I.                   PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to promote service recipient right by providing persons served and/or legal representatives with a simple process to address complaints or grievances.

                       

II.                POLICY

Each person served and/or legal representative will be encouraged and assisted in continuously sharing ideas and expressing concerns in informal discussions with management staff and in support team meetings. Each concern or grievance will be addressed and attempts will be made to reach a fair resolution in a reasonable manner.

Should a person and/or legal representative feel an issue or complaint has not or cannot be resolved through informal discussion, they should file a formal grievance. Staff and persons served and/or legal representatives will receive training regarding the informal and formal grievance procedure. This policy will be provided, orally and in writing, to all persons served and/or legal representatives. If a person served and/or legal representative feel that their formal complaint has not or cannot be resolved by other staff, they may bring their complaint to the highest level of authority in the program, the Executive Director, who may be reached at the following:

Name: Laura Johnson

Address: 109 Pleasant Ave, PO Box 86, Park Rapids, MN 56470

Telephone Number: 218-732-3358 or 218-237-8518

 

The DAC will ensure that during the service initiation process that there is orientation for the person served and/or legal representative to the DAC’s policy on addressing grievances. Throughout the grievance procedure, interpretation in languages other than English and/or with alternative communication modes may be necessary and will be provided upon request. If desired, assistance from an outside agency (i.e. ARC, MN Office of the Ombudsman, local county social service agency) may be sought to assist with the grievance.

 

Persons served and/or legal representatives may file a grievance without threat or fear of reprisals, discharge, or the loss of future provision of appropriate services and supports.

           

III.             PROCEDURE

A.     All complaints affecting a person’s health and safety will be responded to immediately by the designated coordinator.

 

B.     Direct support staff will immediately inform the designated coordinator of any grievances and will follow this policy and procedure. If at any time, staff assistance is requested in the complaint process, it will be provided. Additional information on outside agencies that also can provide assistance to the person served and/or legal representative are listed at the end of this procedure.

 

C.     If for any reason a person served and/or legal representative chooses to use the formal grievance process, they will then notify in writing or discuss the formal grievance with the designated coordinator will initially respond in writing within 14 calendar days of receipt of the complaint.

 

D.     If the person served and/or legal representative is not satisfied with the designated coordinator response, they will then notify in writing or discuss the formal grievance with the Executive Director, who will then respond within 14 calendar days.

 

E.      All complaints must and will be resolved within 30 calendar days of receipt of the complaint. If this is not possible, the Executive Director will document the reason for the delay and the plan for resolution.

 

F.      If the person served and/or legal representative believe their rights have been violated, they retain the option of contacting the county's Adult or Child Protection Services or the Department of Human Services. In addition, persons may contact advocacy agencies (listed at the end of this policy) and state they would like to file a formal grievance regarding their services, provider DAC, etc.

 

G.     As part of the complaint review and resolution process, a complaint review will be completed by the Executive Director or the Designated Designated coordinator and documented by using the Internal Review form regarding the complaint. The complaint review will include an evaluation of whether:

1.      Related policies and procedures were followed.

2.      The policies and procedures were adequate.

3.      There is a need for additional staff training.

4.      The complaint is similar to past complaints with the persons, staff, or services involved.

5.      There is a need for corrective action by the DAC to protect the health and safety of persons served.

 

H.     Based upon the results of the complaint review, the DAC will develop, document, and implement a corrective action plan designed to correct current lapses and prevent future lapses in performance by staff or the DAC, if any.

 

I.        A written summary of the complaint and a notice of the complaint resolution to the person served and/or legal representative and case designated coordinator will be provided by using the Complaint Summary and Resolution Notice form. This summary will:

1.      Identify the nature of the complaint and the date it was received.

2.      Include the results of the complaint review.

3.      Identify the complaint resolution, including any corrective action.

 

J.       The Complaint Summary and Resolution Notice will be maintained in the service recipient record.

Outside Agency Name	Telephone Number	Address and Email Address
ARC MN	(651) 523-0823 (800) 582-5256	770 Transfer Road, Suite 26, St. Paul, MN 55114 www.thearcofminnesota.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ARC Greater Twin Cities	(952) 920-0855	2446 University Ave W, Suite 110, St. Paul, MN 55114 www.arcgreatertwincities.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ARC Northland	(218) 726-4725	424 W Superior St, Suite 201, Duluth, MN 55802 www.arcnorthland.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Disability Law Center/Legal Aid Society	(612) 332-1441	430 1st Ave North, Minneapolis, MN 55401 www.mndlc.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MN DHS-Licensing	(651) 431-6500	444 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55115 www.mn.gov/dhs/general-public/licensing/ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MN Office of the Ombudsman for Families (and Children)	(651) 603-0058 (651) 643-2539 Fax 1-888-234-4939	1450 Energy Drive, Suite 106 St. Paul, Minnesota 55108 http://mn.gov/ombudfam/
MN Office of the Ombudsman for MH/DD	(651) 757-1800 (800) 657-3506	121 7th Place East, Suite 420, Metro Square Building, St. Paul, MN 55101 www.ombudmhdd.state.mn.us This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MN Office of the Ombudsman for Long-Term Care	(651) 431-2555 (800) 657-3591	P.O. Box 64971, St. Paul, MN 55164 www.dhs.state.mn.us/main This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Local County Social Service Agency: ask for either child protection or adult protection dependent upon the age of the person	Individual telephone number per county: See *	Individual addresses per county: See * Telephone book www.yellowpages.com https://edocs.dhs.state.mn.us/lfserver/Public/DHS-0005-ENG

 

MN Area on Aging:

Please select the specific row (below) for applicable telephone number or address based upon your location

	MN Area on Aging	Telephone Numbers	Address and Email Address: http://mn4a.org/aaas/
1.	Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging	Main: 218-722-5545 Toll Free: 1-800-232-0707 Fax: 218-529-7592	221 West 1st Street Duluth, Minnesota 55802 Serves: Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake & St. Louis counties.
2.	Central MN Council on Aging	Main: 320-253-9349 Fax: 320-253-9576	1301 W St. Germain Street, SE St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301-3456 Serves: Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, Wadena, & Wright counties.
3.	Land of the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging	Main: 218-745-6733	109 South Minnesota Street Warren, Minnesota 56762 Serves: Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Pope, Red Lake, Roseau, Stevens, Traverse & Wilkin.
4.	Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging	Main: 651-641-8612 Fax: 651-641-8618	2365 N McKnight Road, Suite 3 North St. Paul, Minnesota 55109 Serves: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, & Washington counties
5.	MN Chippewa Tribe Area Agency on Aging	Main: 218-335-8586 Toll Free: 1-888-231-7886 Fax: 218-335-8080	PO Box 27 Cass Lake, Minnesota 56633 Serves: Bois Forte, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, & White Earth reservations
6.	MN River Area Agency on Aging	Mankato Office: Main: 507-389-8879 Fax: 507-387-7105 Slayton Office: Main: 507-836-8547 Fax: 507-836-8866	Mankato Office 10 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 3 PO Box 3323 Mankato MN 56002-3323 Slayton Office 2401 Broadway Avenue, Suite 2 Slayton, MN  56172-114 Serves: Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Chippewa, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Renville, Rock, Sibley, Swift, Waseca, Watonwan, & Yellow Medicine counties.
7.	Southeastern MN Area Agency on Aging	Main: 507-288-6944 Fax: 507-288-4823	421 SW First Avenue, Room 201 Rochester, Minnesota 55902 Serves: Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, & Winona counties