Chapter 1 – General Administration

An effective and efficient flow of written communication shall be maintained throughout Headquarters, institutions, and the parole division.

This section outlines specific requirements for sending and receiving departmental mail throughout the various divisions within the Department. In addition, it outlines steps to be taken to obtain reproduction services for departmental written material.

The mailroom messengers deliver the mail to each office two times daily as follows:

• Headquarters – 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m..

• Other Sacramento buildings except Region I Headquarters and Parole field offices – 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m..

Outgoing mail is picked up at the same time the mail is delivered.

There are two scheduled mail runs daily between the YACA and the Department at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

A mail tray is available in The Director reception area for mail to the YACA.

Interagency Mail Service (IMS)

• Interagency mail to be sent to other state departments or facilities throughout the Sacramento area shall be placed in messenger service envelopes. On the envelope the following items shall be placed:

  • IMS code number.

    • The use of the code number expedites delivery of mail to state departments, as interagency mail is sorted by these numbers.

  • Name of department.

  • Name of the person or position title.

  • Address (or building).

  • Room number (or floor).

This mail is collected on regular departmental mail runs and picked up by IMS at approximately 10:00 a.m. daily. Mail addressed to any location not on the current “IMS Listing of Locations” shall not be delivered by IMS.

Correspondence shall be properly addressed and routed directly to the mailroom from all Headquarters locations within the Sacramento area as all departmental mail is sent out directly from the mailroom. The mailroom uses pre-labeled envelopes for sending routine correspondence; however, large envelopes in excess of 10″ x 12″ and all packages too large for consolidated mailing shall be packaged and labeled by the sending unit.

All mail sent to the institutions (with a route slip attached or in an envelope) shall be combined in the mailroom into a bulk rate, first class envelope unless otherwise specified.

Processing Deadline

• Mail received in the mailroom after 4:00 p.m. is processed the following day unless it is classified as an “expedite.” Expedite mail shall be accommodated based on mail deadlines set by the Department’s private contract carrier and/or the USPSUnited States Postal Service.

Express Mail

• Express mail shall only be used when it is imperative that delivery be made the following day. The express mail carrier that is specified in the current statewide master service agreement shall be used for mail between locations subject to the master service agreement. For telephone or FAX use refer to DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12070.

Personal Mail

• Mailroom personnel shall pick up personal mail for Headquarters employees during their daily scheduled mail runs. However, this pertains to envelopes and small packages only. Large personal packages and large bulk quantities, such as Christmas mail, shall not be handled by the mailroom. All personal mail shall have proper postage and address ready for delivery. The mailroom does not stock nor sell postage stamps and shall not meter personal mail.

USPSUnited States Postal Service Delivery

• Outgoing mail is delivered once daily to the USPSUnited States Postal Service, 801 I Street, at approximately 4:20 p.m.

Re-Use of Envelopes

• For distribution purposes, whenever possible, all sizes of clasp-type manila envelopes shall be saved for re-use if the envelope has not been sealed with tape or damaged.

Institution mailroom supervisors shall ensure timely processing and delivery of employee mail on a daily basis.

All intra-institutional mail shall be processed through the mailroom. Inmates shall not be used for delivery of mail. All inter-institutional mail and correspondence with the public shall be handled by the USPSUnited States Postal Service by the institution mailrooms.

Institutions shall also restrict the use of express mail in accordance with the provisions of DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12050.3.

Mailrooms shall not meter personal mail.

Employees who have business or private letters which will be mailed by institutional mailrooms shall deliver their mail to the mailroom in person or shall place their title or rank with the return address on the outside of the envelope. Use of institution business mailing address for personal mail, however, is discouraged.

Inmate mail is addressed in DOMDepartment Operations Manual 54010 of this manual.

All inter-office mail for the P&CSDParole & Community Services Division (see DAPO) shall be handled by the USPSUnited States Postal Service or contract courier service.

The restrictions in DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12050.3 apply to use of express mail service.

