Section 94.44. Final state review.

 

(1)   Designation of administrator. The secretary of the department shall designate a specific division administrator or administrators to conduct final reviews of client grievances.

(2)   Request for review.

(a) A grievant seeking final state review shall present his or her request to the program manager who shall transmit the request to an administrator designated under sub. (1) along with copies of the original grievance and all prior decisions and reports.

(b) A request by a program manager or county director for final state review shall be presented to the designated administrator or administrators on forms provided by the department and include with the request copies of the original grievance and all subsequent decisions and reports. A copy of the request for review shall be sent by first class mail to all other parties, including the client and the grievant, if other than the client.

(c) A request shall describe the portion or portions of the prior decision with which the party disagrees, the basis for the disagreement and any arguments or additional information the party wishes the department to consider.

(d) If the grievant is unable to prepare a written request for final state review, the program manager or his or her designee shall assist in completing the necessary forms.

(3)   Information for review. The administrator conducting the final state review may request that additional information be submitted by any party or may conduct the final review based solely on the information already received.

(4)   Final administrative determination.

(a) The administrator shall prepare a final administrative determination for resolution of the grievance.

(b) The administrator shall affirm the prior decision unless it is contrary to state statutes or administrative rules.

(c) If the administrator determines that the prior decision should be modified or reversed, he or she shall state the basis for the modification or reversal and shall include in the final administrative determination specific instructions for carrying out any acts or adjustments being ordered to resolve the grievance and the timelines for carrying them out.

(5)   Distribution of decision.

(a) Copies of the decision shall be sent by first class mail to the grievance examiner, the county director, if the program was operated by or under contract with a county department, the program manager, the client, the grievant, if other than the client, the client rights specialist, the parent or guardian of a client, if that person's consent is required for treatment, and all staff who received a copy of the state grievance examiner's decision..

(b) The decision shall contain a notice to the parties that there is no further administrative appeal beyond this stage. The grievant shall be advised of the client's right to pursue additional consideration of the matter by bringing action in a court under s. 51.61 (7) , Stats.

(6)   Time limits.

(a) Request for review. A party shall have 14 days from the date he or she receives the written decision by the state grievance examiner under s. DHS 94.42 (6) or 94.43 to request a final state review.

(b) Non-emergency situations.

1. In situations in which there is not an emergency, the following time limits apply:

a. The program manager or his or her designee shall, upon receipt of the request for review by a grievant, transmit by first class mail the materials identified in sub. (2) (a) to the administrator designated under sub. (1) within 7 days of receiving the request;

b. Other parties shall transmit by first class mail their request for review along with all of the materials directly to the department administrator within 14 days of receiving the decision of the state grievance examiner; and

c. The designated department administrator shall issue a final decision on the review within 30 days after the request for review was presented to the program manager by the grievant or a request for review by any other party was received by the designated department administrator.

2. The department administrator in non-emergency situations may extend the time limit for completing the administrative review for up to 30 additional days with the approval of the program director, the client and the grievant, if other than the client, or upon a showing that additional time is necessary to complete the inquiry or evaluation of the matters presented for review.

(c) Emergency situations.

1. In emergency situations, the following time limits apply:

a. The program manager or his or her designee shall, upon receipt of the request for review by a grievant, transmit by overnight mail the materials identified in sub. (2) (a) to the administrator designated under sub. (1) within 3 business days of receiving the request.

b. Other parties shall transmit by overnight mail their request for review along with all of the materials directly to the department administrator within 7 days of receiving the decision of the state grievance examiner; and

c. The final decision on the review shall be issued within 10 days after the request for review was presented to the program manager by the grievant or a request for review by any other party was received by the department administrator.

2. If after a preliminary investigation it appears that there is no emergency, the department administrator may treat the situation as a non-emergency for the remainder of the process.

(7)   Protection of clients. If the department administrator determines that a client or group of clients continues at risk of harm and the program has not yet acted to eliminate this risk, he or she shall take immediate action to protect the client or clients, pending further investigation.

(8)   Protection of client confidentiality. The department administrator shall purge the names or other client identifying information of any client involved in the grievance, including the client directly involved, when providing copies of the decision to persons other than the client or a person acting on behalf of the client, the parent or guardian of the client, the staff directly involved, or the program manager or other staff who have a need to know the information.

Cr. Register, June, 1996, No. 486 , eff. 7-1-96.