Recipient Rights

RECIPIENT RIGHTS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

ADOPTED BY DAWN, INC.

NOVEMBER 1996

(Reviewed and updated 11/20/22)

As required by R325. 14302 of the Administrative Rules for Substance Abuse Service Programs, the following policies and procedures were considered and adopted by majority vote of our governing authority on November 20, 1996. Documentation of this annual review and the majority approval of the governing body shall become a part of the administrative record.

Specific Recipient Rights

Listed below are the specific recipient rights adopted by the governing authority of Dawn Farm:

1.  A recipient as defined in the 1981 OSAS Substance Abuse Licensing Rules shall not be denied appropriate service on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, mental or physical handicap, marital status, sexual preference or political beliefs. As the services offered by Dawn Farm are limited to individuals who do not have a mental or physical handicap or psychiatric disorder, the references to mental or physical handicap are qualified.

2.  The admission of a recipient to this program, or the provision of prevention services, shall not result in the recipient being deprived of any rights, privileges or benefits which are guaranteed to individuals by state or federal law or by the state or federal constitution. 

3. A recipient may present grievances or suggested changes in program policies and services to the program staff, to governmental officials or to another person within or outside the program. In this process, the program shall not in any way restrain the recipient.

4. A recipient has the right to review, copy or receive a summary of his or her program records unless, in the judgment of the Program Director, such actions will be detrimental to the recipient or the others for either of the following reasons:

• Granting the request for disclosure will cause substantial harm to the relationship between the recipient and the program or to the program’s capacity to provide services in general.

• Granting the request for disclosure will cause substantial harm to the recipient.

            If the Program Director determines that such action will be detrimental, the recipient is allowed to review non-detrimental portions of the record or a summary of the record. If a recipient is denied the right to review all or part of his or her record, the reason for the denial shall be stated to the recipient. An explanation of what portions of the record are detrimental and for what reasons shall be stated in the client record and shall be signed by the Program Director. All requests to review records will be directed to the Program Director who is the only staff member authorized to grant such requests.

5. A program staff member shall not physically or mentally abuse or neglect or sexually abuse a recipient as the terms “abuse” and “neglect” are defined in the 1981 OSAS licensing rules. A program staff member shall not exert physical punishment in any form. A program staff member shall not psychologically abuse, humiliate, threaten or exploit any agency client. Dawn Farm utilizes confrontation therapy along with other therapeutic modalities as part of the Treatment Plan for each client. The client is informed prior to admission that he/she will receive this type of therapy in all group/individual therapy sessions by all therapists. The client will be made aware that he/she may refuse to receive this therapy at any time during treatment understanding that refusal to participate in therapy will result in a dismissal from the program.

6. Should this program engage in any experimental or research procedure, any or all recipients will be advised as to the procedures to be used, and have the right to refuse participation in the experiment or research without jeopardizing their continuing services. State and federal rules and regulations concerning research involving human subjects will be reviewed and followed. In addition, any research will be authorized by the Dawn Farm Board of Trustees to be certain that the research is consistent with Dawn Farm’s mission.

7.  A recipient shall participate in the development of his or her treatment plan. Counseling staff will inform recipients that development of a treatment plan is a cooperative effort between counselor and client. It is the policy of this program that both the client and counselor sign the treatment plan and any major revision of that plan.

8. A client has the right to refuse treatment and to be informed of the consequences of that refusal. When a refusal of treatment prevents this program from providing services according to ethical and professional standards, the relationship with the recipient may be terminated with the Director/Program Coordinator’s approval upon reasonable notice. Reasons for termination will be recorded in the client’s case file in the discharge summary by the primary therapist.

9. Upon admission, each client/resident is provided with program/house rules which are also posted in public places in the program. These program/house rules inform new clients/residents of the infractions which can lead to discharge. The rules also describe the mechanism for appealing a discharge decision and which staff have authority to discharge. The client/resident signs a form that documents that a written copy of program and house rules has been received and questions about it answered. This form is maintained in the client/resident’s client file. Discharge is for a period of at least 14 days.

10. A recipient shall have the benefits, side effects and risks associated with the use of any drugs fully explained in language which is understood by the recipient. The Program Medical Director is responsible for providing this explanation or for designating staff to do it.

11. A recipient has the right to give prior informed consent, consistent with federal confidentiality regulations, for the use and future disposition of products of special observation and audiovisual technique such as one-way vision mirrors, tape recorders, television, movies or photographs.

12.  A recipient has the right to associate and have private communications and consultations with his or her physician and attorney.

13.  Our policy concerning visitors is posted in the dining room which is a “public place” where all residents or visitors can view it.

14. Dawn Farm’s policies on family visitation vary by program and by treatment phase. Dawn Farm believes strongly in the importance of family involvement in the treatment process. Dawn Farm believes equally in the importance of residents maintaining focus on treatment and the recovery process with as few distractions as possible. Dawn Farm tries to balance these values with every case and allows regular family contacts and visits, but does restrict frequency. Each program’s brochure details the family contact policy for that program and each potential resident is given the brochure prior to the admission interview.

Any restriction of visitation rights beyond the family contact policy outline in the program brochure must be described and justified in the resident’s individual treatment plan. When visitation privileges are granted the visitors will be seen in the visiting area only, and during existing visiting hours.

15. A recipient has the right to be free from doing work which the program would otherwise employ someone else to do, unless the work and the rationale for its therapeutic benefit are included in program policy or in the treatment plan for the recipient. A major therapeutic focus is placed on work therapy. Each applicant prior to admission is informed of the work tasks that are required of every resident. All clients are informed that they may refuse to do a work task at any time during treatment and that this refusal will result in a dismissal from our program.

16. A recipient has the right to a reasonable amount of personal storage space for clothing and other personal property. All such items shall be returned upon discharge.

17. A recipient has the right to deposit money, earnings or income in his or her name in an account with a commercial financial institution. A recipient has the right to get money from the account and to spend it or use it as he or she chooses, unless restricted by the treatment plan for the recipient. A recipient has the right to receive all the money or other belongings held for him or her by the program within 24 hours of discharge.

18. These policies and procedures shall be provided to each member of the program staff. Each staff member shall review this material and shall sign a form which indicates that he or she understands, and shall abide by this program’s recipient rights policy and procedure. It is the responsibility of the Program Director to insure that each staff member fully comprehends the intent of the policies and procedures. A copy of the signed form will be maintained in the staff member’s personnel file; a second copy will be retained by the staff member.

19.  The Executive Director shall designate one staff member to function as the Program Rights Advisor. The rights advisor shall:

• attend all CSAS training pertaining to recipient rights,

• receive and investigate all recipient rights complaints independent of interference or reprisal from program administration,

• communicate directly with the Coordinating Agency Rights Consultant when necessary.

20. The staff member designated as rights advisor shall not be a provider of counseling services where staffing permits.

21. Rights of recipients shall be displayed in a public place on a poster to be provided by CSAS. The poster will indicate the designated rights advisor’s name and telephone number and the regional rights consultant’s name, address and phone number.

22.  As part of the intake or admission process each recipient will receive a brochure which summarizes recipient rights. The brochure has been approved and provided by CSAS.

23. It is the responsibility of the intake worker or counselor to explain each right listed on the brochure to the recipient. The recipient will then be requested to sign the rights acknowledgment form to indicate understanding of the rights.

24. If the recipient is incapacitated, he or she shall be presented with the previously mentioned brochure, explanation of rights and opportunity to document understanding of the rights as soon as possible, but not more than 72 hours after admission.