A. There is created within the Office of the State Inspector General, an Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office). The Office shall have the following duties and powers:
1. To provide information, as appropriate, to inmates, family members, representatives of inmates, Department employees and contractors, and others regarding the rights of inmates;
2. To monitor conditions of confinement and assess compliance with applicable federal, state, and local rules, regulations, policies, and best practices as related to the health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of inmates;
3. To provide technical assistance to support inmate participation in self-advocacy;
4. To provide technical assistance to local governments in the creation of correctional facility oversight bodies, as requested, to the extent resources are available to provide such assistance;
5. To establish policies for a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the Department and that may include data related to (i) deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts in custody; (ii) physical and sexual assaults in custody; (iii) the number of inmates placed in restorative housing; (iv) the number of facility lockdowns lasting longer than 24 hours; (v) the number of staff vacancies at each facility; (vi) the inmate-to-staff ratios at each facility; (vii) staff tenure, turnover, and compensation; (viii) numbers of in-person visits to inmates that were made and denied at each facility; (ix) the number of inmate complaints or grievances submitted to the Department, the resolution of such complaints or grievances, and how long it took to resolve each complaint or grievance; and (x) any covered issue as defined in § 53.1-17.9;
6. To establish procedures to gather stakeholder input into the Office’s activities and priorities;
7. To inspect each state correctional facility at least once every three years and at least once every year for any maximum security facility and any facility where the Office has found cause for more frequent inspection or monitoring;
8. To issue publicly periodic facility inspection reports and an annual report on state correctional facility conditions and a summary of data and recommendations arising from any complaints investigated and resolved pursuant to this article, and any other thematic reports covering any topic the Office finds relevant to maintaining a safe, secure, and humane Department;
9. To monitor, document, review, and report on facility conditions in Department facilities; and
10. To review, monitor, and report on the administrative remedy process of the Department, including the availability of any complaint and grievance forms at Department facilities, the accessibility of the remedy process to inmates and their representatives at each facility, and the timely, unbiased resolution of complaints or grievances by the Department.
B. The Office shall be directed by a Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Ombudsman) who shall be selected by the State Inspector General. The co-chairmen of the Corrections Oversight Committee (the Committee), established pursuant to § 53.1-17.3, or their designees, shall be invited to participate on the interview panels for finalist candidates for the Ombudsman position. The Office of the State Inspector General shall notify the Committee of the job posting for the Ombudsman position when the employment opportunity is made available. The State Inspector General shall select an Ombudsman who has training or experience in criminal law, including any experience with local or state correctional law, and shall consider his history of judgment, independence, objectivity, and integrity. Neither the Ombudsman nor the Ombudsman’s spouse or domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children, or siblings shall be a current or former employee or contractor of the Department. The Ombudsman shall have the authority to make recommendations to the State Inspector General to (i) hire staff, contractors, and unpaid volunteers; (ii) secure office space, equipment, and other services necessary to carry out the duties of the Office pursuant to this article; and (iii) contract with experts as necessary to assist in the monitoring and inspection of facilities, the assessment of data, and the review, investigation, or resolution of complaints. A staff member or volunteer hired to work in the Office shall have the same authority and duties of the Office as described in this article. A staff member or volunteer hired by the Ombudsman shall not be (a) a person with a family member who is a current inmate of the Department, (b) a person with a family member who is a current employee or contractor of the Department, (c) a current employee or contractor of the Department, or (d) a victim or a family member of a victim of a crime committed by an inmate currently in the custody of the Department.
C. The Ombudsman shall, subject to the provisions of § 53.1-17.5, (i) attend each hearing conducted by the Committee and provide any testimony, documents, data, or information requested by Committee members; (ii) meet at least twice each year with the co-chairmen of the Committee or their designees, the Governor, and the Director to report on the work and findings of the Office; and (iii) provide testimony before the relevant committees of the General Assembly upon request from any committee chairman or vice-chairman.