Hillcrest Educational Centers, Inc. has the legal and ethical responsibility to provide students with a procedure to follow in instances where they have a complaint/grievance that relates to any part of the program, it’s operation or staff or if they feel they have been subject to discrimination based on legally protected categories (race, color, national origin, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability).

 

In the event that a student feels that their rights have been violated or compromised by a specific staff member or group of staff members, or in any other way while in the program, the student should do the following:

 

Communicate their complaint/grievance to their clinician in writing, if possible. The clinician will review the complaint/grievance and within 24 hours will notify the appropriate Program Manager/Director who will then conduct the investigation of the complaint/grievance.

 

The student’s clinician will submit the written complaint/grievance to the Program Manager/Director. The document will state the name of the student, staff (if this is a staff issue), and date and time of the incident that led to the grievance. The student will also outline the specifics of what happened which gave them cause for the complaint/grievance.

 

The Program Manager/Director, or designee, will meet with the student within 5 working days of receiving the written complaint/grievance. The Program Manager/Director, or designee, will communicate a response to the complaint/grievance to the student within 5 working days of the meeting or conversation.

 

If the student feels that the complaint is not satisfied, the student may send a copy of the original complaint, along with the response from the Program Manager/Director, to the Vice President of Residential Programs, requesting that the matter be further investigated. The Vice President, or designee, will meet, or have a phone conversation, with the student within 10 working days of receiving the written complaint. The Vice President, or designee, will communicate a response in writing to the student within 10 working days of the conference.

 

At any time in the process, the student has the right to communicate their complaint/grievance to his/her custodial or funding agency.