A. See Policy Council's Bylaws Article VIII section 1 and following two pages of ATCAA Policies and Procedures Manual II-6040

INTRODUCTION: The Community Complaint procedure is for ATCAA staff to follow when a community member or vendor feels he or she has been denied access to ATCAA program services, or has a complaint about an ATCAA service. The exception to this procedure are complaints made by Head Start Parents, whereby staff will refer to the Head Start  Parent Policy Council (PPC) bylaws.

DEFINITION: A complaint is defined as a dissatisfaction with some aspect of program operation.

AGENCY POLICY ON NON-DISCRIMINATION IN PROVIDING SERVICES: It is the agency policy that ATCAA will not discriminate against any individual because of their race, color, religion, national origin, gender or disability.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE: Community complaints will be handled through the ATCAA supervisory chain.

1. Every effort will be made by staff to listen carefully to the complaint in an effort to thoroughly grasp the problem. Staff will try to resolve the problem through open verbal communication in an informal meeting.

2.A COMMUNITY MEMBER

If the complaint is from a community member who still feels the issue is unresolved after step 1, the complainant may request an informal meeting with a program supervisor for resolution. This meeting will take place within two weeks of receiving the request.  If the issue is still unresolved complainant will be referred to the Program Manager (if the Program Manager was the direct supervisor in the earlier step, go to Step 3.)  The complainant may request a meeting with the Program Manager. The Program Manager will meet the complainant no longer that two weeks from receiving the request.

2.B VENDOR:

If the complainant is a vendor with concerns regarding payment, the complainant will be referred to Accounts Payable. if the issue is still unresolved he or she will be referred to the Deputy Director of Administration (DDA).  The complainant may request a meeting with the DDA. The DDA will meet with the complainant no longer than two weeks from receiving the request.  The DDA will write a follow up letter to the complainant summarizing the complaint and steps taken to resolve the problem. The letter will also explain how the complainant, if not satisfied, can take the complaint to the Executive Director.

Whether the complaint is from a vendor or a community member, the next attempt at resolution will be at the Executive Director level initiated by the complainant.

The complainant may request a meeting with the Executive Director by submitting a written request including a description of the problem and a proposed solution.

The Executive Director will write a follow up letter to the complainant summarizing the complaint and steps taken to resolve the problem. The letter will also explain how the complainant, if not satisfied, can take the complaint to the ATCAA Board Executive Committee.

The complainant may request a meeting with the Executive Committee by submitting a written request including a description of the problem and a proposed solution. The Executive Committee will meet with the complainant within thirty days form receiving the request. The Executive Committee will make a recommendation to the ATCAA Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting regarding any action it feels is necessary on the part of the board or agency management. The board chair will send a written response to the vendor or community member following the meeting.

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Clients requesting services from the agency programs can contact the funding source directly if they feel they have been discriminated against or otherwise been treated unfairly and , at the client’s request, they should be provided the address and telephone number of the funding source representative.

Legal Claims:

Claims for personal injury or property loss are a legal matter and should be referred to the DDA for processing through the existing agency Claims Procedure.