Marin County Health and Human Services
Behavioral Health and Recovery Services
Grievance Procedure for APA CE Activities
Marin County Health and Human Services (HHS), Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) is fully committed to conducting all American Psychological Association (APA) Continuing Education activities in strict conformance with APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists. BHRS will comply with all legal and ethical responsibilities to be non-discriminatory in promotional activities, program content, and in the treatment of program participants. The monitoring and assessment of compliance with these standards will be the responsibility of the BHRS Curriculum Chair in consultation with members of the Curriculum Committee and the BHRS Clinical Training Director in consultation with the Training Faculty Committee.
While BHRS goes to great lengths to assure fair treatment for all participants and attempts to anticipate problems, there will be occasional issues which come to the attention of staff which require intervention and/or action on the part of staff. This procedural description serves as a guideline for handling such grievances.
When a participant, either orally or in written or electronic format, files a grievance and expects action on the complaint, the following actions will be taken.
1. If the grievance concerns a speaker, the content presented by the speaker, or the style of presentation, the individual filing the grievance will be asked to put his/her comments in written or electronic format via email. The Curriculum Chair will then pass on the comments to the speaker, assuring the confidentiality of the grieved individual. Prior to engaging the same speaker for a subsequent presentation, the Curriculum Chair will follow-up on the concern with the speaker and request an adjustment in the presentation content or style as appropriate.
2. If the grievance concerns a workshop or course offering, its content, level of presentation, or the facilities in which the training was offered, the Curriculum Chair will mediate and will be the final arbitrator. If the participant requests action, the chair will:
a) attempt to move the participant to another workshop or course
b) provide a credit for a subsequent and related workshop or course
c) provide a partial or full refund of the fee if there is ever a fee associated with the course or workshop. Of note, BHRS CE courses are free to all BHRS staff, interns, and students.
Actions 2b and 2c will require a written or electronic note sent via email, documenting the grievance, for record keeping purposes. The note need not be signed by the grieved individual.
3. If the grievance concerns the BHRS CE program, in a specific regard, the CE Chair will attempt to arbitrate. If resolution does not occur through this procedure process, the CE Chair will work with the complainant and appropriate BHRS management to seek resolution of the grievance. BHRS employees are further supported by their union grievance policies and representation. Clinical interns are further supported by the grievance policy documented in their internship handbook and their Clinical Director.
Contact: Jennifer Moore, LCSW
Ph. (415)473-2662
Jenn.Moore@MarinCounty.gov
20 North San Pedro Rd. San Rafael, CA 94903
Todd Schirmer, PhD
Ph. (415)473-7637
Todd.Schirmer@MarinCounty.gov
20 North San Pedro Rd. San Rafael, CA 94903
Date created: 06/23/2020