Various forms designated as route slips are used within the Department for distribution purposes. These forms may be obtained by ordering from supply. A partial list is:

• Message (STDStandard Form (DGS). Form 7).

• Headquarters Route Slip (CDC Form 27).

• Institution Route Slip (CDC Form 29).

• Messenger Route Slip (CDC Form 832).

• P&CSDParole & Community Services Division (see DAPO) Route Slip (CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 271-B).

This form, which is often called a “blue referral”, is used to forward any type of written communication that requires an action on the part of the recipient (e.g., letters, memorandums, bulletins, manual revisions, reports, etc.) through administrative channels.

Addressees’ position or name shall be placed on the line that immediately follows each number. After receipt, addressees shall initial next to their name or position and add the date signed.

• See DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12010 of this manual for the routing of policy directives (e.g., bulletins and manual revisions).

• See DOMDepartment Operations Manual 12030 of this manual for the routing of correspondence to the Director and Chief Deputy Director.

Per DOMDepartment Operations Manual 51030, two copies of all incident reports occurring in the institutions are sent to Headquarters (three copies in event of an assault resulting in death).

The incident reports are distributed by the Institutions Division:

• One copy is routed to OISBOffender Information Services Branch for entry of necessary data into computerized database maintained by OISBOffender Information Services Branch. This copy is then forwarded to archives.

• The second copy is reviewed by the staff of Institutions Division, who route a copy to other Headquarters staff depending on the type of incident.

Per DOMDepartment Operations Manual 31120, various staff meeting minutes are routed to Headquarters for informational purposes. Three copies are mailed to Headquarters to the following:

The LADLegal Affairs Division (see OLA)-PMU, Headquarters, maintains one copy of institution staff meeting minutes.

Reproduction (other than forms) for institutions and parole units shall be accomplished using local office copiers and/or vocational/industrial printing programs. Large reproduction needs which cannot be handled by the above shall be met by submitting requests directly to the Office of State Publishing (OSPOffice of State Publishing).

All material to be reproduced (other than forms) for Headquarters units shall be submitted to the departmental reproduction center, with a completed STDStandard Form (DGS). Form 51, Reproduction Order.

All material being submitted shall be ready to be reproduced (i.e., no staples, removed from binders, separated from material not being reproduced).

State owned copying and duplicating equipment shall not be used for other than official state business.

The departmental reproduction center is capable of providing the following services:

• One-sided or two-sided copies.

• Copies from originals using paper of weights ranging from 16 pounds to 110 pounds, (i.e., letterhead to cover stock) and from pasted or taped originals.

• Reduction from originals as large as 11″ x 17.”

• Copies of continuous computer forms.

• Stapling (a maximum of 100 pages) and arranging in sequence (collating).

• Duplication of manuals, reports, etc., as long as the originals provided do not have book binding and are not copyrighted.

All reports of more than one page shall be duplicated on both sides of the paper. This reduces the bulk in handling, mailing, and filing.

All jobs shall be completed within five working days. Expedite jobs shall be delivered to, and approved by, the reproduction center supervisor. Very large jobs needing to go to OSPOffice of State Publishing may require additional days.

The number of copies to be made from each original determines where the copies shall be made as follows:

All reproduction orders that shall be mass mailed by OSPOffice of State Publishing shall be submitted to the reproduction center supervisor with a completed STDStandard Form (DGS). Form 50.

The Deputy Director, OBSOffice of Business Services or designee shall ensure that the contents of this article are accurate and current.

SAMState Administrative Manual §§ 2200 and 2800.

CDC Form 27, Headquarters route Slip.

CDC Form 29, Institution Route Slip.

CDC Form 832, Messenger Route Slip.

CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 271-B, P&CSDParole & Community Services Division (see DAPO) Route Slip.

CDC Form 982, Referral Memorandum.

STDStandard Form (DGS) Form 7, Route Slip.

STDStandard Form (DGS) Form 51, Reproduction Order.

STDStandard Form (DGS) Form 50, Mass Mailing.