| (a) A resident's rights to privacy and correspondence
may not be limited except when:
(1) a reasonable belief exists that the correspondence
is part of an attempt to formulate, devise, or otherwise effectuate
a plan to escape from the facility or to violate state or federal
laws. If a reasonable belief exists, facility staff shall:
(A) ask the resident's permission to read the letter;
(B) if permission is denied, request a search warrant
prior to opening and reading the letter; and
(C) if a search warrant request is denied, the correspondence
shall be provided to the resident; or
(2) correspondence with certain individuals is specifically
forbidden by:
(A) the resident's juvenile-court-ordered rules of
probation or parole;
(B) the facility's policies, procedures, and practices
that restrict and/or limit residents' correspondence with:
(i) other facility residents;
(ii) witnesses or parties in law enforcement investigations
or investigations before the court;
(iii) participants in pending or active court proceedings;
and/or
(iv) victims attached to related juvenile or criminal
referrals, investigations, or related proceedings; or
(C) a specific list of individuals furnished by a resident's
parent, legal guardian, or custodian.
(b) Incoming correspondence described in subsection
(a)(2) of this section shall be returned unopened to the sender.
(c) When mail is withheld from a resident, the reasons
shall be documented and a copy shall be maintained in the resident's
file.
|
