PURPOSE

This Department Order establishes the duties of the Constituent Services and standardizes the processes whereby the concerns of the general public, family members or friends of inmates are addressed fairly, competently, and professionally. Constituent Services responds promptly to issues involving legitimate concerns regarding conditions of confinement and supervision to reduce inmate litigation, increase agency transparency and improve Department operations and outcomes.

PROCEDURES

124.01    CONSTITUENTS / CONSTITUENCY GROUPS

1.1    Constituent Services - The Constituent Services office shall:

1.1.1    Report to the Director or designee.

1.1.2    Support the Department’s interaction with the public by improving its communication with inmate families, advocacy groups and other concerned citizens.

1.1.3    Provide timely and reliable information as permitted by law regarding individual offenders and Department activities and outcomes.

1.1.4    Augment the Department’s other public information and education, along with staffing the Constituent Services Advisory Committee (CSAC).

1.1.5    Collect, analyze and report data to the Director regarding issues and resolutions of legitimate concerns made by the family or friends of inmates, and the general public.

1.2    The Constituent Services Office (CSO) shall:

1.2.1    Supervise office staff including the quality of work products, analyzing and presenting trend data, and communicating regularly with constituents and constituency groups.

1.2.2    Facilitate CSAC meetings and attend Wardens’ meetings as necessary.

1.2.3    Routinely tour prison facilities and interact with the offender population.

1.2.4    Oversee orientation programs for inmates’ immediate family members.

1.2.5    Ensure a copy of the Family and Friends Guidebook and internet site is updated regularly. The guidebook shall provide general information to the public regarding addresses and contact information. At a minimum, the guidebook will also include information on inmate visitation, mail, property, telephone calls, inmate health care and frequently asked questions.

1.2.6    Ensure a the Family and Friend Guidebook is readily available on the Department’s Internet site (www.azcorrections.gov); however, the guidebook shall also be made available:

1.2.6.1    Free of charge at the Public Access office at Central Office

1.2.6.2    Free of charge for a member of the public who provides the Constituent Services officer with a self-addressed business size (or larger) envelope and two first class stamps

1.2.6.3    At inmate libraries for inmate review

1.2.6.4    For inmate purchase at the inmate store

1.2.6.5    In alternate formats by contacting the Arizona Department of Corrections Central Office Communications

1.2.7    Update this Department Order as necessary and monitor visitors’ comment cards.

1.2.8    Provide timely feedback to the appropriate Division Director.

1.2.9    Assist Offender Operations, Program Services, and Support Services in addressing concerns of constituents and constituency groups.

1.2.10    Provide information regarding the Department’s vision and mission, its current policies, procedures and programs, and the five-year plan.

1.2.11    Solicit the public’s input and facilitate communication within the Department and with other groups as appropriate.

1.2.12    Support the work of the Constituent Services Advisory Committee.

1.3    Constituent Services Staff shall:

1.3.1    Provide consistent, accurate, and timely public information concerning offenders, Department policies, procedures and practices.

1.3.2    Strive to identify and remedy underlying and recurring problems as quickly and informally as possible.

1.3.3    Identify the location within the agency where the concerns and issues first appeared by analyzing data, spotting trends, and improving practices.

124.02    CONSTITUENT INQUIRIES - Public inquiries regarding inmates shall be addressed informally at the facility where the inmate is incarcerated or the offender’s assigned parole office prior to Constituent Services becoming involved. The Constituent Services staff shall be available to initiate contact with the Institution, Health Care or Community Corrections at no cost, as quickly as possible. Contact information is available on the Department’s Internet site.

1.1    Prior to Constituent Services involvement, the attempts shall be made to resolve issues and inquires as follows: (See Attachment A, Inmate Related Topics and Appropriate Response Levels.)

1.1.1    Issues concerning an institution shall be directed to the unit Deputy Warden or designee as the initial contact persons. If the issue cannot be satisfactorily resolved at this level it shall be referred to the institution Warden.

1.1.2    Issues concerning inmate health care shall be directed to the Facility Health Administrator or designee as the initial contact persons. If the issue cannot be satisfactorily resolved at this level it shall be referred to the Health Services Administrator.

1.1.3    Issues concerning Community Corrections shall be directed to the Parole Office Manager or designee as the initial contact persons. If the issue cannot be satisfactorily resolved at this level it shall be referred to the Community Corrections Administrator.

1.2    Unresolved issues and inquiries shall be directed to the Constituent Services Office for additional assistance and final resolution.

1.3    Inmates shall not be harassed, punished, disciplined, or retaliated against in any way because a family member, friend, or representative has made an inquiry or complaint to the Constituent Services office.

124.03    DATA COLLECTION / INTERPRETATION

1.1    The Constituent Services Office shall maintain a database of calls, comments and correspondence to archive activities within the area of responsibility. This information shall be reviewed on ongoing bases to identify trends and address problem areas within the divisions.

1.2    The information shall be provided to the Director and Executive staff and shared as appropriate with the CSAC to identify and remedy causes of legitimate concerns at the earliest opportunity and to identify and incorporate the field’s best practices in the Department’s policies, procedures and programs.

124.04    CONSTITUENT SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

1.1    The CSAC shall:

1.1.1    Meet quarterly to development problem-solving processes.

1.1.2    Provide Constituent Services with recommendations on improving policies, practices, programs and protocols and on ways that the Department staff can improve communications with offenders’ families and friends, and to make the communication more effective.

1.1.3    Seek input from offenders’ families and friends regarding Department related issues. This Committee is an important community resource whose input enhances the Department’s implementation of comprehensive pre-release preparation programming.

1.2    The CASC may recommend issues for study and respond to requests to review issues impacting conditions of confinement. Input is solicited primarily to enhance the systems currently in place, but not to replace them.

1.3    All information related to issues and inquires of the Committee is confidential. Individual members shall refrain from discussing issues and concerns related to the Committee. The Committee may select a spokesperson to provide information about completed projects.

1.4    The Constituent Services shall address individual offenders’ concerns and focus on issues impacting groups of offenders.

1.5    The Committee team members shall be appointed by the Director and shall consist of not more than 15 members all of whom are unpaid volunteers.

1.5.1    Members are selected by the Director to represent diversity in the population and the concerns of advocacy organizations in Arizona to enhance the Department’s operations and improve its outcomes.

1.5.2    Appointments to the Committee are for a term of two years. Committee members’ terms are staggered.

1.5.3    Committee members may be reappointed.

Dora Schriro

Director

ATTACHMENT

Attachment A – Inmate Related Topics and Appropriate Response Levels

AUTHORITY

A.R.S., Title 41, Chapter 11, Article 1, 1604 – Duties and Powers of the Director

DEPARTMENT ORDER 124

ATTACHMENT A

INMATE RELATED TOPICS AND APPROPRIATE RESPONSE LEVELS