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Child Welfare and Family Services Grievance Policy

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We at CWFS abide by Children’s Aid’s mission and vision, actively working to help families thrive, succeed, and achieve their potential.

What is the grievance process? This is the process by which participants of our CWFS programs are empowered to voice complaints and concerns regarding the provision of those services, activities, and/or programs, and have their feedback be heard and met with solutions toward the best possible outcome. All persons served by Children’s Aid CWFS programs have the right to an impartial grievance process.

A list of types of complaints that can lead to a formal grievance report are linked below in the Grievance Policy document.

How to file a complaint: If possible, first directly contact Children’s Aid program staff and leadership of the site and program with which the participant is involved, expressing the concern verbally or in writing.

If the person issuing the complaint is not satisfied with the program leader’s recommendation(s) for resolution, or they are not comfortable issuing a complaint directly to program staff and leadership, the person issuing the complaint can file a formal written grievance with the Children’s Aid Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) department by filling out a Grievance Report Form, linked below, and emailing it to Grievance@childrensaidnyc.org. You can also call call the grievance hotline at 212.544.0632 with any questions you may have.

Who can file a complaint: A participant(s), birth parent(s), foster parent(s), guardian, legally authorized representative, or anyone else (on behalf of the participant) can file a complaint regarding Children’s Aids’ provision of services, activities, and/or programs.

Relevant Documents for Download 

Grievance Policy and Letter

This document outlines the policy and procedures CWFS has in place for addressing complaints and grievances about services provided by Children’s Aid programs. It also includes external oversight agencies to contact if a grievance remains unresolved after following all the steps in the Grievance Policy. At the end of the Grievance Policy and letter, there is an acknowledgement of receipt, which you may be required to sign and submit to program staff should you begin the grievance process.

Download

Grievance Report Form

If you are unsatisfied by program leadership recommendations, you must complete the Grievance Report Form to file a formal grievance with CQI. Once completed, this form must be submitted to CQI via email at Grievance@childrensaidnyc.org, or by mail at the address on the bottom of the form.

Download

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask a member of the Children’s Aid Program Leadership, or reach out to the CQI Team via email at Grievance@childrensaidnyc.org or the grievance hotline at 212.544.0632.

Please do not hesitate to provide feedback on what is working well for you. We want to hear from you to ensure we continue to provide the best services possible. Thank you!

 

 

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