Serving Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot and Isabella Counties for over
30 years.
Policies & Procedures
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Referral Database Policy (.pdf 11.2KB)
Information Confidentiality and Non Disclosure Agreement (.pdf 11.4KB)
Child Care Provider Complaint Policy (.pdf 13.8KB)
Customer Service Complaint Policy (.pdf 11.2KB)
Customer Service Complaint Form (.pdf 11.1KB)
Referral Database Policy
Rationale
Child Advocacy 4C intends to honor the preferences of Center, Family/Group Home, Head Start, and School-based providers.
The primary purpose of the Child Advocacy 4C referral database is to support the provision of child care referrals for families seeking care.
Database information is also used in aggregate form to provide child care demographic and trend reports to community leaders, contractors and policy makers for the purpose of community planning, analysis, and contract monitoring.
Any other use of provider information is prohibited with the following exceptions…
Sharing Information with Non Profit Organizations, Agencies and Associations
Child Advocacy 4C may determine to produce non-referral/report related mailing labels for non profit organizations, agencies and associations for the purpose of providing opportunities to improve the provider’s business operations.
The Executive Director on a case-by-case basis will determine this. Examples may include:
· Workshop and training announcements
· Conference announcements
· Event announcements
Child Advocacy 4C will charge the requesting organization, agency or association the cost of mailing label production to remain fiscally responsible.
Honoring Provider Preference
Child Advocacy 4C will determine whether to include a provider on a non-referral/report set of mailing labels based on the preference of each provider.
The provider’s preference information will be gathered as part of the ongoing child care referral data collection process, and will be recorded in the provider’s file located in the child care referral database.
Sharing Information with the Media
At the request of the media, Child Advocacy 4C may from time-to-time give provider contact information to representatives of the media. The Executive Director must gain verbal permission from the provider before supplying contact information to the media.
Verbal permission must be secured on each occasion that Child Advocacy 4C wishes to share information with the media.
Information
Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement
Child Advocacy 4C will not disclose any confidential information to any person,
form, or other entity for any reason or purpose whatsoever, or make use of any
such confidential information, expect as authorized and necessary by the client.
For purpose of the Agreement, “Confidential information” means all information
from Child Advocacy 4C funders, contractors or affiliates which is not in the
public domain or generally available to persons who do not have a confidential
relationship with Child Advocacy 4C.
“Confidential information” includes all institutional and personal financial
information, account information, transactional information, business plans,
marketing planes, new program information, rate or pricing changes, customer
lists, provider lists, and information which has been provided to or obtained by
Child Advocacy 4C in confidence.
All information shared via interaction with Child Advocacy 4C webpage is entered
into a protected and secure database, accessible by employees, database
administrators, and executive director by password only. All information
collected from Child Advocacy 4C is kept in locked file cabinets at all five
on-site locations and also in our main office.
Child Care Provider Complaint Policy
External Policy
In the course of helping parents locate childcare that meets their needs it is likely that parents and/or general public will call Child Advocacy 4C with complaints and/or comments about a child care facility. It is important for Child Advocacy 4C staff to listen to the caller’s information and then direct them to the appropriate help. It is also important to tell callers with complaints and/or concerns that Child Advocacy 4C does not regulate childcare. The Michigan Department of Human Services Office of Children and Adult Licensing is the regulatory agency. The caller should then be directed to the on-call worker at the Complaint Intake Unit at 1-866-856-0126 (toll free) or the Welfare Fraud Hotline at 1-800-222-8558 depending on type of complaint and/or concern. Child Advocacy 4C understands that OCAL will require the complaint be submitted in writing before action will be taken. A complaint form can be downloaded or an online complaint form can be filled out from the DHS website www.michigan.gov/dhs Click Licensing on the right side “Quick Links” sidebar, then click complaints (download) or online complaint form (fill out online) under the Contact Us section.
