Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 340 - Department of Human Services › Chapter 2 - Administrative Components › Subchapter 3 - Office of Client Advocacy › Part 5 - GRIEVANCES › Section 340:2-3-53 - Grievances of clients receiving services from the Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS)

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Application.
This Section describes processes relating to
				  grievances of clients receiving services from DDS who are not residing in an
				  Oklahoma Department of Human Services-(DHS) operated facility and are not
				  Hissom class members. This Section includes minors and adults in specialized
				  foster care. Subsections (h) through (k) apply to clients who were former
				  residents of NORCE or SORC, upon the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services
				  resolution to close the state operated resource centers November 1, 2012.
(b)
Definitions.
The
				  definitions in Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
				  340:2-3-2 and
				  340:2-3-45(b)
				  apply to this Section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(c)
Notice of grievance rights.
The DDS case manager gives Form 15GR006E, Notice of Grievance Rights - DDS
				  Clients (General), to the service recipient or guardian when applicable, at the
				  initial plan of care meeting and at each annual plan of care meeting
				  thereafter. When the service recipient does not have a DDS case manager, the
				  provider gives Form 15GR006E to the service recipient within 30-calendar days
				  of service initiation and annually thereafter. Form 15GR006E is used to
				  identify the local grievance coordinator and to explain the client's right to
				  grieve. After the client or guardian signs the form, the original is maintained
				  in the client's permanent record.
(d)
Filing and grievance
				  processing.
Provider and DHS grievances are filed and processed per OAC
				  340:2-3-45.
				  When a grievance involves a decision of an individual's team, the first level
				  respondent is the supervisor of the client's case manager unless the case
				  manager participated in making or approved the decision being
				  grieved.
(e)
Time limits on
				  filing grievances.
The time limit set forth in OAC
				  340:2-3-45(g)
				  does not apply to grievances filed by or on behalf of the clients listed in
				  this Section.
(f)
Contested
				  grievances.
When a grievant asks to appeal a DHS grievance, the appeal
				  is processed per OAC
				  340:2-3-46.
(g)
Monitoring grievance
				  programs.
In order to avoid unnecessary duplication, the Office of
				  Client Advocacy (OCA), in cooperation with other monitoring entities, monitors
				  provider grievance programs per OAC
				  340:2-3-45(d) through
				  (m).
(h)
Provider grievances of DDS clients
				  who were former residents at NORCE or SORC as of November 1, 2012.
(1) Each residential and vocational provider
				  that contracts with DDS to provide services to DDS clients has a grievance
				  system for resolution of grievances. The provider's written grievance policies,
				  forms, and procedures are in compliance with OAC
				  340:2-3-45.
(2) Provider grievances are
				  initiated by the DDS client, the assigned OCA advocate, or a person interested
				  in the welfare of the client by using Form 15GR001P (paper version) or 15GR001E
				  (electronic version) or the provider's grievance form. The completed grievance
				  form is submitted to the provider's grievance coordinator. Upon receipt of a
				  provider grievance by or on behalf of a DDS client by anyone other than the OCA
				  advocate or the client's DDS case manager, the local grievance manager promptly
				  informs the DDS case manager and the advocate assigned to the client by email,
				  fax, or phone. When a DHS employee initiates a grievance on behalf of a client,
				  at the time the grievance is filed the employee sends a copy to the DDS case
				  manager and the OCA advocate assigned to the client.
(3) When the subject matter of a grievance
				  can be submitted for resolution as a provider grievance or a DHS grievance, the
				  DDS client has the option to file it as a provider grievance, a DHS grievance,
				  or both.