Important Policies
Important policies
Grievance policy Butterfly Effects defines a grievance as a written complaint or objection related to their services that cannot be promptly resolved at the point of service or is raised after the initial care. Grievance forms are available at butterflyeffects.com/grievance. Staff members must escalate any grievance, whether verbal or written, to the Quality Assurance Department or President within 24 hours. Grievances are reviewed and documented within two business days, and Butterfly Effects may conduct a formal internal review. Grievances or potential ethical violations that warrant further review will be escalated to BE’s Ethics Committee as deemed necessary. The individual reporting the grievance will be informed of the outcome within 15 business days, either verbally or in writing. If external review is necessary, the Leadership team will make appropriate referrals to entities such as the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, state and federal agencies, or legal representatives. Grievances are tracked and reviewed annually to identify trends and opportunities for performance improvement, with the Professional Development Department using this information to develop relevant staff training. The formal grievance process ensures a fair hearing for conflict resolution and can address issues related to care coordination, treatment quality, staffing, professionalism, communication, or billing concerns. Ethics Hotline Policy The Ethics Hotline Policy at BE gives families and staff a safe, confidential way to report concerns about possible violations of company policies, ethical standards, or laws. Reports can be made anonymously through a secure hotline or website. BE ensures that anyone who reports in good faith is protected from retaliation. Concerns may include billing issues, policy violations, or other ethical matters. All reports are carefully reviewed, escalated to BE’s Ethics Committee as necessary, and appropriate actions are taken as deemed necessary. The hotline is available 24/7 at SAFEHOTLINE.COM or 1-855-662-7233, providing a simple way to voice concerns and help maintain ethical clinical practices. Discharge policy Clients and families may be discharged based on the professional discretion of the company. A client discharge may be based on, but not limited to, the following: a client is no longer benefiting from treatment, a situation has occurred in the treatment setting that has severely compromised the therapeutic relationship or treatment outcomes, the treatment is judged to be dangerous to staff, the client is no longer eligible for services, the client may be harmed by continued treatment, the client service delivery cannot be effectively staffed, or the client’s needs fall outside the scope of practice of the assigned BCBA. All efforts will be made to facilitate an appropriate and timely discharge (i.e., a minimum of 45-90 days). Butterfly Effects reserves the right to an immediate discharge of a client should extreme events occur that jeopardize the safety and well-being of a treatment staff.
Mandated reporting policy Children with disabilities are at least three times more likely to be abused or neglected than their peers without disabilities (Jones et al., 2012). Therefore, it is vital that your child learn skills that will allow them to protect themselves and communicate if they are ever in an unsafe situation. Similarly, it is essential that BE staff are trained on how to respond to situations in which abuse or neglect may be Occurring. Who is a Mandated Reporter? A person who, because of his or her profession, is legally required to report any known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect to relevant authorities. All Butterfly Effects’ staff are considered mandated reporters. Should one of our staff witness any incident that they believe to meet the requirements for reporting, staff have been trained to contact the appropriate local authority to further discuss the concern. Video surveillance policy Butterfly Effects permits real-time video surveillance monitoring of staff in the family’s home. However, families must inform and obtain permission from the BCBA and Behavior Technician that video surveillance monitoring is occurring. Families are not permitted to video record or take pictures of BE staff. In some states, video recording a person without their consent is illegal. If families notice any questionable staff behavior through video surveillance, they agree to use the Butterfly Effects grievance process (discussed on next page) to initiate an internal company review. Hands-on/restraint policy Butterfly Effects (BE) adheres to a strict zero tolerance policy in relation to the use of any form of physical punishment/restraint. At no time are BE staff members approved to use any form of physical management/restraint unless the following criteria has been met: • There is imminent risk of serious harm to the individual or someone else. • There must be no other practical way to prevent the harm without the use of physical management. • The risk of not intervening must be greater than the risk of intervening. If physical restraint/management is used in this type of emergency an incident form should be completed and notice must be provided to the Regional Director and Senior Regional Director within 24 hours of the incident. BE provides specialized training in the event hands-on procedures are needed on a planned basis. These services must be requested by the cases assigned BCBA.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging (DEIB)
Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging (DEIB) mission is to explore, understand, and cultivate means to empower Butterfly Effects staff to create an inclusive environment that promotes and embraces diversity, equality, and belonging to all. By empowering our staff to foster a culture of respect, belonging, and understanding, we create an environment where every voice is heard and every perspective matters.
30 Family Handbook
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