The KDOC provides comprehensive health care through private companies under contract with the KDOC. Routine sick calls are conducted five days a week and each facility provides 24-hour emergency medical, dental and mental health care for inmates. This includes on-site emergency first aid and crisis intervention, use of designated hospital room or appropriate health facilities, emergency on-call physician, dentist and mental health professional services when the emergency health facility is not located nearby. Each facility also provides for mental health services and routine dental examinations and treatment services.

What medical and mental health services are available?
Each facility provides a physician on site. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants also are available. Non-essential medical services and procedures, including elective surgery, will not be routinely provided to inmates. Access to mental health services is determined based upon assessments. 

What dental services are available?
Routine dental examinations and treatment services are provided to each inmate under the direction and supervision of a licensed dentist. Arrangements for consultation with dental specialists and emergency dental services are made by the facility dentist and approved by the Departmental Health Authority. Elective procedures and dental prostheses will not be routinely provided. The preventive benefits of fluorides may be made available to inmates in the form and amount determined appropriate to the individual by the dentist. Dental procedures considered elective and not routinely offered will include, but are not limited to:

1. Precious metal work;
2. Long-range periodontics; and,
3. Orthodontics

 
Can I find out about an inmate’s health status?
All medical and mental health records are confidential and handled in accordance with state and federal statutes and regulations regarding confidentiality and privacy. The release of confidential medical and mental health care information requires documented consent. An authorization for release of medical information is available in IMPP 5-107 Information Technology and Records: Confidentiality/Release of Medical and Mental Health Information, Attachment A.

 How does an inmate see a doctor?
An inmate must complete a sick call slip and will be charged a $2 fee for the initial visit. If the inmate needs to be seen for a follow-up visit or has been determined to have a chronic illness, the inmate will not be charged the $2 fee. If an inmate has a chronic illness and the symptoms are not related to the chronic illness, there will be a $2 charge. 

Will someone notify me of an inmate’s medical emergency?
Assigned facility staff will notify the emergency contact designated by the inmate in the event of serious illness or injury affecting the inmate, which requires hospitalization, or in the event of the inmate's death. 

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All residents may send and receive mail. Residents may receive letters, post cards, photographs and non-musical greeting cards. Please note that all letters are subject to being read and to inspection for illegal or unauthorized items.

How do I know where to address a letter?
A resident’s location can be found through the Kansas Adult Supervised Population Electronic Repository (KASPER) through the KDOC’s website at www.doc.ks.gov/kasper. Once you have identified the facility where the resident is housed, look up the correctional facility mailing addresse here.

How do I address a letter?
Click here to see an example of how to address a letter.

Can I send stamps to a resident?
No. Residents may not receive stamps through the mail. Stamps, envelopes and paper can be purchased through the facility’s canteen, a store through which residents are provided an opportunity to purchase allowable items.

Can I send a magazine or book?
Yes, but the items must be mailed directly from the publisher or vendor. Once the item leaves the store, you will not be able to mail it to the correctional facility. Many people find that websites, like Amazon.com, are a good way to purchase the books and have them mailed directly to the resident. If you purchase a book at a bookstore, ask the bookstore to mail it to the resident. Books may be either paperback or hard cover. Magazines and newspaper subscriptions are also an option.

However, a resident may receive printed material, including newspaper and magazine clippings, if the material is included as part of a first-class letter that does not exceed one ounce in total weight.

Each resident is allowed to have 12 books and 10 magazines in their cell. When a resident reaches the limit, the resident must remove items to allow more to be sent in. A resident can mail them home, donate the materials to charity or throw them away.

The correctional facility will review the reading materials and will censor materials that are determined to be a security threat, are of a sexually explicit nature or contain nudity. The facility will not allow role playing games or books related to those games.

The decision made by the staff of the designated facility may be appealed by a resident to the Secretary of Corrections or, at the direction of the Secretary, to the Secretary’s designee.

Can I send photographs?
Yes. Residents are allowed to keep up to 10 personal letters and 50 photographs (8X10 or smaller). Polaroid photographs are not allowed.

