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Facility Complaint Checklist

Gather it, then paste the wording below into the assistant once purchased.

General information only — not legal advice. Gather the items below first, then paste the wording at the bottom into the store assistant once you have purchased it, and you can hit the ground running.

Gather this first

• Facility name, housing unit, and dates of the problem.
• Staff involved, by name or description.
• What happened, step by step, in your own words.
• Medical requests, sick-call slips, and care received or denied.
• Grievance numbers, dates filed, and every response received.
• Witnesses inside and outside the facility.

File in this order

• Facility grievance, every level, appealing each denial — exhaustion matters for prisoners under 42 U.S.C. 1997e.
• Outside complaints: sheriff / board of supervisors / BSCC for county jails; CDCR Ombudsman for state prisons; DOJ Civil Rights and OIG for federal facilities.
• California government claim first if suing a city or county — generally 6 months for personal injury.
• Civil filing under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for conditions, force, medical care, or retaliation.