Recipient Rights Advisor

Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority•Traverse City, MI

About The Position

Under the supervision of the Director of the Office of Recipient Rights and as a member of that office, the Recipient Rights Advisor promotes and protects the legal rights of individuals served by or under contract with NLCMHA. The role receives reports and complaints of apparent or suspected rights violations, investigates or intervenes, prepares investigative reports, and recommends and obtains remedial action. It also monitors service providers, trains and advises provider staff, and provides information, referral, and advocacy services to recipients, families, legal representatives, and the community. The Advisor assists the Director in maintaining a rights protection system that meets statutory and departmental requirements. The position has no clinical service or supervisory responsibilities. The role is based in the Traverse City office and frequently requires fieldwork throughout Roscommon, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Missaukee, and Leelanau counties, or elsewhere as assigned. Duties include complaint intake and resolution; impartial investigations and report writing; provider site visits and policy reviews; review of death and critical incident reports; training, consultation, and policy support; education and referral; and advocacy at person-centered planning meetings when requested. The position may require irregular hours and travel by personal vehicle if an agency vehicle is unavailable. The stated salary range is $64,782–$74,282.

Requirements

At least a bachelor’s degree; a degree in human services, social science, or law is preferred.
Experience in complaint resolution, investigation and investigative report writing, compliance monitoring, training, and advocacy.

Nice To Haves

One year of experience providing Recipient Rights protection services in a Community Mental Health Services Program or Licensed Psychiatric Hospital or Unit, or comparable experience.
Successful completion certificate for MDCH ORR Recipient Rights Basic Skills I and Basic Skills II.

Responsibilities

Ensure recipients, family members, guardians, provider staff, advocates, and others acting for recipients have prompt, consistent, and unimpeded access to the complaint and reporting process.
Receive and review oral and written complaints and reports; advise or refer complainants and reporting individuals to advocacy organizations or other agencies as appropriate.
Log and determine the disposition of complaints, send acknowledgment letters, file complaints on recipients’ behalf when appropriate, and notify the supervisor within 24 hours of receiving a complaint or report.
Conduct detailed, systematic, thorough, and impartial interventions and investigations of complaints and reports of suspected rights violations.
Prepare accurate intervention and investigative reports that address allegations, applicable laws and policies, evidence, findings, conclusions, and recommended corrective action; submit reports for supervisory review and revise as directed.
Send reports to respondents and the NLCMHA CEO, obtain remedial action plans, track their status, and collect documentation of planned actions.
Assist complainants and other eligible persons with filing written appeals when requested.
Maintain accurate records in the Recipient Rights electronic records system and keep complaint records complete and secure.
Conduct provider site visits, inspections, policy reviews, and other monitoring activities at least annually or more frequently as needed; document findings and obtain corrective-action documentation for deficiencies.
Review death and critical incident reports and prepare preliminary reports identifying whether further inquiry or formal investigation is warranted.
Train NLCMHA and contracted-provider staff in recipient rights and assist with developing training curricula.
Educate recipients, parents of minor recipients, guardians, family members, and community stakeholders about recipient rights.
Consult with NLCMHA and contracted-provider staff on recipient-rights matters.
Assist with preparing, reviewing, and updating policies and procedures required by applicable laws, rules, regulations, accreditation standards, or other standards.
Ensure recipients and their representatives can access summaries of rights guaranteed by Chapters 7 and 7a of the Michigan Mental Health Code.
Locate and refer individuals to external complaint-resolution resources and help maintain a list of advocacy and external complaint-resolution resources.
Coordinate with NLCMHA and PIHP Customer Services, Grievance and Appeals, and Compliance personnel to support timely responses to consumer grievances, appeals, concerns, and questions.
Attend person-centered planning meetings or engage in other advocacy activities when requested by a recipient, parent of a minor recipient, or guardian.
Promote consumer inclusion in the Recipient Rights protection system.