Why was my letter returned as containing sexually explicit content?
No resident may possess any sexually explicit materials, including drawings, paintings, writing, pictures, items and devices. The material is considered sexually explicit if the purpose of the material is sexual arousal or gratification and the material meets either of the following conditions:

1. Contains nudity or
2. Contains any display, actual or simulated, or description of sexual intercourse.

Why was my mail returned to me as censored?
When mail is censored or rejected, the sender, if known, is notified of the reason for the action and provided with an opportunity to appeal the decision.

Some common reasons why mail is withheld are:

• Does not include full name and address of sender.
• Homemade cards with stickers or other items glued to the paper.
• Laminated cards.
• Bookmarks.
• Inappropriate photographs such as:
• Photographs with nudity, guns, alcohol or gang signs.
• Correspondence between offenders.
• Correspondence through a third party.
• Sexually explicit language or other inappropriate content.
• Promotes illegal activity.

What if I don't want to have contact with an inmate?
If a resident contacts you and you do not want contact with him/her, the facility can issue an “Order to Cease Correspondence” to the resident. If you have safety concerns or are a victim of the resident, please contact the Office of Victim Services at 1-866-404-6732.

For more information about resident mail, please review Kansas Administrative Regulation (K.A.R.) 44-12-601, Inmate Writing and Other Inmate Communications or Publications. Also, Internal Management Policy and Procedure (IMPP) 12-120 Secuirty and Control: Control of Inmate Personal Property provides additional information.

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The KDOC’s graduated incentive level system requires that inmates earn privileges in areas which include personal property, visitation, canteen expenditures and eligibility for incentive pay.

Inmates progress through the four-level system by complying with KDOC rules and regulations, participating in programs and practicing pro-social behavior. Once earned, privileges may be lost for non-compliance as an inmate’s behavior determines which incentive levels he/she can earn while incarcerated. Level three is the highest incentive level possible. All inmates enter the Reception and Diagnostic Unit at Intake Level.

Inmate Privileges and Incentive Level System: Attachment A, IMPP 11-101

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If an inmate violates a rule, a staff member writes a DR or issues a summary judgment citation.

The inmate may enter a plea of not guilty, guilty or no contest when the report is served to him/her. Each inmate also is entitled to:

• receive advance written notice of the charge and a fair hearing by an impartial hearing officer;
• be present at the hearing;
• present documentary evidence;
• testify on the inmate's own behalf;
• have witnesses, subject to considerations of facility safety and security.
• confront and cross-examine witnesses against the inmate; and
• be furnished with staff assistance according to K.A.R. 44-13-408.

Disciplinary proceedings are conducted in a similar manner to how municipal court cases in your own community are conducted. If found guilty, the inmate’s sentence depends upon the severity of the offense. Disciplinary sentencing is mandated by Kansas regulations and consists of a wide range of consequences from being placed in disciplinary segregation to receiving a verbal reprimand. 

The inmate also is permitted to appeal Class I and Class II convictions to the Secretary of Corrections’ designee whose decision is final. 

The disciplinary process is explained in the Inmate Rule Book which is given to every inmate during the intake process. Inmates are strongly urged to read the book because rule infractions may adversely affect their incarceration and good time, if eligible. More information is available in KAR 44-13-101 and  IMPP 11-119 Decision Making: Documentation of the Disciplinary Process.

How does an inmate address grievances?
Before utilizing the grievance procedure, the inmate should try to reach an informal resolution with staff who work with the inmate on a direct or daily basis. Inmate request forms should be used to document this process. If this informal resolution attempt fails, the first level of the grievance system may then be used. If an emergency exists and a resolution could not be obtained by going to the unit team, the inmate may go directly to the grievance process. The grievance procedure incorporates several levels of problem solving to ensure solution at the lowest administrative level possible before moving to the next step:

• Level 1: The inmate submits a grievance report form to an unit team member.
• Level 2: If not resolved, the inmate submits the grievance report form to the Warden
• Level 3: If not resolved, the inmate submits the grievance report form to the Secretary of Corrections.

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