Save a Child’s Heart is committed to excellence in the delivery of programs, services, and supporting our charitable mandate. We recognize that from time to time there may be concerns or complaints and individuals have the right to raise such complaints or concerns. This policy sets out the procedure for any such complaints to be lodged. This policy is intended to create a transparent, timely, and fair method of responding to complaints. This policy applies to complaints received by Save a Child’s Heart about our activities, programs, services, staff, or volunteers.
· It is in the interest of all parties that complaints are dealt with promptly and resolved as quickly as possible.
· Review of complaints must be fair, impartial, and respectful to all parties.
· Complainants are advised of their options to escalate their complaint to a more senior staff person if they are dissatisfied with treatment or outcome.
· Complainants are provided clear and understandable reasons for decisions relating to complaints.
· Updates are provided to complainants during review processes where possible.
· Complaints are used to assist in improving services, policies and procedures.
Complaint Receipt and Handling
A complaint maybe received verbally (by phone or in person) or in writing (by mail or email). An employee or volunteer who receives a complaint should first determine the proper person to handle it. This will generally be the person who has the primary relationship with the complainant or has the specific knowledge that is needed to resolve the problem. It is the responsibility of the person who receives a complaint to share it immediately with either the Executive Director or the Chair of the Board. This complaint recipient must acknowledge that he/she has received it and will act on it.
The person who initially receives the complaint should acknowledge to the complainant that the complaint has been received and will be acted on either by him/herself or another employee. If a timeframe for action can be determined, that should be included in the acknowledgement. Basic contact information including name, phone number and email address should immediately be recorded.
Formal Complaint
A formal complaint may be made in writing to:
Save a Child’s Heart
1491 Yonge Street, Suite 403
Toronto, ON M4T 1Z4
Attention: Marni Brinder Byk, Executive Director and/or Chair of the Board of Directors
or via email to info@saveachildsheart.ca
Please provide your contact information, as Save a Child’s Heart will not respond to anonymous complaints.
Resolving the Complaint
Every effort should be made to resolve complaints in a timely fashion. When receiving a verbal complaint, staff should listen and seek to understand the complaint, and may attempt to resolve it immediately. Complaints received in writing should be acknowledged within 2 business days and staff should attempt to resolve the matter within 10 business days.
Where a complaint cannot be easily resolved, it should be escalated to the Executive Director. If the Executive Director cannot resolve the complaint (or if the Executive Director is the subject of the complaint), it will be handled by the Chair of the Board of Directors. Complainants should be kept informed of the status of their complaint. Every attempt should be made to resolve escalated complaints within an additional 10 business days so that all complaints are resolved within a month of having been received.
Documenting the Complaint
It is necessary to keep a record of any complaint that involves a dispute as well as any complaint that cannot be resolved immediately (on the same day it is received). Information about such complaints must be recorded. Information recorded includes a description of the complaint, who handled it, what was done to resolve the complaint, timeframe, and a description of the resolution.
Information on individuals lodging a complaint, as well as the complaint, are protected by Save a Child’s Heart’s Privacy Policy.
A summary of the complaints received including number and type will be reported to the Save a Child’s Heart’s Board of Directors annually.