Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 38, September 20, 2024
A. Within 10 days
of the appointment, the investigator shall hold a private, face-to-face
conference with the person who filed the grievance or request for investigation
to learn the relevant facts that form the grounds for the grievance or request,
unless the grievance or request has been initiated by a mental health agency or
the Administration according to
R9-21-403(D) or
(E).
1. In
scheduling such conference, and again at the conference, if the client appears
without a designated representative, the investigator shall advise the client
that:
a. The client may be represented by a
designated representative of the client's own choice. The investigator shall
also advise the client of the availability of assistance from the State
Protection and Advocacy System, the Office of Human Rights, and the relevant
Independent Oversight Committee.
b.
The client may make an audio tape of the conference and all future conferences,
meetings or hearings to which the client may be a party during the
investigation, provided that the client notify all other parties not later than
the beginning of the meeting or hearing that the client intends to do
so.
c. In any case where the person
initiating the grievance or request, or the person(s) who is alleged to have
been responsible for the rights violation or condition, is a client and is in
need of special assistance and is unrepresented, the investigator shall give
the Office of Human Rights notice of the need for representation.
2. Where the grievance has been
initiated by the mental health agency or the Administration, the investigator
shall promptly determine which persons have relevant information concerning the
occurrence of the alleged rights violation or condition requiring investigation
and proceed to interview such individuals.
B. Within 15 days of the appointment, but
only after the conference with the person initiating the grievance or request
for investigation, the investigator shall hold a private, face-to-face
conference with the person(s) complained of or thought to be responsible for
the rights violation or condition requiring investigation to discuss the matter
and, in scheduling the conference with such person(s) or with any other
witness, the investigator shall advise the person(s) or any other witness that:
1. The individual may make a recording of the
conference and all future conferences, meetings or hearings during the course
of the investigation, provided that the individual must notify all other
parties to such meetings or hearings not later than the beginning of the
meeting or hearing if the individual intends to so record.
2. An employee of an inpatient facility,
service provider, health plan or the Administration has an obligation to
cooperate in the investigation.
3.
Failure of an employee to cooperate may result in appropriate disciplinary
action.
C. The
investigator shall gather relevant and appropriate information, including
interviewing additional witnesses, requesting and reviewing documents, and
examining other evidence or locations.
D. Within 10 days of completing all
interviews with the parties but not later than 30 days from the date of the
appointment, the investigator shall prepare a written, dated report briefly
describing the investigation and containing findings of fact, conclusions, and
recommendations
E. Within five days
of receiving the investigator's report, the agency director shall review the
report and the case record and prepare a written, dated decision which shall
either:
1. Accept the investigator's report in
whole or in part, at least with respect to the facts as found, and state a
summary of findings and conclusions and the intended action of the agency
director; and send:
a. A copy of the decision
to:
i. The investigator;
ii. The individual who filed the grievance or
request for investigation;
iii. The
individual who is the subject of the grievance or request for investigation, if
applicable;
iv. The Office of Human
Rights; and
v. The appropriate
Independent Oversight Committee.
b. A notice to the individual who filed the
grievance or request for investigation and, if applicable, the client who is
the subject of the grievance or request for investigation or, if applicable,
the client's guardian, of:
i. If the decision
is from an agency director, the client's right to appeal to the Administration
according to
R9-21-406 and to an administrative
hearing according to A.R.S. §
41-1092.03; and
ii. If the decision is from the
Administration, the client's right to an administrative hearing according to
A.R.S. § 411092.03; or
2. Reject the report for insufficiency of
facts and return the matter for further investigation. In such event, the
investigator shall complete the further investigation and deliver a revised
report to the agency director within 10 days. Upon receipt of the report, the
agency director shall proceed as provided in subsection
(E)(l).
F. Actions that
an agency director may take according to subsection (E)(1) include:
1. Identifying training or supervision for or
disciplinary action against an individual responsible for a rights violation or
condition requiring investigation identified during the course of investigating
a grievance or request for investigation;
2. Developing or modifying a mental health
agency's policies and procedures;
3. Notifying the regulatory entity that
licensed or certified an individual according to A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 33 of
the findings from the investigation; or
4. Imposing sanctions, including monetary
penalties, according to terms of a contract, if applicable.
G. After the expiration of the
appeal period set forth in
R9-21-407, or after the exhaustion
of all appeals and subject to the final decision on the appeal, the agency
director shall promptly take the action set forth in the decision and add to
the case record a written, dated report of the action taken. A copy of the
report shall be sent to the Office of Human Rights and the Independent
Oversight Committee if the client is in need of special assistance.
