Policy Glossary

Abuse by Quantity

When an individual submits more than 5 resolution requests at one time, submitting resolution requests that bring the total to above 5, or submitting repeated resolution requests on the same issue.

Allotment

The part of an appropriation which may be expended or against which obligations may be incurred during a specific period.

Ambulatory Restraints

Soft, leather restraint device which restricts movement of legs/ankles and/or arms.

Amenable

Willing to engage in conversation and exploration regarding their responsibility in inappropriate/illegal sexual behaviors. In addition they must agree to attend sex offense treatment and follow treatment rules and expectations.

Ancillary Costs

Costs, in addition to purchase or construction costs, related to placing a fixed asset into its intended state of operation which include transportation charges, installation costs, and any other required normal and necessary expenditures/expenses.

Anti-Racism

The process of unlearning racist ideas, racial hatred, and racial bias to create laws, policies, practices, and procedures that embed equity and justice into every action.

Antipsychotic Medication

Medication whose primary function is the treatment of psychosis, often subdivided into first generation (typical) and second generation (atypical).

Assault

An unauthorized touching, including spitting and/or throwing a substance/object, striking, cutting, or shooting by an individual under Department jurisdiction that results in physical injury to an employee, per WAC 137-78-010(1).

Assume Supervision

The point where a case is gained to a Community Corrections Officer (CCO)/Field Unit. Used when the case is gained directly without prior investigation.

Bias

Judgment or preference toward or against a person or group of people.
• Implicit/Subconscious Bias - Attitudes/stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an implicit manner. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness.
• Explicit/Conscious Bias - Biases we know we have and use on purpose.

Bioassay

A determination of the concentration of a substance in a human body by an analysis of urine, feces blood, bone, or tissue.

Bloodborne Pathogen

A pathogenic microorganism that is present in human blood and can cause disease in humans, including hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), as well as any other pathogen specified by the board in rule.

Bluetooth

Short-range interconnection between electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, computers) without cables or wires.

Body Fluids

Fluids the body makes (e.g., semen, blood, and vaginal secretions). Body fluids also include breast milk, saliva, and gingival (relating to the gums fluids), urine, feces, and vomitus.

Budget

A plan of financial operation embodying an estimate of expenditures for a given period and the proposed means of financing them.

Bullying

Seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable).

Case Manager

A Counselor or Community Corrections Officer assigned to a caseload of individuals to address their risk and need factors while ensuring compliance with court and Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (Board) ordered conditions and Department requirements.

Catchment Area

The geographic area served by a Field Office/unit

Chain of Command

Areas of assigned responsibility within the Department of Corrections related by a hierarchy of employees including first line and subsequent supervisors, up to and including the appointing authority.

Child

Any person under 18 years of age.

Clemency

The act of the Governor extending mercy to a convicted individual. Clemency may be a pardon, shortening of a prison sentence, commutation of a sentence, or a reprieve.

Commercial Motor Vehicle

A motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles which: 1) has a gross combination weight of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed until with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds; 2) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds; 3) is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver; or 4) is used in the transport of hazardous material requiring placards.

Community Custody

An individual's supervision status in the community under the authority of the Department where the Department has the legal responsibility for adjudicating violations. Community Custody applies as follows: 1) Community Placement-Community Custody: that portion of an individual's sentence served in the community in lieu of good time credit. 2) Individuals with a sex offense who committed their crimes on or after June 6, 1996, and are sentenced to Special Sex Offense Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA): the entire period of supervision is served on Community Custody status; supervision is for 3 years or for the duration of the suspended sentence, whichever is greater. 3) Individuals with a sex offense who committed their crimes on or after June 6, 1996, and are committed to Prison: the entire period of supervision is served on Community Custody status; supervision is for 3 years or for the duration of earned release time, whichever is greater. 4) Work Ethic Program (WEP) graduates who are on Community Custody: the portion of supervision up to the adjusted WEP maximum expiration date is served on Community Custody status; this is not in lieu of earned release time.

Commutation

The modification or reduction of a punishment.

Compensatory Time

Time off in lieu of cash payment for overtime.

Contaminants

Any organic or inorganic substances, dust, fume, mist, vapor, or gas. Their presence in the air may be harmful to human beings.

Continuous Observation

Uninterrupted personal observation by an employee assigned exclusively to an incarcerated individual and in direct line of sight. Closed circuit television can be used as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for monitoring.

