Statement of Policies & Procedures 

Confidentiality Policy

The information provided to the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency of Northeast Georgia at Gainesville State College for referral or complaint purposes is kept strictly confidential.  Public information on demographics may be used for reporting purposes.

Disclaimer Policy

Referrals, customized information on local child care options, offered to families by the Child Care Resource and Referral Agency of Northeast Georgia at Gainesville State College are intended to only be referrals; not recommendations of child care facilities.  It is the responsibility of the family to select child care based on their personal needs and values.

Statement of Commitment to Diversity

The Child Care Resource and Referral Agency of Northeast Georgia at Gainesville State College is committed to serving the diverse needs of our 13 county service delivery area.  The agency will make every effort to accommodate all families, child care providers, and agency collaborators that seek its services.

Complaint Policy for CCR&R Consumer Education Services

This policy is to be used if a parent calls to complain about the service he/she received from a staff member. If the complaint has to do with not receiving enough referrals or the parent not being able to give all information to complete referral process, try as much as possible to assist the parent in fulfilling her needs and then report call to the Director. Director will then speak to the staff involved. If the complaint has to do with the parent’s perception of how she was treated when she called (counselor being uncooperative, not receiving the information she requested etc.), apologize for the inconvenience, give parent the Directors phone number and then transfer the parent to the Director. The Director will then follow up with parent and the staff to resolve the issue. If the Director finds that the staff member was at fault, they will issue a verbal warning if it is a first offense. On the second complaint, the Director will issue a written warning and this will be included in the staff member’s personnel file. The staff member will be required to attend workshops or seminars that address ways to work effectively with parents.  All complaints and appropriate action methods will be documented and kept in each individual personnel file.  

A statement, along with contact information, describing how to file a complaint on services received from a staff member will be included in our parent packet.

Procedures for Provider Complaints

All complaints

--Must be recorded in the log book

--Must be recorded on appropriate form as narrated by parent

Strongly encourage parent to report information to Bright From the Start Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.  Help parent to understand that in order to have action taken, they must report the complaint and stand by it.

If a complaint involves a violation of licensing law, a counselor will fill out a complaint form for the complainant and mail it to them to sign and forward to the Bright From the Start.  Staff will follow up within seven days.

If a complaint involves a violation of licensing law which appears to constitute a severe threat to the health and safety of child, the counselor will send a copy of the complaint to licensing within twenty-four hours, even if the parent does forward copy of the complaint.

Abuse and Neglect

If the complaint appears to involve possible child abuse or neglect, the counselor will discuss with the complainant the steps necessary for protection of the children involved and for reporting the abuse to the proper regulatory agency.  The counselor will report the allegation of abuse or neglect.  In addition, the counselor will fill out a complaint form for the complainant and send it to them to be signed and forward to Bright From the Start.

The intent of this policy is to handle complaints in a way which will:

--Protect children who are in child care

--Protect the reputation and interests of child care providers

--Protect the liability and credibility of the agency

--Protect the relationships between various programs and providers

--Honor confidentiality of parents

1. It is the policy of Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) to maintain a record of all the complaints against child care providers.

2. In all cases of complaints, staff will encourage parents to take responsibility for resolving complaints by discussing their complaints with the providers first.  Staff will also encourage complainants to report licensing violations to the Bright From the Start as a second step.

3. During the time that an abuse and neglect complaint or a licensing violation is being investigated, the provider will be temporarily dropped from the CCR&R referral database.  If the complaint is upheld, the provider will be removed permanently and will be informed of the agency action.

4. If the complaint appears to involve conflict in values and expectations between complainant and caregivers, which does not constitute abuse, neglect, or violation of licensing law, staff will encourage complainant to discuss the issues with the Provider, and record the complaint according to agency procedures.

5. If a pattern of complaints regarding conflicts in values and expectations or violations of licensing regulations develops against a provider, CCR&R will    discuss the situation with the provider and offer technical assistance when appropriate.  If no changes occur, CCR&R will remove the provider from the database.

6. Providers who are permanently removed from the referral database will be informed of the agency action.  Any action taken by the agency based on this policy may be appealed to the Director.

7. Providers who demonstrate fully implemented plans of correction or who can provide written notice from Bright From the Start of successfully investigated and dismissed charges will be reinstated by CCR&R to the referral database.

8. When appropriate, a designated staff member who took the complaint will contact the Department of Early Care and Learning to follow up on complaints.   The results of this follow-up phone call will be noted in the complaint book.  The Director and the staff person will then meet to discuss each individual complaint 
and how it should be handled based on Bright From the Start’s investigation.  The Director and staff person will also examine the cases of providers who receive numerous complaints that may not be a violation.  The Director and staff person may recommend further training for the provider as a condition to remain
in the CCR&R database.  They could also recommend a provider being removed from the database if he/she refused to attend further training or the pattern of complaints persist even after the follow-up training and staff consultation.