Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES › Part 6 - Division of Family and Children's Services › Chapter 1 - DFCS Policy Manual › Section 18-6-1-A - Administration › Subpart II - SERVICE DELIVERY › Section 18-6-1-A-II-III - COMPLAINTS

Current through June 25, 2024
A grievance is a formal statement of complaint for a
						wrong or hardship suffered. All DFCS clients shall be given the Client's
						Grievance Procedure during an investigation and/or at case opening and assisted
						with filing a grievance if assistance is requested. Clients who have a
						grievance against a decision made should follow the Appeals section of this
						policy. For this procedure, a client is defined as any client or stakeholder
						involved in a case.
Clients wishing to file a formal grievance shall be
						walked through the following steps:
1.
					 The client should be given the formal grievance form and asked to complete
					 Section I of the form.
2. The form
					 should be turned in to the supervisor or their designee. Whoever receives the
					 form should log it into the formal grievance log. Each county shall keep this
					 log and be able to report the number of formal grievances received monthly. The
					 grievances shall be kept in a separate "grievances" file in the county by the
					 supervisor/designee.
3. The
					 supervisor has five (5) business days upon receiving the formal grievance to
					 take appropriate action and contact the client regarding that action. The
					 supervisor may ask the Worker to take appropriate action first. Face to face
					 contact is preferred when contacting the client regarding the grievance. If
					 necessary, phone contact is acceptable. If the complaint is about the Worker,
					 his/her supervisor will handle the grievance (skip to number 5).
4. The client will be asked to sign whether
					 or not he/she agrees with the action taken by the Worker. If he/she does not
					 agree and further action is required, the Worker will give the form to the
					 supervisor.
If the contact is over the phone, the original form and a
						copy of the form should be mailed to the client for his/her signature. The
						original should be signed by the client and the copy is for his/her records.
						The worker should also keep a copy of the form when mailing the original to the
						client. The client will have five (5) business days to return the signed form.
						** If the client states on the phone that he or she would like further action
						taken on the grievance, please note that on the form and forward it to the
						supervisor at that time. You do not need to wait on the returned form before
						forwarding it.
5. The
					 supervisor will have five (5) business days to take appropriate action and to
					 contact the client regarding the action taken.
6. The client will be asked to sign whether
					 or not he/she agrees with the action taken by the supervisor. If the client
					 does not agree and further action is required, the supervisor will give the
					 form to the RD within three (3) business days. If the contact was made by
					 phone, please follow the same protocol as stated above.
7. The RD or their designee will have ten
					 (10) business days to take appropriate action and to contact the client
					 regarding the action taken.
8. The
					 client will be asked to sign whether or not he/she agrees with the action taken
					 by the RD. If the client does not agree and further action is required, he/she
					 must forward the form to the Division Director's office within thirty (30) days
					 requesting an Administrative Hearing for the grievance.
MDHS-DFCS
Attn: Division Director
P.O. Box 352
Jackson, MS 39205