Texas DCJ Adult Pay to Stay Policy
| Submitted | June 21, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Kelly Stevenson
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Texas Public Information 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 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Kelly Stevenson
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Texas Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on June 21, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Dear Kelly Stevenson:
On June 21, 2023, you submitted to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice a public information request seeking policies, procedures, and reports related to medical and room and board fees/costs for FY 2021:
* 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 collections processed by Commissary and Trust Fund and Accounting and Business Services for room and board and inmate medical fees are for fiscal year 2021.
Attached is Government Code 501.014, which relates to inmate money and Governor Abbott's waiver of health care fees, effective March 20, 2020. TDCJ did not assess new charges for medical visits in FY 2021 after March 20, 2020. For the attached Commissary & Trust Fund chart, note that "Charged" is an accumulated amount of medical fees charged and medical fees refunded to an inmate within the reporting month. In FY 2021, the agency did not assess new medical fees; therefore, the amount shown as a negative is the amount refunded to inmates for prior medical visits. "Collected" is the total amount that is otherwise collected from an inmate trust fund account for a previously charged medical visit.
Room and Board is only collected for the Prison Industry Enhancement Program.
Also responsive to your request, see the attachment and the following URL:
https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/documents/Offender_Orientation_Handbook_English.pdf (pp. 39-40)
Our office now considers your request (0882-06-2023, which was inadvertently assigned a duplicate PIR number, 0883-06-2023) closed.
Thank you,
Office of the General Counsel-TDCJ
P: (936) 437-6700
The information contained in this email and any attachments is intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain confidential, privileged, or proprietary information. Any other use of these materials is strictly prohibited. This email shall not be forwarded outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Office of the General Counsel, without the permission of the original sender. If you have received this material in error, please notify me immediately by telephone and destroy all electronic, paper, or other versions.
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