§ 18-81qq — Office of the Correction Ombuds.

(a)(1) There is, within the Office of Governmental Accountability established under section 1-300, the Office of the Correction Ombuds for the provision of ombuds services. The Correction Ombuds appointed pursuant to section 18-81jj shall be the head of said office. (2) For purposes of this section, “ombuds services” includes: (A) Evaluating the delivery of services to incarcerated persons by the Department of Correction; (B) Reviewing periodically the nonemergency procedures established by the department to carry out the provisions of title 18 and evaluating whether such procedures conflict with the rights of incarcerated persons; (C) Receiving communications from persons in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction regarding decisions, actions, omissions, policies, procedures, rules or regulations of the department; (D) Conducting site visits of correctional facilities administered by the department; (E) Reviewing the operation of correctional facilities and nonemergency procedures employed at such facilities. Nonemergency procedures include, but are not limited to, the department's use of force procedures; (F) Recommending procedure and policy revisions to the department; (G) Taking all possible actions, including, but not limited to, conducting programs of public education, undertaking legislative advocacy and making proposals for systemic reform and formal legal action in order to secure and ensure the rights of persons in the custody of the commissioner. The Correction Ombuds shall exhaust all other means to reach a resolution before initiating litigation; and (H) Publishing on an Internet web site operated by the Office of the Correction Ombuds a semiannual summary of all ombuds services and activities during the six-month period before such publication. (b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the Correction Ombuds shall act independently of any department in the performance of the office's duties. (c) The Correction Ombuds may, within available funds, appoint such staff as may be deemed necessary. The duties of the staff may include the duties and powers of the Correction Ombuds if performed under the direction of the Correction Ombuds. (d) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate such sums as necessary for the payment of the salaries of the staff and for the payment of office expenses and other actual expenses incurred by the Correction Ombuds in the performance of the Correction Ombuds' duties. Any legal or court fees obtained by the state in actions brought by the Correction Ombuds shall be deposited in the General Fund. (e) In the course of investigations, the Correction Ombuds shall rely on a variety of sources to corroborate matters raised by incarcerated persons or others. Where such matters turn on validation of particular incidents, the Correction Ombuds shall endeavor to rely on communications from incarcerated persons who have reasonably pursued a resolution of the complaint through any existing internal grievance procedures of the Department of Correction. In all events, the Correction Ombuds shall make good faith efforts to provide an opportunity to the Commissioner of Correction to investigate and to respond to such concerns prior to making such matters public. (f) All oral and written communications, and records relating to such communications between a person in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction and the Correction Ombuds or a member of the Office of the Correction Ombuds staff, including, but not limited to, the identity of a complainant, the details of the communications and the Correction Ombuds' findings shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed without the consent of such person, except that the Correction Ombuds may disclose without the consent of such person general findings or policy recommendations based on such communications, provided no individually identifiable information is disclosed. The Correction Ombuds shall disclose sufficient information to the Commissioner of Correction or the commissioner's designee as is necessary to respond to the Correction Ombuds' inquiries or to carry out recommendations, but such information may not be further disclosed outside of the Department of Correction. (g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (f) of this section, whenever in the course of carrying out the Correction Ombuds' duties, the Correction Ombuds or a member of the Office of the Correction Ombuds staff becomes aware of the commission or planned commission of a criminal act or threat that the Correction Ombuds reasonably believes is likely to result in death or substantial bodily harm, the Correction Ombuds shall notify the Commissioner of Correction or an administrator of any correctional facility housing the perpetrator or potential perpetrator of such act or threat and the nature and target of the act or threat. (h) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes concerning the confidentiality of records and information, the Correction Ombuds shall have access to, including the right to inspect and copy, any records necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the Correction Ombuds, as provided in this section. The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to compel access to any record protected by the attorney-client privilege or attorney-work product doctrine or any record related to a pending internal investigation, external criminal investigation or emergency procedures. For purposes of this subsection, “emergency procedures” are procedures the Department of Correction uses to manage control of tools, keys and armories and concerning department emergency plans, emergency response units, facility security levels and standards and radio communications. (i) In the performance of the responsibilities provided for in this section, the Correction Ombuds may communicate privately with any person in the custody of the commissioner. Such communications shall be confidential except as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section. (j) The Correction Ombuds may apply for and accept grants, gifts and bequests of funds from other states, federal and interstate agencies, for the purpose of carrying out the Correction Ombuds' responsibilities. There is established within the General Fund a Correction Ombuds account which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. Any funds received under this subsection shall, upon deposit in the General Fund, be credited to said account and may be used by the Correction Ombuds in the performance of the Correction Ombuds' duties. (k) The name, address and other personally identifiable information of a person who makes a complaint to the Correction Ombuds, information obtained or generated by the Office of the Correction Ombuds in the course of an investigation and all confidential records obtained by the Correction Ombuds or the office shall be confidential and shall not be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200 , or otherwise except as provided in subsections (f) and (g) of this section. (l) No state or municipal agency shall discharge, or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against, any employee who in good faith makes a complaint to the Correction Ombuds or cooperates with the Office of the Correction Ombuds in an investigation. (m) Not later than December 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Correction Ombuds shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a , to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Correction regarding the conditions of confinement in the state's correctional facilities and halfway houses. Such report shall detail the Correction Ombuds' findings and recommendations.

Legislative History

(P.A. 22-18, S. 2; P.A. 23-38, S. 1.) History: P.A. 22-18 effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-38 made a technical change in Subsec. (j).