About Us

Policy

The purpose of the Client Grievances Policy is to establish means by which a client or prospective client (hereinafter “Client”) may resolve situations or incidents in which they believe they have received unfair treatment as the result of a specific action on the part of the Adoption Worker and/or Children’s Home (CH) staff.

To ensure that Children’s Home does not take any action to discourage a Client from, or retaliate against them for, making a compliant; expressing a grievance; providing information in writing or interviews to an accrediting entity on the agency’s or person’s performance; or questioning the conduct of or expressing an opinion about the performance of an agency or person, and that all complaints/grievances are considered and addressed in a timely fashion and are reviewed for ongoing quality improvement, Children’s Home will comply with the following procedures:

1. Attempt at Resolution. Client should first take their question or concern to the identified Children’s Home team member and attempt to resolve the matter directly. Team member is responsible for responding to the client within ten (10) business days and informing their supervisor of the complaint immediately following notification of the concern. If the matter cannot be resolved, Client may: (1) accept the decision of the team member and take no further action, or (2) address the grievance to the Program Manager/Supervisor.
2. Address a Grievance. A request to address a grievance must be made to the Program Manager/Supervisor within ten (10) business days from receipt of the Children’s Home team member’s response to the grievance. The Program Manager/Supervisor will conduct an investigation to determine and attempt to understand the point of view of the Client and that of the Children’s Home team member. Based on the results of the investigation, the Program Manager/Supervisor will make a decision within ten (10) business days. If the decision of the Director is to uphold the Children’s Home team member’s decision, Client may: (1) accept the decision of the Director and take no further action, or (2) file a written request to appeal the decision for review by the Program Director.
3. Appeal to the Director. The request to appeal the Program Manager/Supervisor’s decision must be made to the Program Director within ten (10) business days from receipt of the Program Manager/Supervisor’s response. The Director will consider all relevant information and then will make a decision within ten (10) business days. If the decision of the Director is to uphold the Program Manager/Supervisor’s decision, Client may: (1) accept the decision of the Director and take no further action, or (2) file a written request to elevate the grievance for review by the Adoption & Foster Care Program’s Leadership Team.
4. Appeal a Decision. The request to appeal the Director’s decision must be made to the Adoption & Foster Care Leadership Team within ten (10) business days from receipt of the Director’s response. The Adoption & Foster Care Leadership Team will consider all relevant information and then will make a decision within ten (10) business days regarding the elevated appeal. If the decision of the Adoption & Foster Care Leadership Team is to deny the elevated appeal, Client may: (1) accept the decision of the Adoption & Foster Care Leadership Team and take no further action, or (2) file a written request to elevate a grievance for review by the Senior Director of Adoption & Foster Care.
5. Elevate a Grievance. The Client must elevate their request for review by the Senior Director within ten (10) business days from receipt of the Program Leadership Team’s response. Client must submit the appeal in writing to the Program Leadership Team, who will then forward it to the Senior Director. The Senior Director will review all relevant information and prior recommendations and then make and notify the Client in writing of the decision within ten (10) business days. If the decision of the Senior Director is to deny the elevated appeal, Client has two options: (1) accept the decision of the Senior Director and take no further action, or (2) file a written request to elevate a grievance for review by the Children’s Home President.
6. Request a Formal Grievance Review. After receipt of the Senior Director’s decision, if the matter is not resolved, the Client may submit a Request for a Formal Grievance Review within five (5) business days to the Senior Director, who will then forward it to the President. The President will review all relevant information and prior recommendations and then make a final decision and notify the Client in writing of the decision within ten (10) business days.
7. Request a Final Review. After receipt of the President’s decision, if Client believes the concerns are not sufficiently addressed, the Client may request a final review by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors within five (5) business days to the President, who will then forward it to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will review all relevant information and prior recommendations within ten (10) business days and then make a final decision and notify Client in writing of the decision within thirty (30) days. The decision of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors will be final and binding.
8. Withdraw an Appeal.  Client may withdraw an appeal at any time during the process.
9. Limitations of Liability.  In consideration of Children’s Home’s efforts to assist Client with an adoption, Client hereby waives any and all claims which Client may have now or in the future against Children’s Home and its directors, officers, team members and agents for any of its actions which may arise out of this application, receipt of services from, or adoption through Children’s Home , pertaining to any of the risks discussed in this document, to the extent enforceable by applicable state law.

ADDITIONAL PROCEDURES: Intercountry Adoption Program Team Members & Clients

a) Hague Complaint Registry.  Any birth parent, prospective adoptive parent, adoptive parent or adoptee who believes Children’s Home (or any of its supervised providers) is in violation of the standards set forth in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA), the Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA), or the regulations implementing them, may initiate directly with Children’s Home a signed and dated complaint. If dissatisfied with Children’s Home’s response, the   individual(s) may register a complaint through the Hague Complaint Registry at the U.S. Department of State, pursuant to Hague §96.41 (b).

b) Grievances involving an allegation of fraud, trafficking, or child buying, or that involve allegations regarding compliance with the standards set forth in the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, the IAA, the UAA or the regulations implementing them, must be communicated to the President immediately and the investigation process is expedited. A written response to such complaints must be provided within thirty (30) days of receipt. Information about such allegations will be provided to the accrediting entity or Secretary, as may be requested, pursuant to Hague §96.41 (c).

c) Children’s Home will maintain a written record of each complaint and the steps taken to investigate and respond. The record will be made available to the accrediting entity or the Secretary upon request, pursuant to Hague §96.41 (d) (g).

d) Team members involved in assisting clients with complaints and resolving client complaints should document all related activities, including the content of the complaint, details of the investigation into the complaint and resolution of the complaint in the client’s case notes.

e) A Critical Incident Report regarding the grievance is completed by the team member(s) directly involved. As is required with all incident reports, it is forwarded to the Director. The Director is responsible for 1) recording the incident in the database and forwarding the report to 2) the Senior Director, and 2) the Hague Contact.

f) Additionally, the Senior Director or their designee submits a copy of the Critical Incident Report to the Critical Incident Executive Team for their review. The team will present information about all incidents reported, including client complaints, to the Executive Leadership Team on a quarterly basis as part of the agency-wide quality improvement program.

g) A summary of all signed and dated complaints about any of the services or activities of the agency that raise an issue of compliance with the Convention, the IAA or related regulations through the Accrediting Entity for the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, as well as an assessment of any discernible patterns in complaints and the changes and/or improvements implemented by the agency to address those concerns, will be provided to the President and Hague Contact for submission to the Accrediting Entity or Secretary on a semi-annual basis, pursuant to Hague §96.41 (f).

h) Children’s Home has a quality improvement program through which it makes systematic efforts to improve its services by reviewing complaint data, using client satisfaction surveys, and other methods, pursuant to Hague §96.41 (h).

Children’s Home strives to provide the best possible service while working to find families for children.  Occasionally, clients will have a reason that they are not able to complete the adoption process and will ask for a refund of the fees paid to Children’s Home.  Please be aware that refunds cannot be given for work that had been completed. When client service fees are paid, but the service is not provided, Children’s Home may refund the unused portion to prospective adoptive parents within sixty days of request.

Children’s Home is compliant with:

• the Indian Child Welfare Act
• the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act
• the Heritage Act,
• the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children