Client Rights

Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Client of
Advantage Behavioral Health Systems (ABHS)

When you receive services from an ABHS mental health, developmental disabilities, or addictive diseases program, your rights are protected by State of Georgia policies.  A summary of these rights follows.  A full description of your rights as a client of Advantage Behavioral Health Systems is in the booklet, “Rules of Department of Human Resources Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Addictive Disease– Chapter 290-4-9, Client’s Rights.”  This booklet describes any limits to your rights along with other information.  You may ask for a copy of this booklet if you have concerns or questions about your rights.

• You have the right to receive care suited to you and your situation that respects your dignity and protects your health and safety.  It is your responsibility to be open and honest about your needs, to respect the dignity of others, and to protect the health and safety of others.
• You have the right to know the benefits and risks involved with treatment and to help plan your treatment.  It is your responsibility to actively participate in your treatment planning.
• You have the right to refuse treatment unless the doctor or authorized staff person feels that without treatment you could hurt yourself or others.  It is your responsibility to participate in your recovery.
• You have the right to receive services even if you are unable to pay at the time services are given and to receive prompt and confidential services.  It is your responsibility to work out a payment plan to pay for services as you are able.
• You have the right to see your record, and/or obtain a copy, with your Advocate going over it with you, unless the doctor or other authorized staff feels it would harm you to do so.  You will be notified when you can review your record.  It is your responsibility to use the information contained in your records responsibly.
• As a citizen, you are entitled to all civil, political, personal, legal, and property rights.
• You have the right to have access or to be referred to self-help and advocacy support services and legal agencies if you need representation.
• You have the right not to undergo seclusion and personal restraints with some exceptions.  You may be restrained or undergo seclusion in the Crisis Stabilization Program if it is necessary to prevent injury to yourself or others.  You may be restrained while being transported for an involuntary hospital admission.  You may be restrained if it is necessary to prevent injury to yourself or others in any program of ABHS.  It is your responsibility to behave in such a manner that seclusion or restraints are not needed.
• You have the right not to be physically, verbally, sexually, or financially abused.  This also includes sexual harassment.  It is your responsibility not to be physically, verbally, sexually, or financially abusive to other clients or staff.  This also includes sexual harassment.
• You have the right not to be humiliated, neglected, or to experience retaliation.  It is your responsibility not to humiliate, neglect or retaliate against other clients or staff.
• You have the right to privacy.  If you are living or staying in a residence operated by the ABHS, you have the right to have private conversations, reasonable access to a phone, the right to send and receive mail, have visitors, and to keep your personal possessions and money.  It is your responsibility to make reasonable requests at reasonable times.
• You have the right to have access to information that is important to you in enough time so that you can make the right decisions.
• You have the right to expect that we will follow all the rules about research projects and observe our standards of ethics when you are involved.
• You have the right to have any suspected violations of your rights to be investigated and resolved.
• You have the right to agree to, refuse, or express your choice about the following:

• The way that your services are delivered
• How information about you will be released
• Services that are given to you at the same time
• Who will be on your treatment team
• Whether you will be involved in a research project
  

• If you ever feel any of these rights have been violated, you have the right to file a complaint.  You can do so on your own or ask someone to help you file the complaint.  You can fill out an online Issue Resolution form , talk to a staff member in the program where you are or, contact the Issue Resolution Advocate by calling our toll free Issue Resolution Line at:  1-866-778-2247.

Summary of the Issue Resolution Process

You (or your guardian/parent of minor) or your representative, may contact the Issue Resolution Advocate with any concerns about services or if there is a concern that your rights have been violated.  Any ABHS staff will assist you with this process should you need help.  The steps of the Issue Resolution process are shown below.  The full procedure appears in the “Rules of Department of Human Resources Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Addictive Disease – Chapter 290-4-9, Clients’ Rights.”  This booklet is available to you on request. 
**Please remember that if you decide to contact us about your concerns or how you felt your rights were violated, our staff will not treat you in a negative way.  Telling us about your concerns will not affect your entry into services or cause your current services to be affected.

Step 1: If you have an issue you would like help with, you may call the Issue Resolution Advocate at our toll free number, which is 1-866-778-ABHS (2247) or, you may fill out the online Issue Resolution form available on our website.  The role of the Issue Resolution Advocate is to help you resolve any concerns you may have about your treatment and to serve as your advocate. You can decide whether to fill out the form yourself or have the Issue Resolution Advocate do that for you.  At any time during the Issue Resolution process, feel free to call the toll free number listed above for assistance.  The Issue Resolution Advocate will investigate your concerns and let you know how we intend to resolve the issue by speaking with you and sending a letter.

Step 2: If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may file a written request for a review of your concerns by the Rights of Persons Served Committee and the Executive Director of Advantage Behavioral Health Systems.  The request must be filed within fifteen (15) working days after you receive notice from the Issue Resolution Advocate of the action taken on your complaint (in Step 1).

Step 3: If you remain dissatisfied after the Advantage Executive Director’s review, you may within ten (10) working days request a further review by the Regional Director of the Division of Mental  Health, Developmental Disabilities & Addictive Diseases.  The Division Director’s decision, which must be issued within fourteen (14) working days, will be final.  This process is available to you for seeking a remedy when you believe your rights have been violated.

If you prefer not to file the issue with ABHS, you may contact the Regional Office of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities & Addictive Diseases at 1-866-380-4835 (toll free).

The Issue Resolution Advocate is here to make sure you receive quality services and to make sure any concerns you have are resolved quickly.  The advocate helps to ensure your rights and will investigate any complaints you have.  You may call the Issue Resolution Advocate at any time if you have a complaint about your services at Advantage.