Complaint Procedure Policy
Category: CLIENT SERVICES
Subject: CLIENT COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
Policy Number: 2-1-50
Updated: November 2022
Policy
All staff of Merrymount Children’s Centre will advocate for the best interests of the client and will reinforce the client’s and community’s right to be heard. At intake, and at every admission, every client will be informed of their rights and responsibilities as a client of the agency and will be informed of the opportunities and procedures that exist to express their viewpoints, concerns and complaints. Merrymount will make their complaint process available to all community members and stakeholders via the Merrymount website. Merrymount Children’s Centre will strive to resolve complaints promptly and fairly using established lines of communication.
Procedure
1. Every client will be provided with an opportunity to express concerns or complaints either privately or in groups with other clients and either directly to their service coordinator/primary worker, another staff person, or to the program manager.
2. Community members will be provided with the opportunity to express concerns or complaints by contacting a staff member.
3. A request to resolve a specific concern or complaint may be made verbally or in writing, by the client/community member directly or by the parent/guardian or another person representing the client. This will include any individual affected by conditions or limitations on visitor or an individual affected by the suspension of visits to Merrymount
4. All complaints must be documented. Initial acknowledgments of the complaint must be completed within 24 hours. Immediate actions may be taken in response to complaints, and updates may be provided to the person who made the complaint.
5. Written or verbal complaints that cannot be resolved at the staff or Program Manager level will be escalated to the Executive Director. Upon receipt of a complaint to the Executive Director, the matter of concern will be referred to the Program Manager for a complete review. A written report of the review will be prepared for the Executive Director and will be shared with the person making the complaint. . This review will be completed within seven (7) calendar days of the request being made.
6. If this does not resolve the issue to the client’s/community member’s satisfaction, a further review may be requested of the Executive Director. The Executive Director or designate will complete the review within fourteen (14) calendar days.
7. If the matter is still unresolved, upon further written notification to the Executive Director, the matter will be reviewed by the Board of Directors within 30 days. The client/community member will be informed in writing of the findings.
8. At any time, the client has the option to access either the Ombudsman of Ontario in Toronto or the Program Supervisor at the local office of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (for the Crisis Residential Respite Program and other MCCSS-funded programs) or the Ministry of Education (for the Family and Child Support programs and other MED-funded programs).
9. The client’s complaint and the subsequent actions and review findings will be written up in the form of an incident report with one copy going in the client file and the original going in the incident report binder kept with the Executive Director. In the case of complaints from community members, a copy of the complaint form and any subsequent actions and review findings will be retained by the Executive Director.
10. For programs operating under the Child, Youth and Family Services Act:
All children in the Crisis/Residential Respite program will have their rights and responsibilities reviewed on a nightly basis.
11. A Complaints Tracing Form will be completed in order to track trends in types of complaints, responses, and length of time to resolution. Summary reports will be provided to the Management Team on a quarterly basis, and to the Board of Directors on an annual basis.
Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario
483 Bay Street, 10th Floor, South Tower Toronto, ON, M5G 2C9, Children & Youth Unit
401 Bay Street, Suite 2200 Toronto, ON, M5H 2Y4
Phone: 416-325-5669 | 1-800-263-2841
Email: cy-ej@ombudsman.on.ca
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
John Sinclair
217 York Street, Suite 203, P.O. Box 5217, London, ON, N6A 5R1
Ministry of Education
Karen Callaghan
217 York Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 205 London, ON, N6A 5R1