Georgia DOC Adult Pay to Stay Policy

Please be advised that GDC Legal Services has changed the open records requests system to an open records portal site. Please re-direct your request to the following link listed below to take you to the portal. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to serving you under the new GDC open records site.

https://georgiadcor.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://georgiadcor.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/__;!!HWVSVPY!nCzde0PVf5bT08dqz_X9IBlrChr27fxgR3c6Ohgkgkum4i7tvE55d-2dVzsATZ6HResGQBvyc3RXsCz7wLBKwXA$>.

Sincerely,

Office of Legal Services

Georgia Department of Corrections

P.O Box 1529

Forsyth, Georgia 31029

Main Number: 478-992-5240

Main Fax: 478-992-5241

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This message is intended exclusively for the individual or entity to which it is addressed. This communication may contain information that is proprietary, privileged or confidential or otherwise legally exempt from disclosure. If you are not the named addressee, you are not authorized to read, print, retain, copy or disseminate this message or any part of it. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete all copies of the message.

Dear Kelly Stevenson:
Thank you for your interest in public records of Georgia Department of Corrections. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. 50-18-70, et seq. Your request was received in this office on 12/16/2022 and given the reference number R001552-121622 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of inmate fees and debt:
All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which inmates are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc.).
All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of individuals charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question.
PLEASE NOTE: The Open Records Act does not require a governmental body to prepare new reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request, or to answer questions.
Sincerely,
Georgia Department of Corrections
You can monitor the progress of your request in " My Records Center" (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HYJCqfb5CwmL8-2BaX5Lexlv3IZ9pTXBKx8VS5eLuk4pxCxN7eymPDg4aSieUZF3gL44ARUMkhudak9kRRcaC6xVo-3DCUkU_c6wS1ZdBGVN4m2h0uVX9F2XQOXRoB9xh3vNE2fFq2xmFinKby4TnOxxfz6zcGXZv4U91w1-2BE4kQnANiO-2B6wlk3JdnHJGOr6AOXoBjt7xUhSfYA8crmAT9eW-2F3dcUna62jepGi9yQqz-2FqzmFnVhCesv75Y50QeqjAGD-2Bn-2FRz1VrsyMFyAiyyQbku5HfDI7ifl5FCoYDRljjVXXwv74GEKd0IOU-2BZfyA5y-2FZTS-2B0kxF3gRhuM7bvYG23fFX7rhY24ETXmRH7jrmlrH4yGPZhisc1Ix7-2FmY4-2B9bbKWlNd3hDHtTPVW4gWVK7pS4Os-2FoPU-2F5ukJH2L5R2RMw-2BwpvcbCkoG2sIDExI1fZ7-2FUwTQsxGU05b-2FgfCChB8yf2H7esojsxPRYK14qptOEGqdF9DAVGig-3D-3D)

Dear Kelly Stevenson:
Thank you for your interest in public records of Georgia Department of Corrections. Your request has been received and is being processed in accordance with the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. 50-18-70, et seq. Your request was received in this office on 12/16/2022 and given the reference number R001567-121622 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of inmate fees and debt:

All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which inmates are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc).

All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of individuals charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Kelly Stevenson
Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question.
PLEASE NOTE: The Open Records Act does not require a governmental body to prepare new reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request, or to answer questions.
Sincerely,
Georgia Department of Corrections
You can monitor the progress of your request in " My Records Center" (https://u8387778.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=6HtRfOYLt5fXvpttM-2FU1HYJCqfb5CwmL8-2BaX5Lexlv3IZ9pTXBKx8VS5eLuk4pxCxN7eymPDg4aSieUZF3gL44ARUMkhudak9kRRcaC6xVo-3DMXAf_c6wS1ZdBGVN4m2h0uVX9F2XQOXRoB9xh3vNE2fFq2xmFinKby4TnOxxfz6zcGXZv4U91w1-2BE4kQnANiO-2B6wlkwsD1m1imK69agmJVPwCMcgmzoHmBVNqe6a4FljT9UUb7P5Urv-2FIF5ERbjXIfpggNObOoqZ2FkmXg1UVpgcX9OCW5GhWwiuKLmA2yjR-2Fp2EemHxyS0pt4LLrW-2BqF9KNdA7in0jx777cK33M5hAdxrDrp15jkA5thC-2BVTsmvm1MdX-2By6bQQBmpi3xPAnp84yuq8VmHKltjSuoCPqkYDpNRu8M5QC-2ByRWNR12oMHdlyn5a87-2BD4OwVFy-2BMP8LSsPbFpB2Nj8oPQLfiInjJK93GA9vdNrBTUjpZWVa-2BUfWjswSbTkR8uIiJVy9SvW2NccVItg-3D-3D)

