COMPLAINT PROCESS – FOLLOW-UP
What you do prior to a complaint investigation and how you conduct yourself during the complaint investigation are both very important. However, often what occurs after a complaint investigation takes place can have the greatest impact on whether or not you continue to operate your business.
Complaints, although regulatory in nature, can feel very personal. You are operating your childcare business in a place where both you and your family make your home. Questions regarding your ability to provide childcare, including issues which may include behavior management and daily activities, can sometimes become confused with questions regarding your parenting decisions. Issues about sanitation can be very difficult because this is not just about your place of business but also where you live. . The immediate aftermath of a complaint investigation can leave you feeling confused, embarrassed, disillusioned, and very angry.
After a complaint is filed, reliving the investigation over and over does nothing to assist you in moving forward. Do not dwell on what you should have said or done. You cannot change the past. Do not obsess about identifying who filed the complaint. It will not make any difference to the final outcome.
How to begin your follow-up:
• If the investigator gave you a visit report before leaving your home, take the time to sit and read it again. Do not scan it, read it. Make sure you understand everything that it contains. Do not make assumptions. If you have questions, after reading the report, write them down and commit yourself to having your questions answered as soon as possible.
• Compare the information contained in the investigator’s report with the notes you took during the complaint visit. If there are substantial differences in the two, make sure you highlight those differences.
• It’s important for you to understand the allegations made against you. Compare the information in the complaint to the regulations you are alleged to have violated. Do those regulations actually apply to the allegations? Are there policies that may apply? Do you have a copy of those policies? If not, where can you obtain them? Is the intent of the regulation open to interpretation?
• Have you been visited on prior occasions when other professionals have observed your program and you were not cited for the violations alleged in the complaint? Pull your prior visit reports and review them carefully.
In many instances you are not given a report at the time the investigator leaves your home and you are left with only your own notes to review. There can be a number of reasons for this. The interview conducted with you may be only one part of the overall investigation. The allegations may involve multiple children and/or adults. The investigator may have additional interviews to conduct before concluding the investigation. In some instances, investigators are not able to give you a report, before it is reviewed by a supervisor and approved. Whatever the reason, make sure that you have accurate contact information for follow-up, before the investigator leaves your home.
Do not hesitate to use your contact information to obtain answers to additional questions you may have, or to determine the status of the investigation. It may seem counterintuitive to be assertive when you haven’t received an official investigation report. It’s tempting to believe that somehow the complaint was either forgotten or that it was really no big deal. Unfortunately that type of thinking does not help you. It is in your best interest to stay on top of any process that can affect your ability to legally operate your business.
When following up on your complaint investigation:
• Always be polite, but also be professional. Do not be afraid to be persistent in getting answers to your questions.
• Get the name and position of the individual you are speaking with.
• Carefully document the person’s name, telephone number (including extension), and the date you spoke. Document all the information you were given as quickly as you can. You should be taking notes while you are on the phone.
• If the person you were told to contact cannot or will not share information with you, you need to record that information as well. You also need to identify the appropriate individual who can speak with you. Ask.
• If there is a delay (more than two weeks) and you are still waiting for an investigation report, you should be questioning the delay and the reason for it.
• Document, document, document. Never engage in a conversation with anyone regarding a complaint investigation without keeping a written record of who you spoke to, what was said, and the date the conversation occurred.