Contraband

Includes illegal items, explosives, deadly weapons, alcoholic beverages, drugs, tobacco products, controlled substances, and any item that is controlled, limited, or prohibited on the grounds or within the secure perimeter of a correctional facility as defined by Department and facility policy.

Contraindicated

A contraindication is a specific situation in which a drug, procedure, or surgery should not be used because it may be harmful to the person.

Controlled Substances

Amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, marijuana, methaqualone, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and any other substance, legal or illegal, that impairs or tends to impair an employee's physical or mental ability to perform his or her duties in a safe and competent manner.

Conviction

The act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law.

Criminogenic Needs

Dynamic (i.e., changeable) characteristics, traits, problems, or issues of an individual that directly relate to the individual's likelihood to commit new crimes.

Critical Areas

Include the following areas and ecosystems: (a) wetlands; (b) areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water; (c) fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas; (d) frequently flooded areas; and (e) geologically hazardous areas. "Fish and wildlife habitat conservation areas" does not include such artificial features or constructs as irrigation delivery systems, irrigation infrastructure, irrigation canals, or drainage ditches that lie within the boundaries of and are maintained by a port district or an irrigation district or company. RCW 36.70A.030

Dangerous Contraband

Any item that is capable of being used to endanger the safety or security of a correctional facility or any individual. This includes substantial probability that the item may be used in a manner that may cause death, cause serious injury, be used to facilitate an escape or cause other major threats. Examples of Dangerous Contraband include but are not limited to: knives, tools, cell phones, razor blades, unauthorized drugs/narcotics, chemicals, lighters, guns/gun parts, or explosives.

Data

Information or communication of any type, including memos/bulletins, brochures/publications, email, documents on portable storage devices, browser history, voicemail, and electronic records/files.

Data Owner

Person who creates the data or has authority over the group who created the data; Designated person/position authorized access to specific data per policy (e.g., health records); Designated person/position authorized to approve access to data (e.g., treatment/Security Threat Group records); Designated person/position authorized to release data (e.g., Public Disclosure Unit, Communications Director); Designated person/position ensuring compliance with policies and applicable regulations (e.g., human resources, investigations).

Data owners do not typically include persons enabling/supporting access to data, acting as a custodian for data, or maintaining an Information Technology (IT) system (e.g., IT technicians, administrative assistants).

Declared Address

An address 1) formally documented in the body of the Judgment and Sentence at the time of sentencing, 2) obtained by Department staff after the sentencing date for the current offense, as provided by the offender, or 3) given by the offender at the time s/he reports to the Department within 72 hours after sentencing for the current offense.

Direct Threat

A significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of anyone that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation

Direct Use

The physical or personal interaction with a system or device, such as typing on a keyboard or accessing a computer through a remote desktop.

Disability

Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major activities of an individual, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.

Discrimination

Illegal and unequal treatment of a person or group, intentional or unintenional, based on national origin, race, color, religion, age, gender, martial status, sexual orientation, status as a Vietnam Era Veteran, Wartime Veteran, or Disabled Veteran, or the persence of a physical mental, or sensory impairment. Washington State Executive Order 93-07 also prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in state government.

Disparaging Terms

Terms used to degrade or connote negative statements pertaining to race, color, gender, national origin, or religion (e.g., verbal statements, printed material, visual material, signs, symbols, posters, insignia).

Diversity

Any difference whatsoever for every single person. A person retains their individuality and brings diversity of thought, experience, and traits, seen and unseen, to a team or organization.

Domestic Violence

Any act of violence or abuse directed toward a family or household member. Family or household members include children, spouse, state registered domestic partner, persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time, persons related by blood or marriage, and persons who have resided together in the past.

Doula

A person trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth.

Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative (DOSA)

An alternative treatment oriented sentence for offenders convicted of the Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act (VUCSA), or solicitation to commit VUCSA or those offenders the court finds a substance use disorder has contributed to their offense.

Drug-Related Violation

To include 603, 607, 608, 655, 752, 778, or 892 violation

Encrpyted

Automated process of scrambling data to make it unreadable for unauthorized users. Users require a decryption key/password to access encrypted data.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

A detailed statement on the environmental impact of the proposed action, any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented, alternatives to the proposed action, the relationship between local short-term uses of man's environment and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

Environmentally Preferable Product

Products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. The product or service comparison may consider raw material acquisition, production, manufacturing, packaging, distribution, reuse, operation maintenance, or disposal. EPA: EO 13101, Section 201