1. Specification of the
process for consumers, their families
and/or representatives, and providers to
appeal of the
county or its designated agents:
Consumers, families, consumer representatives or advocates
(with the consent of consumers), and
providers may appeal
the decisions of the County or any
of its designees or
contractors
at any time. Such individuals or
organizations may
also file a grievance
about the actions or behavior of any party
associated with the county managed
system of care at any
time. Written appeals forms, with a
clear description of the
appeals, investigation, and
disposition process, and the
telephone
number for lodging a verbal appeal or grievance,
will be available at all
access points and at county offices.
The mental health/developmental
disability information brochure
and notice of decision form will
describe the method for filing
appeals and the process for
disposition, and will contain the
telephone
number to call to lodge an appeal or grievance.
The CPC Administrator will be the recipient of all appeals and
grievances, and will attempt to
resolve appeals and grievances
on an informal basis whenever
possible. If necessary, review
of the decision may be made by an
independent professional
qualified in the area of expertise
relevant to the diagnosis of the
affected consumer. If appropriate, the CPC may designate an
independent and objective individual to conduct fact-finding
relative to the appeal or
grievance. Decisions about who is
designated
to conduct the fact finding will be based on the
nature of the appeal and the
organization or individual named
in the appeal. In no case will a party directly or
indirectly related
to either party conduct the
investigation. If the decision of the
CPC
Administrator is at issue in the appeal, a member of the
Board of Supervisors will handle the appeal, and will be
responsible for naming an
independent individual to conduct the
investigation if they deem
necessary. In all cases the
individual
filing the appeal will be offered an
interview face-to-face. The
organization or individual named in the appeal will also be
interviewed.
Following the review, the CPC Administrator will reach a
tentative conclusion and proposed
solution to the appeal or
grievance. Both parties will be contacted, and an attempt
will
be made to mediate with the parties to reach a fair solution.
If the parties
agree, the CPC Administrator will write up
the
solution, and both parties will sign
the document. If the solution
calls for some form of corrective
action, the document will detail:
1.
What
action is require
2.
The
time frame for completion
3.
The
measure(s) to be used to:
A.
Assure
that the action has been completed
B.
That
completion of the action has had the
desired result
If
the parties cannot agree to a
solution proposed by the
CPC
Administrator, or otherwise cannot reach agreement
through
the informal mediation process, the CPC Administrator
will issue a written report of
findings and a decision. The
parties
will then be bound by the CPC Administrator's decision.
However, any party aggrieved by the CPC
Administrator's
decision
may then appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
After
reviewing all relevant facts and attempts to reach solution
through
mediation the Board of Supervisors will issue a written
decision. Interviews and associated
deliberations conducted by
the Board Of Supervisors will take
place in closed session,
when permitted by the Iowa open
meetings law, to assure the
confidentiality of the parties. The
written decision of the Board
of Supervisors will be final.
Applicants have thirty days from issuance of the notice of
decision to file an appeal of that
action. Two weeks will be
allowed for the CPC Administrator to
provide a written
response to the appeal. If the appellant wishes to appeal
further,
appellants have 30 days to request that the Board of
Supervisors schedule a hearing on
the matter, which will be
held within fifteen days of this
request for further review. The
Board of Supervisors will issue a
written ruling on the appeal
within fifteen days of the
hearing. These timelines may be
waived
only with the agreement of all parties.
Persons who are dissatisfied with
the decision the Board of
Supervisors may request a review of
the case by an
Administrative Law Judge whose services are secured
through
the Iowa Department of Inspections
and Appeals. The costs of
this Administrative Law Judge are to
be borne by the County.
The case may be heard in person or
by conference call at the
discretions of the Administrative
Law Judge. Timelines for
reaching a decision on the matter
and the format followed to
explain their ruling shall be
substantially the same as used by
the Department of Inspections and
Appeals. Their decision will
be final.
2. Identification of the
independent individual or entity
designated to receive, review, and make
decisions of appeals,
including specification of the role of the
County Board of
Supervisors in the final decision on
appeals:
See
above: The
last step for appeals is an Administrative Law
Judge and not the Board of Supervisors.
3. Description of the
methods to be used to assist consumers
and their families to utilize the
appeals process:
In addition to the wide distribution of appeals forms and
instructions
outlined above, Lee County will train agency
management and
service staff, case managers, consumers,
and families in
the appeals and grievance process.
Although
parties wishing
to appeal may choose to be represented by
legal counsel
in the appeal process, Lee County is not
obligated to
provide funds to pay for this service.
If consumers or families request,
the CPC Administrator will
appoint a case manager or other qualified individual to
assist in preparing for and participating in the appeals process.
This individual will function as a representative and facilitator,
to assure that the
consumer or family member receives their
full rights and proper treatment
throughout the process.
Mental
Health Services Management Plan
Questions? : plogsdon@leecounty.org
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SERVICES & INFORMATION