Client Rights and Grievances
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Client Rights and Grievance Specialist
DMHAS Office of the Commissioner 410 Capitol Avenue, 4th Floor PO Box 341431 Hartford, CT 06134 William Pierce, Client Rights and Grievance Specialist,
ADATitle II and ACA 1557 Coordinator 860-418-7000, william.pierce@ct.gov TTY: (toll free) 888-621-3551 (or Relay711); Confidential Fax: 860-418-6691
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- Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Guide to People’s Rights in Connecticut when receiving services from a DMHAS facility or contracted provider: The guide identifies Connecticut General Statutes, Federal Law and Case Law which protect people’s rights
- Patient Bill of Rights (English) - (En Español): Connecticut General Statutes protecting the rights of people who receive services from Connecticut psychiatric treatment facilities
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): The ADA is civil rights law that protects the rights of persons with disabilities
- Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Notice
- Affordable Care Act (ACA) Section 1557: The ACA prohibits healthcare providers including DMHAS from discriminating against someone on the basis of race, national origin, age, disability or sex and requiring them to provide equal access to programs and services to people whose primary language is not English
- Language Access and Non-Discrimination Notice
ii. Treated the client in an arbitrary or unreasonable manner
iii. Failed to provide services authorized by a treatment plan
iv. Used coercion to improperly limit choice
v. Failed to reasonably intervene when the client’s rights were put at risk by another
client or patient in a setting controlled by the provider
vi. Failed to treat the client or patient in a humane and dignified manner
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Accelerated Grievance: A client or patient of a DMHAS facility or contracted provider whose Opioid Substitution Therapy has been involuntarily reduced or involuntarily terminated or who has been involuntarily terminated from an inpatient substance use disorder treatment program of 30-days or less can submit an Accelerated Grievance to the provider no later than 5-business days of receiving notice of the action and to receive a Formal Decision within 5-business. |
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Should a DMHAS program or covered provider involuntarily terminate services without notifying the client or patient of modified services the individual or his/her authorized representative may submit a written request to the DMHAS Commissioner or designee for a “Continuation Services” within 5-business days of the action. Requests for Continuation or Services are separate from grievances and the client or his/her authorized representative should submit a grievance to the CRO for the provider making the decision to involuntarily terminate services.
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The DMHAS Client Grievance Procedure does not cover: matters under the jurisdiction of the Psychiatric Security Review Board; client to client complaints; entities that are not contracted by DMHAS or which do not provide direct services for treatment, amelioration of psychiatric and/or substance use disorder.
- Connecticut Legal Rights Project (CLRP) - 1-877-402-2299
CLRP attorneys and paralegals primarily advocate on behalf of persons with psychiatric disabilities who receive services from DMHAS operated facilities and contracted providers. - Disability Rights Connecticut 1-800-842-7303
Connecticut’s Protection and Advocacy System that advocates on behalf of persons with disabilities. - Advocacy Unlimited, Inc.(AU) 1-800-573-6929.
AU is a peer run non-profit organization that assists people and helps them advocate for themselves.