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OREGON YOUTH AUTHORITY







 

DIVISION 440
OFFENDER MAIL

416-440-0005
Purpose
(1) The purpose of these rules is to establish and define offender mail privileges in a manner that is consistent with the Oregon Youth Authority's (OYA) discharge of its statutory responsibilities and its multi-faceted mission to maintain public safety, to hold offenders accountable, and to provide treatment and reformation services.
(2) It is the policy of the OYA that its rules and policies governing the management and operation of its facilities apply to all offenders confined in those facilities, including but not limited to offenders who have been convicted and sentenced as adults and transferred to OYA physical custody.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 420A.025

Stats. Implemented: ORS 420A.025, 419C.478, 420A.015, 420.011, 420.014, 420A.025 & 420A.105

Hist.: OYA 17-2005, f. & cert. ef. 7-29-05
416-440-0015
Definitions
(1) Immediate Family Member: Legal spouse, domestic partner, parent, guardian, sibling, child, aunt, uncle, grandchildren and grandparents, including foster, in-law, and step relationships. Immediate family also includes the caregiver of the offender’s minor child(ren).
(2) Inspection: To examine or view, including reading or photocopying.
(3) Offender correspondence: Correspondence and packages designated official or personal.
(a) Official correspondence is mail sent to or received from officials of the Oregon Youth Authority, any confining or community supervising authority, the Governor, the Secretary of State, any state or federal legislator, administrators of grievance systems, foreign embassy consulates, attorneys, courts, court officials, or any agency that provides legal services to an offender, including legal aid offices.
(b) Personal correspondence is all other mail.
(4) Prohibited mail: Any material that threatens or is detrimental to the general public, or facility/program security, safety, or order, including but not limited to:
(a) Mail that contains escape plans, plans to commit a criminal act or to violate facility rules, or mail that constitutes a crime in or of itself or is used in the furtherance of illegal activity;
(b) Sexually explicit material which by its nature or content poses a threat or is detrimental to the security, safety, or order of the facility or program, or facilitates criminal activity;
(c) Mail sent or received on behalf of another offender;
(d) Incoming mail to a confined OYA offender from an offender confined in a correctional, penal, or detention institution, unless prior written authorization is received from the superintendent/camp director or designee;
(e) Mail to or from identified victims, including through third parties, unless prior written authorization is received from the superintendent/camp director or designee;
(f) Contraband items, including but not limited to weapons or explosives, medications, electronic items, negotiable instruments, money, or photographs with chemical substances on the back of the photograph;
(g) Unauthorized business transactions, such as promotions given in exchange for purchase or subscription, audio or book clubs, requests or applications for credit cards, credit or deferred billing transactions;
(h) Publications deemed contraband, detrimental to an offender’s reformation, or publications sent other than directly from a publisher or commercial distributor; and
(i) Attachments or enclosures that are glued, taped or otherwise affixed to the envelope, package, or its contents.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 420A.025

Stats. Implemented: ORS 420A.025, 419C.478, 420A.015, 420.011, 420.014, 420A.025 & 420A.105

Hist.: OYA 17-2005, f. & cert. ef. 7-29-05; OYA 3-2009, f. 7-21-09, cert. ef. 7-27-09
416-440-0020
Offender Mail
(1) The OYA realizes it is important for offenders in its custody to maintain ties with the community through written correspondence with community members, family, and friends. Within the administration of its facilities and programs, the OYA seeks to balance the positive effects of community contact with the responsibilities and values of the agency's mission.
(2) All incoming and outgoing mail is subject to inspection.
(3) An offender's right to send and receive mail will be protected unless the correspondence threatens the preservation of order, security, or discipline of a facility/program; poses a threat to the safety of the program, public officials, or the general public; is being used to further illegal activities; or at the court's direction.
(4) Offender correspondence is designated official or personal.
(5) The OYA will provide the equivalent of three stamps per week for offenders who have no financial resources to maintain ties to the community, including letters to family, friends, or other persons who are involved in the offender's life. Otherwise, no limits will be placed on the amount of business or personal correspondence an offender sends or receives.
(6) Personal mail may be inspected for contraband. Official mail will remain sealed but may be opened and inspected for contraband in the presence of the offender. Contraband items will be removed and documented. Appropriate contents will be delivered to the offender or recipient.
(7) All mail will:
(a) Be placed in an envelope or appropriate packaging acceptable by the official mail carrier;
(b) Include a sending and return address on the envelope or package;
(c) Contain appropriate postage;
(d) Be sent via the U.S. Postal Service or other official mail carriers, such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service, or the state shuttle.
(A) Official correspondence may be sent using U.S. postage and official carrier, or without postage using the facility's internal delivery system or state shuttle mail system, depending upon the intended recipient.
(B) Personal correspondence must be sent via the U.S. Postal Service or other official mail carrier. It is not appropriate to use the state shuttle mail system to send personal correspondence.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 420A.025

Stats. Implemented: ORS 419C.478, 420A.015, 420.011, 420.014, 420A.025 & 420A.105

Hist.: OYA 2-1995, f. 12-19-95, cert. ef. 1-2-96; OYA 11-2002, f. & cert. ef. 5-17-02; OYA 17-2005, f. & cert. ef. 7-29-05; OYA 3-2009, f. 7-21-09, cert. ef. 7-27-09
416-440-0035
Prohibited Mail
(1) If mail is prohibited, it may be rejected by OYA staff.
(a) For offenders placed in OYA facilities, only the superintendent/camp director, or specific designee, may reject an offender’s mail.
(b) For offenders placed under supervision in the community, only the local supervisor, or specific designee, may reject an offender’s mail.
(2) A confined OYA offender may be permitted to correspond with an offender confined in another correctional, penal, or detention institution if the offenders are immediate family members or their correspondence is deemed to have an integral role in offender reformation.
(a) Confined offender-to-offender mail must be inspected by designated staff;
(b) The superintendent/camp director or designee must approve of the confined offender-to-offender correspondence prior to its occurrence.
(A) When one of the confined offenders is not in OYA custody, the equivalent of the superintendent/warden of that institution must also approve of the confined offender-to-offender correspondence.
(3) Both the sender and intended recipient will be notified when mail is rejected. The sender and intended recipient will be informed of a mail rejection appeal process.
(4) When an offender transfers and an address is available, all letters and packages will be promptly forwarded, unopened to the offender. If no address is available, the mail will be marked “Not at this address” and returned, unopened, to the U.S. Postal Service or other official mail carrier.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 420A.025

Stats. Implemented: ORS 419C.478, 420A.015, 420.011, 420.014, 420A.025 & 420A.105

Hist.: OYA 17-2005, f. & cert. ef. 7-29-05; OYA 3-2009, f. 7-21-09, cert. ef. 7-27-09


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