Mental Health and Recovery Board Serving Belmont, Harrison, and Monroe Counties are required to ensure the rights of persons seeking or receiving any elements of the community-based continuum of care from an Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) certified agency.
These rights are outlined for you here. Individuals and groups interested in further information regarding these rights and the grievance procedure may contact the Mental Health and Recovery Board’s Clients Rights Officer, Leann Cline at (740) 695-9998.
Likewise, each of our contract providers has a Client Rights Advocate who is responsible for ensuring your rights at the agency level. They are also available to assist with resolving problems or concerns related to your rights.
CLIENT RIGHTS AND GRIEVANCE
POLICY # 01.07.13.00
EFFECTIVE DATE: 01/29/19
APPROVAL DATE: 01/02/19
PURPOSE: To protect and enhance the rights of persons applying for or receiving addiction services or mental health services by establishing specific rights of clients and procedures for responsive and impartial resolution of client grievances.
Policy: It is the policy of the Board that all consumers receiving any elements of the community-based continuum of care from an Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) certified agency (regardless of payor source) are protected by specific rights as listed in Attachment 1. An individual with a grievance may contact the Board’s designated Client Rights Officer (CRO) for a responsive and impartial review and assistance, and in accordance with the following procedure.
PROCEDURES:
A. Any client or parent/legal guardian of a minor client receiving services from an OhioMHAS certified agency may file a grievance with the Board’s designated CRO in writing, by phone, or in person.
B. The Mental Health & Recovery Board Associate Director shall be designated as the Client Rights Officer (CRO) for the Board. The alternate shall be the Executive Director. The location and availability of the CRO is 99 N. Sugar Street, St. Clairsville, OH 43950 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
C. Each certified provider of mental health and addiction services shall designate a Client Rights Officer. The certified provider shall make prompt accessibility to the Client Rights Officer to the client/griever and shall provide alternative arrangements for situations when the Client Rights Officer is the subject of the grievance. The designated Client Rights Officer will investigate a client’s grievance per provider policy.
D. The Board’s listing of rights and grievance procedures shall be posted on the Board’s website, shall be available upon request, will be posted at the Board office, and may be reviewed by the CRO with any clients seeking to file a grievance.
E. The client or griever may present the grievance directly to the Board CRO in writing or may submit as an appeal to the Board CRO after failing to resolve the grievance at the agency level. A grievance filed with the Board CRO shall not result in retaliation against any client or grievant.
F. Upon receiving a grievance, the CRO shall determine if an attempt for resolution had been made at the agency level. If this has not been done, the CRO will contact the agency Client Rights Officer immediately to see if resolution can occur at the agency level. If the client or parent/guardian refuses to contact the agency Client Rights Officer, the CRO will follow the grievance procedures as described in item (1).
- The client or parent/legal guardian will be asked to place the grievance in written form (Designated MHR Board Complaint Form) including the following information: name of client; name of grievant; subject of grievance; information about the grievance, including contacts with other staff to resolve the problem; and signature. The written grievance will be dated and logged. If assistance is needed or desired, the CRO or Alternate will aid in filing the grievance.
- Within the next twenty-one (21) working days allowed for the investigation of the grievance, the CRO will do what is necessary to bring the grievance to a conclusion, including but not limited to, gathering the necessary facts and information and through discussion with all parties, reading records, and obtaining information. The CRO will have full access to all agency information relevant and pertaining to the complaint as per contract, agency policy, and/or per written permission from the client.
H. At the conclusion of the investigation, the person who has filed the grievance will be notified of the result(s) of the investigation in writing.
I. If the grievance remains unresolved to the client’s/griever’s satisfaction, the client or griever will be advised and referred to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, Disability Rights Ohio, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, and appropriate professional licensing or regulatory associations. The CRO may assist the client or griever with current phone numbers and addresses of the aforementioned resources.
J. The Board CRO shall keep records of grievances received, the type of grievances and the resolution status of the grievance in a locked file for at least seven (7) years). It shall also assure the availability of these records for review by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services upon request.
K. The Board staff shall receive quarterly from each of its contract provider agencies the client rights advocates’ summary of the number of grievances/complaints, types of grievances and resolution status of grievances/complaints.
L. The Board CRO shall quarterly summarize its records to include the number of grievances received, types of grievances, and resolution status to the Board.