Definitions
Complaint:
Child Advocacy 4C defines a complaint as “any observed or suspected violation of State child day care rules and regulations.” A formal complaint is defined as “a formal accusation or a formal charge which the complainant has reported to the Michigan Department of Human Services Office of Children and Adult Licensing (OCAL).”
Concern:
Child Advocacy 4C defines a concern as “a circumstance or set of circumstances which cause a child’s parent or provider anxiety, uneasiness, or a problem in the child care provider-child-parent relationship and is not a violation of the Michigan Department of Human Services Office of Children and Adult Licensing.”
Internal Policy
Child Advocacy 4C staff that personally observe a violation of state childcare rules and/or regulations are required to submit a formal complaint. Using the OCAL complaint form, mail, fax, e-mail or online the details as soon as possible to OCAL. The complaint form is located in the resource book.
Complaint Procedures for Referral Data Base
When OCAL notifies Child Advocacy 4C about action being taken in response to a serious complaint, the following steps shall be followed:
Referral staff is notified
The Office Manager will de-activate the provider’s Data Base file until the investigation has been completed. The provider will be marked as inactive, no referrals, and logged as “Pending Investigation/Revocation”. This information is confidential and shall not be shared with parents, the provider or anyone else.
The provider files are deleted only when OCAL revokes the license, when providers choose not to renew their license, or voluntarily closed their license per OCAL. A closure list from licensing lists all the providers that have closed for any reason.
Questions About FOA (Freedom of Information Act)
All questions from parents and providers concerning past or current complaints against childcare providers or facilities should be directed to the OCAL, via their website at www.michigan.gov/dhs.
Questions From Providers Under Complaint
A provider who requests information about their provider file shall be told that it contains all of the information give to us by them in writing or verbally. Staff shall not share or allude to any information, which may or may not be in the comments sections regarding complaint information.
Providers who question why they aren’t receiving referrals shall be told, “All providers, in good standing with OCAL, are given out regularly. Your age range of children, location and business hours may be factors in fewer referrals. Child Advocacy 4C makes referrals to parents, we cannot be sure they will contact all providers we have given them”.
Customer Service Complaint Policy
Child Advocacy 4C of Central Michigan values customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction requires that staff are responsive to customer needs, and that staff maintain a professional manner when working with a customer. In addition, the Agency recognizes that each customer must be treated with courtesy and respect, and that customers must receive accurate information in a timely manner.
The Agency believes that it is important to support staff's efforts to provide quality service.
In our effort to support staff and promote customer satisfaction, Child Advocacy 4C of Central Michigan will work to resolve customer complaints in a timely, fair and respectful manner.
Customer Information
Customers are notified via the Agency Website, the Child Care Referral Parent Letter and the Child Care Referral Satisfaction Survey that they may contact the executive assistant by phone at any time if they are dissatisfied with services they receive.
Complaint Process and Procedures
When any member of the Child Advocacy 4C of Central Michigan staff receives a customer complaint, the following steps will be taken:
Refer the customer to the appropriate supervisor. Transfer the call to the supervisor and provide the supervisor's first name and extension number. If the supervisor is not available to take the call, the supervisor will respond to the customer complaint phone message within one business day.
The supervisor will gather and document information from the customer and the staff person involved in the complaint.
The supervisor will determine the appropriate response and/or action and return a call to the customer within two (2) business days. The supervisor will document his/her response or action, and inform the staff person involved in the complaint about the response or action taken.
If the customer is still dissatisfied, the supervisor will refer the complaint to the agency executive director, including the complaint documentation, the customer's name, phone number and best time of day to return a phone call. The executive director will review the documentation, and contact the customer within one business day. The executive director will document her/his response to the customer complaint, any action taken, and inform the referring supervisor about the response or action taken.
If staff disciplinary action is required, the disciplinary process outlined in the Child Advocacy 4C of Central Michigan Employee Handbook will be followed.
Complaint related documentation should be filed in the office of the executive director.