Recipient Rights and Important Policies

Summary of Important Policies Affecting Your Care at New Oakland

Recipient Rights

New Oakland Family Centers is committed to providing comprehensive mental health services of excellence and integrity in all areas of our professional service. Most important among your rights as a consumer of New Oakland services are:

  • Your right to confidentiality and privacy.
  • Your right to freedom from abuse/neglect, humiliation, retaliation or exploitation.
  • Your right to be actively involved in the development of your person-centered plan, along with any other persons your request to be involved.

To achieve our common goals as a mental health provider and consumer requires a team approach involving you and your assigned New Oakland treatment team. As such, it is important that we understand basic obligations we have to one another. The staff at New Oakland Family Centers will endeavor:

  • To provide you with an orientation and comprehensive assessment to determine your treatment needs.
  • To provide ethical and competent care to the population served by remaining culturally sensitive and to stay current with trends in treatment.
  • To remain current and up-to-date on education/licensing standards.
  • To provide a safe and clean environment.
  • To provide dignity and respect in all interactions.
  • To provide you understandable information regarding your mental health status, diagnosis, and prognosis.
  • To provide continuity of care while a consumer at New Oakland.
  • To respond to your needs or any questions you may have regarding your care in a timely manner.
  • To inform you of your treatment options, answer any questions about your treatment, and provide all necessary information to make an informed decision about your care.
  • To respect your wishes and decisions about your health care, and right to decline any treatment recommendations.
  • To provide appropriate referrals and recommendations when indicated regarding your treatment and health care.

Limited English Proficiency

New Oakland Family Centers will take reasonable steps to ensure that persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access and an equal opportunity to participate in our services, activities, programs and other benefits. Language assistance will be provided through the use of competent bilingual staff; external interpretation or translation services; or technology and telephonic interpretation services. All interpreters, translators and other aids needed to comply with this policy shall be provided without cost to the person being served. Consumers and their families will be informed that such assistance is available and is free of charge.

Accessibility

It is the policy of New Oakland Family Centers to promote accessibility. This is done by identifying any accessibility issues/needs in the following areas; architectural, environmental, attitudinal, financial, employment, communication, technology, transportation, community integration, and any other identified barriers and attempting to remove those barriers for all consumers, staff persons, and the community. However, if circumstances exist, which prevent the ability to remove such barriers, effective accommodations will be made. New Oakland Family Centers buildings are inspected continuously to ensure all legal/statutory requirements are met. Consumers should inform any staff person if there are any accessibility issues or needs, or if they require any special accommodations.

Complaints and Grievances

New Oakland Family Centers values all consumer feedback. As such, procedures have been developed for filing a complaint and grievance. All complaints and grievances will be taken seriously and investigated, as indicated, and best efforts will be made to resolve all complaints and grievances in a timely and satisfactory manner. All consumers, and/or family members/guardians have the right to file a complaint and can do this without fear of retaliation. Procedures for filing a complaint/grievance are outlined below:

1. Complaints can be made informally by:

  • Speaking directly with any staff person at the site; or
  • By contacting the Quality Department by telephone. (Please contact Robin Sharabani, LMSW, New Oakland’s Director of Quality and Compliance at 800-395-3223, Ext: 4101 .)

      Or formally (defined as in writing) by:

  • Completing the complaint/grievance form located in the lobby of each site, and then placed in the locked box labeled complaints/grievances to be retrieved and reviewed by the Quality Department.
  • Submitting an online form through New Oakland’s website. To complete an online submission, click here to visit the “Contact Us” page of the New Oakland website and select “Complaint/Grievance” from the drop-down menu in the contact form. In your comment, please be [1] as specific as possible with your concern; [2] include the date of any concerning event; [3] include the time of any concerning event; [4] include any New Oakland staff member(s) involved; and [5] include the location of event any concerning event.
  • Sending a written letter to the Quality Department. Please send correspondence to:

Robin Sharabani, LMSW,
Director of Quality and Compliance
New Oakland Family Centers
26545 American Drive
Southfield, MI  48034

  • Downloading our New Oakland Consumer Complaint/Grievance Form by clicking here and selecting “Save As” to save the form to your computer. You may then print the form, include the details of your comments and return it to your New Oakland location by

US Mail (to the address above)
Email (RecipientRights@newoakland.org)
FAX (248-620-6405)
Or in person to any New Oakland location

2. The staff member receiving the complaint is to do the following:

  • Work with the consumer to resolve the complaint or conflict;
  • If the staff member cannot resolve the complaint within his/her scope of responsibilities, they are to forward the complaint to his/her site supervisor/director.
  • Any/all complaints can be forwarded to the Quality Department for review/investigation, and resolution.

3. All informal and formal complaints will be addressed within 7 days upon receipt of complaint and best efforts will be made to resolve complaints and an outcome determined within 30 days from that time.

4. Any consumer dissatisfied with the determination made in the complaint resolution process has the right to appeal the decision and may do so by contacting the Director of Quality and Compliance who will investigate at the administrative level.

5. Consumers may also file their complaint or an appeal with their respective county (CMH consumers) or for non- community mental health consumers their insurance carrier.

6. Any consumer or parent/guardian of a consumer receiving services from New Oakland Family Centers may file a Grievance (Non-CMH consumers) or a Rights Complaint (CMH consumers). The consumer may ask for assistance from New Oakland Family Centers staff. All Community Mental Health Consumers should file a Rights Complaint by completing the Recipient Rights Complaint and putting it in the Rights Complaint box in the lobby or giving it to a New Oakland staff member.