure adopted prior to the effective date of these regulations.

The written grievance procedure shall be readily available to all employees and inmates of the institution. Additionally, each inmate and employee shall, upon arrival at the institution, receive written notification and an oral explanation of the procedure, including the opportunity to have questions regarding the procedure answered orally. The written procedure shall be available in any language spoken by a significant portion of the institution's population, and appropriate provisions shall be made for those not speaking those languages, as well as for the impaired and the handicapped.

Each inmate shall be entitled to invoke the grievance procedure regardless of any disciplinary, classification, or other administrative or legislative decision to which the inmate may be subject. The institution shall ensure that the procedure is accessible to impaired and handicapped inmates.

The grievance procedure shall be applicable to a broad range of complaints and shall state specifically the types of complaints covered and excluded. At a minimum, the grievance procedure shall permit complaints by inmates regarding policies and conditions within the jurisdiction of the institution or the correctional agency that affect them personally, as well as actions by employees and inmates, and incidents occurring within the institution that affect them personally. The grievance procedure shall not be used as a disciplinary procedure.

The grievance procedure shall afford a successful grievant a meaningful remedy. Although available remedies may vary among institutions, a reasonable range of meaningful remedies in each institution is necessary.

(a) Initiation. The institution may require an inmate to attempt informal resolution before the inmate files a grievance under this procedure. The procedure for initiating a grievance shall be simple and include the use of a standard form. Necessary materials shall be freely available to all inmates and assistance shall be readily available for inmates who cannot complete the forms themselves. Forms shall not demand unnecessary technical compliance with formal structure or detail, but shall encourage a simple and straightforward statement of the inmate's grievance.

(b) Inmate and employee participation. The institution shall provide for an advisory role for employees and inmates in the operation of the grievance system. In-person hearings and committees consisting of either inmates or employees or both are not required by this paragraph, but they are permitted so long as no inmate participates in the resolution of any other inmate's grievance over the objection of the grievant.

(c) Investigation and consideration. No inmate or employee who appears to be involved in the matter shall participate in any capacity in the resolution of the grievance.

(d) Reasoned, written responses. Each grievance shall be answered in writing at each level of decision and review. The response shall state the reasons for the decision reached and shall include a statement that the inmate is entitled to further review, if such is available, and shall contain simple directions for obtaining such review.

(e) Fixed time limits. Responses shall be made within fixed time limits at each level of decision. Time limits may vary between institutions, but expeditious processing of grievances at each level of decision is essential to prevent grievance from becoming moot. Unless the grievant has been notified of an extension of time for a response, expiration of a time limit at any stage of the process shall entitle the grievant to move to the next stage of the process. In all instances grievances must be processed from initiation to final disposition within 180 days, inclusive of any extensions.

(f) Review. The grievant shall be entitled to review by a person or other entity, not under the institution's supervision or control, of the disposition of all grievances, including alleged reprisals by an employee against an inmate. A request for review shall be allowed automatically without interference by administrators or employees of the institution and such review shall be conducted without influence or interference by administrators or employees of the institution.

The grievance procedure shall contain special provision for responding to grievances of an emergency nature. Emergency grievances shall be defined, at a minimum, as matters regarding which disposition according to the regular time limits would subject the inmate to a substantial risk of personal injury, or cause other serious and irreparable harm to the inmate. Emergency grievances shall be forwarded immediately, without substantive review, to the level at which corrective action can be taken. The procedure for resolving emergency grievances shall provide for expedited responses at every level of decision. The emergency procedure shall also include review by a person or entity not under the supervision or control of the institution.

The grievance procedure shall prohibit reprisals. “Reprisal” means any action or threat of action against anyone for the good faith use of or good faith participation in the grievance procedure. The written procedure shall include assurance that good faith use of or good faith participation in the grievance mechanism will not result in formal or informal reprisal. An inmate shall be entitled to pursue through the grievance procedure a complaint that a reprisal occurred.

(a) Nature. Records regarding the filing and disposition of grievances shall be collected and maintained systematically by the institution. Such records shall be preserved for at least three years following final disposition of the grievance. At a minimum, such records shall include aggregate information regarding the numbers, types and dispositions of grievances, as well as individual records of the date of and the reasons for each disposition at each stage of the procedure.

(b) Confidentiality. Records regarding the participation of an individual in the grievance proceedings shall be considered confidential and shall be handled under the same procedures used to protect other confidential case records. Consistent with ensuring confidentiality, staff who are participating in the disposition of a grievance shall have access to records essential to the resolution of the grievance.