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> Rights in Ohio's Public Mental Health System
Individuals receiving public behavioral health services have rights and a grievance procedure provided to them by Ohio law and regulations (rules). These rights protect and promote recovery. Public behavioral health services are provided in a variety of settings, including: residential centers, private psychiatric hospitals/units, community mental health centers, or regional psychiatric hospitals (state hospitals). There is a specific set of rights for each setting.
Read about a person's rights in:
If individuals feel their rights have been violated they have the right to file a grievance. You can learn about the grievance process by reading the grievance procedure rules. OLRS has also written a booklet about the grievance procedure, The Grievance Process in Ohio's Public Mental Health System: An Overview of the Grievance Process and How It Works (PDF file). There is a person at every public behavioral health setting who is responsible for assisting in filing grievances. This person's name, telephone number, and hours available should be posted in the facility. Depending on the setting, this person has a different title, as shown in the following table.
| Setting | Title |
|---|---|
| residential setting | Clients Rights Officer |
| private psychiatric hospital/unit | Patient Representative or Risk Manager |
| community mental health center | Client Rights Officer |
| regional psychiatric hospitals (state hospital) | Recovery/Rights Advocate |
If you have filed a grievance and you do not agree with the response given to you, you have the right to appeal the grievance decision. This can be done by contacting the Client Rights Officer (CRO) at the county Mental Health Board (see Community Client Rights Advocate).
At any time during this process you can contact OLRS to ask for assistance with the grievance process or in protecting your rights.
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