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CLIENT GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Revised September 17, 1997 [North Country Legal Services Inc. - Plattsburgh NY] It is the policy of NCLS that all applicants and clients have the right to register complaints that legal assistance has been improperly denied and about the manner or quality of the legal services rendered to them. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE The NCLS Board of Directors has established that the Personnel Committee of the Board, proportionately composed of lawyer and client Board members in a manner paralleling the full Board, is the Grievance Committee designated to hear and determine client grievances, after such have been filed in accordance with the procedures established herein. RIGHT TO COMPLAIN In order to assure that each applicant for legal assistance at NCLS, and each client of NCLS, is aware of his or her right to grieve the denial of legal assistance and the manner of legal assistance rendered, a "Notice of Clients" informing each of said, and the manner of filing a complaint, shall be posted in the waiting room of each NCLS office, and shall be given to each applicant for legal assistance at the time of application. If the application is done by telephone, the Notice shall be mailed to the applicant. COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE DENIAL OF ASSISTANCE AND ELIGIBILITY When an applicant for legal assistance is denied service, for reasons of income or assets eligibility, resources, priorities, NCLS or LCS policy or regulation, or otherwise, the client shall be told of his or her right to have the decision reviewed. The complaint shall be reduced to writing, and the support staff/intake worker shall assist the client, if necessary, in so reducing the complaint to writing. If the complaint is from an outlying area of office, a telephone conference will be arranged in order for the applicant to confer with the Director, otherwise the applicant shall be given an appointment with the Director. The complaint and any relevant accompanying documentation or material shall be delivered to the Director, who shall review it before consideration is given to the complaint and before the conference wit the applicant takes place. After reviewing the complaint and accompanying papers, and conferring with the applicant, the Director shall render a decision, in writing, no more that five (5) working days after the date assistance was denied. The written determination shall be provided to the applicant and shall state that the decision can be appealed to the Board Grievance Committee; it shall also state that manner and timing of filing such a appeal. COMPLAINT ABOUT THE MANNER OF QUALITY OF ASSISTANCE when, at any time subsequent to the acceptance of a case by NCLS, a client is dissatisfied with the manner or quality of legal assistance being rendered, the client may file a complaint, in writing, with the Director. The complaint shall be reduced to writing, and if assistance is needed is so reducing it, such assistance shall be offered by the secretary/receptionist of the office serving the client. The client may have a friend, family member, or anyone else, assist him or her in reducing it to writing as well. The Director, upon receipt of the complaint shall confer with the casehandler handling the case, and shall set up a telephone or personal appointment, as appropriate, with the client and attempt to mediate or resolve the dispute. The determination of the Director shall be put in writing and sent to the client, with a copy of the casehandler, no later than five (5) working days after receipt of the written complaint by the Director. The written determination shall state that the client has the right to appeal the decision to the Board Grievance Committee, and the manner and timing of filing such an appeal. REVIEWS BY THE GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE An applicant or client not satisfied by the written determination of the Director relative to his or her written grievance, may appeal the determination to the Board of Directors Grievance Committee. The appeal must be put in writing, and must be filed within thirty (30) days of the date the decision was rendered with the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who will refer it to the Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee shall convene as early as is practical, and the complaining party shall have the right to appear before the Committee, accompanied, if the party so wishes, by another person of his or her choosing, and state the grievance. If the complaint relates to the quality of manner of legal assistance, the casehandler involved has the right to be present and speak to the issue at the meeting of the Grie3vance Committee, and the Committee many require the presence of the casehandler. If the complainant wishes, NCLS shall transcribe a brief written statement, dictated by the complainant, noting the particulars of the complaint, for inclusion in the NCLS complaint file. The Grievance Committee shall render a written decision on the complaint no later than forty-five (45) days from the receipt of the written complaint by the Chairman of the Board. The complainant shall be provided with a written determination, as shall the casehandler involved, if the complaint is about the quality or manner of the provision of legal assistance. Clients requesting or receiving services under the Protection and Advocacy for the Developmentally Disabled (PADD) programs, may appeal to the New York State Commission on Quality of Care's Advocacy Services Director in the event their grievances are not resolved after exhausting the North Country Legal Services' Client Grievance Procedure. RECORD KEEPING A file containing every complaint and a statement of its disposition shall be maintained by the Project Director for examination by the legal Services Corporation. |
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