(a) Act means the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Public Law 96-247, 94 Stat. 349 (42 U.S.C. 1997).

(b) Applicant means a state or political subdivision of a state that submits to the Attorney General a request for certification of a grievance procedure.

(c) Attorney General means the Attorney General of the United States or the Attorney General's designees.

(d) Grievance means a written complaint by an inmate on the inmate's own behalf regarding a policy applicable within an institution, a condition in an institution, an action involving an inmate of an institution, or an incident occurring within an institution. The term “grievance” does not include a complaint relating to a parole decision.

(e) Inmate means an individual confined in an institution for adults, who has been convicted of a crime.

(f) Institution means a jail, prison, or other correctional facility, or pretrial detention facility that houses adult inmates and is owned, operated, or managed by or provides services on behalf of a State or political subdivision of a State.

(g) State means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any of the territories and possessions of the United States.

(h) Substantial compliance means that there is no omission of any essential part from compliance, that any omission consists only of an unimportant defect or omission, and that there has been a firm effort to comply fully with the standards.