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of December 16, 2022, Reference # R001552-121622.
Dear Kelly Stevenson,
The Georgia Department of Corrections received a request for public records from you on December 16, 2022. Your request mentioned: “To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of inmate fees and debt:
All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which inmates are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc.).
Publicly accessible policies are available for free from the GDC's homepage, www.gdc.ga.gov, by clicking on Policies & Procedures. Policies may be requested through this site, but a fee may apply. Not all policies are available to the public. SOP's related to security procedures are exempt from the ORA pursuant to O.C.G.A. 50-18-72(a)(25)(A)(iv). We are not entirely sure which specific policy copies you desire. There seemed to be related policies under the Administration and Finance, Facilities, and Health Services tabs that are all publicly available at this site. If you still desire a physical copy of policies, please advise the specific one(s) and our office can mail them. Please note, the Department charges .10 per page for physical copies. (www.gdc.ga.gov) All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of individuals charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.”
We remain in the process of trying to determine if we possess any documents that are responsive to the second portion of the request. I will contact you soon with a more specific estimate of the time that will be required to fulfill your request to supplement this response. I hope to be able to provide an estimate of the cost for preparing the material for you, if any applies, at that time.
Please feel free to contact me via the GDC's open records portal or by phone at (478) 550-6350, if you need any further assistance.
Sincerely,
Timothy Duff
Assistant General Counsel
Legal Services

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RE: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST of December 16, 2022, Reference # R001552-121622
Dear Kelly Stevenson,
Thank you for contacting the Georgia Department of Corrections regarding your request for public records. Your request, received on December 16, 2022, sought copies of the following documents: “To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of inmate fees and debt:
All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of individuals charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021. The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.”
The GDC estimates that the fees for the retrieval, review and redaction of the records that you have requested will be as follows:
Copy Fees Charged: $0.00 if the information is provided electronically.
Labor Charged: $807.60 (40 hours of labor to respond to the request) Estimated Total: $807.60
The GDC does not possess a specific document or documents in relation to this request and the Open Records Act does not require a governmental body to prepare new reports, summaries, or compilations not in existence at the time of the request. A search could be created to gather data to respond to this request. In accordance with O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(c), an agency may impose a reasonable charge for the search and retrieval of records. As required by O.C.G.A. 50-18-71(d), in an instance where the costs exceed $25, an agency may defer the search and retrieval of records until the requestor agrees to pay the estimated costs. Further, in an instance where the estimated costs exceed $500, an agency may insist on prepayment prior to beginning the search and retrieval. As the estimated costs to respond to this request are in excess of $500, our agency would insist on pre-payment prior to beginning any work in response to this request. Please let me know if you will agree to pay these estimated costs. If you do not respond to this inquiry within ten (10) business days, your request will be deemed withdrawn.
You may provide a response to the Georgia Department of Corrections by any of the following methods:
* By responding to this message;
* Via facsimile to (478) 992-5241; or
* By regular mail to Georgia Department of Corrections, Attention: Office of Legal Services, P. O. Box 1529, Forsyth, GA 31029.
Please note that no work will be undertaken until we receive your response.
Sincerely,
Timothy Duff
Assistant General Counsel
Legal Services

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Hi:
Thank you for your response. The submitted estimate is confirmed to be accurate. As was noted, we cannot speak for other states, as there could be many variables involved as to why other states are providing differing estimates. The GDC does not possess a specific document in relation to this request, but a search could be created to gather the data to respond to the request.
Please feel free to write or call if there are any questions or if we can be of any additional service. My direct number is 478-550-6350.
Sincerely,
Timothy J. Duff
Assistant General Counsel
Office of Legal Services