POLICY STATEMENT – CONSUMERS, and FAMILY MEMBERS
Any consumer, family member, or person acting on behalf of the consumer who is dissatisfied with the supports or services that are provided by Community Living Mattawa may make a formal complaint and/or provide feedback.
A complaint/feedback process is an important part of providing quality supports. As we work together, there will be occasions when differences arise. It is our hope that these differences can be resolved with the person informally and effectively. However, sometimes this is not possible and a more formal complaint process needs to be used.
The information received through a complaints/feedback process will assist our organization to better support individuals and their families. All individuals and/or person acting on behalf of an individual shall receive a copy of the complaint process when they enter into services.
Community Living Mattawa takes all complaints and feedback seriously, and reviews and investigates all matters.
Each person supported by Community Living Mattawa, or a person acting on their behalf has the right to state his/her complaint on any matter. All supported persons will be provided with the means necessary to state their objections in a manner that is both healthy and concretely helpful for the individual involved. At any time during the complaint/feedback process, the person can request help and be supported by/accompanied by an advocate, a staff person, a family member or a friend.
A complaint may also be made by a member of the general public, regarding the services that are provided by Community Living Mattawa (ex. Customer Services, Accessibility issues, etc.).
A complaint made regarding an alleged abuse, suspected or witnessed will automatically be reported to the police as per Community Living Mattawa’s Abuse Policy.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may also be reported to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services as a Serious Occurrence.
A complaint does not include feedback on matters unrelated to Community Living Mattawa’s supports and services.
PROCEDURE
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES – People Receiving Service:
A person receiving services who has a complaint or feedback has the responsibility to bring forward their complaint in a timely manner in order to provide Community Living Mattawa the opportunity to resolve the issue as quickly and satisfactorily as possible. If the person needs assistance in reporting the complaint, it is their responsibility to identify this need and to choose an advocate who can bring forward the complaint on their behalf.
COMPLAINT PROCESS
A complaint made regarding an alleged abuse, suspected or witnessed will automatically be reported to the police as per Community Living Mattawa’s Abuse Policy.
Depending on the nature of the complaint, it may also be reported to the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services as a Serious Occurrence.
Step 1
A complaint may be made formally in writing or informally (such as a verbal complaint) to either the Community Services Manager – Tammy Boudreau-Bangs at 705-744-2979 ext. 206 or the Supportive Living Service and Quality Assurance Manager – Tanya King at 705-744-2979 ext. 204
The Manager will complete the Complaints and Commendations Form and then investigate the complaint and attempt to resolve the issue with all parties involved, within 7 business days of receiving the complaint.
The resolution will be documented, in writing, with a copy going to the person making the complaint and the Executive Director.
Step 2
If the issue remains unresolved following the Manager’s investigation, the complaint will be forwarded to the Executive Director – David Spencer at 705-744-2979 ext. 203.
The Executive Director will discuss the matter with the person making the complaint, review the information from Step 1 and attempt to resolve the situation within 7 business days of receiving the complaint.
The resolution will be documented, in writing, with a copy going to the person making the complaint and the Board President.
Step 3
Should the response from the Executive director by unsatisfactory, a person can request to have his/her complaint heard by the Board of Directors. This can be done by communicating to the Executive Director that the person making the complaint would like his/her complaint heard by the Board of Directors. The Executive Director will advise the Board President.
The Board of Directors, led by the Board President, will discuss the matter with the person making the complaint, will review the information from Steps 1 and 2 and will submit a final written response to the person making the complaint within 30 days of receiving the complaint. The decision of the Board of Directors shall be final.
Conflict of Interest:
The process of investigating all complaints must be free of conflict of Interest. Anyone having a conflict with any of the above shall immediately announce the conflict and assign the investigation of the complaint to a designate. The designate will be the other Program Manager.
Fairness:
The process of investigating all complaints must be fair to the complainant and be free of bias, coercion, or intimidation.
In the situation where a consumer makes a complaint about an employee, the employee will be moved to another program while the investigation is being conducted.
The Program Manager will monitor that coercion and intimidation does not occur during a complaints investigation and following a complaints investigation. This will be done through site visits and supervision of the program area. If an employee is found to be intimidating a consumer, this will be viewed as abuse and the police will be contacted.
If the complaint is made about the Program Manager, the Executive Director will conduct the complaints investigation and will monitor that coercion and intimidation do not occur. This will be done through removing the Manager from the program area during the investigation and completing site visits and supervision following the investigation. If a Manager is found to be intimidating a consumer, this will be viewed as abuse and the police will be contacted.
Retaliation:
No person making a complaint shall be negatively impacted or have their services withdrawn as a result of making a complaint.
Documentation:
Every step of the complaint process must be documented. The documentation should include but is not limited to:
- A description of the problem/complaint
- The facts surrounding the matter
- Attempts made to resolve the problem/complaint
- Proposed Solution or specific action for resolution
- Recommendation for preventing further occurrences of the problem
Copies of all complaints will be filed with either the Community Services Manager or the Supportive Living Service and Quality Assurance Manager and the Executive Director.
Annual Reviews
All complaints will be reviewed annually by the Management Team to identify any patterns to the complaints. The Executive Director will report the Management Team’s findings to the Board of Directors for their review and approval.