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DLRS Home > Grievance Process Guide for Recipients of Mental Health Services > Level I - Grievances Related to Services Provided in the Community

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Grievance Process Guide for Recipients of Mental Health Services - Level I - Grievances Related to Services Provided in the Community

You should ask whether a grievance form is available from the facility or agency that is providing services to you. If a form is available, use the form.

If there isn't a form available, you may use the sample form of this Guide, or write "Level I Grievance" at the top of a piece of paper and write about the problem or issue you wish to grieve. Some of the information you may want to include is:

  • the date on which you are submitting the grievance

  • the location, time, and date of the event you have filed a grievance about

  • the names of the people involved

  • a short description of what happened

  • the specific issue that needs to be addressed

  • your suggestions about possible ways to resolve the situation

  • where and how you can be reached

Submit the grievance to the head of the agency, unless you are directed by an individual employed by the agency to submit it to someone else. It is also a good idea to keep a copy for yourself.

If you feel the situation you are seeking to resolve needs urgent attention, see the discussion on "urgent grievances".

LEVEL I GRIEVANCES RELATED TO SERVICES PROVIDED AT AMHI, BMHI,
OR OTHER INPATIENT FACILITIES

Ask any staff on your ward for a grievance form. Fill it out, hand it in to the ward office or nursing station. Also ask a staff person to make a copy of your grievance, and deliver it to you. If no grievance form is available, you may either use the sample form included on page 16 of this Guide, or write "Level I Grievance" at the top of a piece of paper, and write about the problem or issue you wish to grieve. Some of the information you may want to include is:

  • the date on which you are submitting the grievance

  • the location, time, and date of the event you are submitting a grievance about

  • the names of the people involved

  • a short description of what happened

  • the specific issue that needs to be addressed

  • your suggestions about possible ways to resolve the situation

  • where and how you can be reached

The manager of the ward in which you are residing is responsible for responding to your grievance. Copies of your grievance will be forwarded to the DHHS Office of Advocacy.

If you feel the situation you are seeking to resolve needs urgent attention, see the discussion on urgent grievances.

LEVEL I GRIEVANCES RELATED TO SERVICES PROVIDED BY DHHS REGIONAL OFFICE STAFF

You can use the sample form provided, or write "Level I Grievance" at the top of a piece of paper and describe the problem or issue you wish to grieve. Some of the information you may want to include is:

  • the date on which you are submitting the grievance

  • the location, time, and date of the event you are submitting a grievance about

  • the names of the people involved

  • a short description of what happened

  • the specific issue that needs to be addressed

  • your suggestions about possible ways to resolve the situation

  • where and how you can be reached

Submit your grievance to the DHHS regional director for your area. Information on how to contact the regional director for your area may be found on pages 14 and 15.

If you feel the situation you are seeking to resolve needs urgent attention, see the discussion on "urgent grievances".

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

A formal written response to your grievance MUST be made to you in writing within five (5) working days (NOTE: weekends and holidays are not considered working days). However, the person responding to your grievance does have the right to request five (5) additional working days to complete his or her response. When such an extension of time is requested, it is automatically granted. You must be notified of that extension in writing.

The person responding to your grievance will investigate the situation you've filed a grievance about. In the course of the investigation, he or she may talk with you and anyone else who was involved in, or witnessed, the event(s) your grievance describes. He or she may examine your treatment record, if that record is relevant to the grievance you've filed.

Once that investigation is completed, the response you receive will describe the results of that investigation and will include his or her recommendations for resolving the situation.

If your service provider does not respond to your grievance within the five-day period, or does not request an additional five working days to respond, you may automatically submit your grievance to Level II. 


URGENT GRIEVANCES


If you feel that your grievance is urgent, write "Urgent Grievance" at the top of the page on which you describe your grievance. If you do so, the provider must forward your grievance to the next grievance level (Level II) within one (1) working day. (For more information on Level II grievances.) Some grievances are automatically defined as urgent according to state regulations. 

Grievances that are automatically defined as urgent: Any grievance that is related to the development, terms, or implementation of an individual support plan (ISP) or a hospital treatment and discharge plan is automatically considered an urgent grievance.

Grievances that must be reviewed to determine whether or not they are urgent: Some grievances may require further review to determine 
whether they are urgent or not. If the grievance is related to services being provided in the community, the program manager for adult mental health services will review it. Grievances involving services being received at a facility will be reviewed by the head of that facility. Grievances involving services being provided by BDS staff will be reviewed by the DHHS regional director.

URGENT GRIEVANCES--WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

If the individual reviewing the grievance at Level II decides that the matter is indeed urgent, a formal written response to that grievance must be made to you within three (3) working days.

If, however, the grievance is reviewed and not found to be urgent, the grievance is referred back to Level I. 

APPEALING LEVEL I DECISIONS

If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive at Level I, you may appeal that decision to the second level of the grievance process. No particular form is required to appeal a decision to Level II. You may simply write "I appeal my grievance to Level II" on a sheet of paper. Also include the date, the name of the service provider/agency involved, and a brief description of the reason why you are appealing the decision that's been made.

It is the responsibility of people receiving Level I grievances to maintain copies of all of the documents related to your grievance so that they can be forwarded to the people who will be considering your appeal.

If you are appealing a decision made about services provided to you in the community, or by DHHS regional office staff, the BDS program manager for those services will review 
your grievance at Level II. (See page 9 for details.)

If you are appealing a decision made about services provided in AMHI or BMHI, the superintendent's office will review your grievance at Level II. (See page 9 for details.)

If you are appealing a decision made about services provided in another inpatient facility, the office of the chief administrator of that facility is responsible for obtaining all of the other information about your grievance from the ward office or nursing station. (See the page 9 for details.) 

Your appeal must be filed within ten (10) working days of the date you received your Level I response.