Indiana DOC Adult Pay to Stay Policy

Your correspondence is a request for public records pursuant to Indiana Code 5-14-3 et seq. Please accept this as an initial response to your request under Indiana Code 5-14-3-9. Staff with the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) will review the request and respond to requests as received. Based on the complexity of the request, and existing in-progress research of previously received inquiries, it may take several weeks before a final response is provided. It is important to note in previous advisory opinions, Indiana's Public Access Counselor has stated that requests for communications or correspondence are generally the most time-intensive public records searches. The Public Access Counselor has indicated that up to 90% of communications and correspondence could contain deliberative materials which may be withheld pursuant to state statute. Indiana Code 5-14-3-8(b) provides a copy charge of ten cents ($0.10) per standard sized (8 ½" x 11") pages copied, fifty cents ($0.50) per ledger sized (11" x 17") pages, and one dollar ($1.00) for plan sized (24" x 36") pages copied. If determined any or all of the requested information cannot be digitally transmitted, a notification of the estimated charge to fulfill the request will be provided. Any such charges must be paid in advance of sending the requested record. The Indiana General Assembly has provided public agencies discretion as to whether to disclose certain records under Indiana Code 5-14-3-4(b).

In accordance with the requirement of IC 5-14-3-3, this is in response to the public information request you recently sent to the Indiana Department of Correction. You have requested:

1. 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).
2. 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.

In response to request 1), the Indiana Department of Correction does not charge individuals or their loved ones for their incarceration or parole. Therefore, there are no policies or documents responsive to your request. Individuals in a DOC work release facility, who are working and preparing for their final release date, do pay a portion of their income to cover housing and transportation costs in accordance with IC 11-10-8-6.5.

For request 2) in Fiscal Year 2021, there was $1.1M deposited into the work release-study release subsistence special revenue fund which is utilized to expand work release and re-entry opportunities statewide.

Thank you,

IDOC Public Records