Humboldt County Grand Jury
• 2019-2020
• Agency Response
Response to:
BeHold - The Department of Mental Health's Management of the Public Guardian Office and Patients' Rights Advocate
Response to Grand Jury Report Report Title: Citizen Complaint Procedure Report Date: 6/8/20 Response by: Humboldt
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 3 findings
F1
The mission of the County government is to serve the public; however, few departments surveyed by the Civil Grand Jury have a written policy for receiving and processing citizen input relative to service provided. (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5) Response: Agree
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors establish standards for a citizen complaint/comment process (positive and negative) and then direct each department within the County to develop a written policy and publish a citizen complaint/comment process to be approved by the Board. This should be completed by February 1, 2021. (F-1, F-3) Response: This recommendation will be partially implemented. The Board will direct the County Administrative Office, through the cross-departmental Hum21 group, to establish a complaint/comment process with an electronic form to be posted on the county web site, which will allow residents to submit comments to any department. The county will not develop a policy around citizen comments and complaints, as there are already government code-mandated complaint processes, such as the Grand Jury complaint process. In addition, several county departments already have some version of a complaint/comment process, including the Assessment Appeals Board regarding property assessments, the Sheriff, and the Public Works – Roads Division has an online form to submit roads concerns.
F2
Customer satisfaction surveys are useful for monitoring an organization's effectiveness; however, only one of the County departments surveyed by the Civil Grand Jury has a customer satisfaction survey in place. (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5) Response: Partially agree 2 The Board agrees that customer satisfaction surveys are useful for monitoring an organization’s effectiveness, but it is not the only tool to use. Other measures are useful as well, such as data provided to state and federal agencies regarding program outcomes, and other reports regularly prepared and submitted by county agencies. Also, the Board is unaware of the departments surveyed by the Grand Jury as the identities of those interviewed are confidential. It should also be noted that many of the mandatory services provided to residents such as child welfare, incarceration, indigent defense can be taxing services to provide.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors direct each department within the County to develop and utilize a customer satisfaction survey with the intent that each department work towards continued improvement. This should be completed by February 1, 2021. (F-2) Response: This recommendation will be implemented when financial and personnel resources are available. The Board will direct the County Administrative Office, through the cross-departmental Hum21 group, to establish a complaint/comment process with an electronic form to be posted on the county web site which will allow residents to submit comments to any department. A customer satisfaction survey is one tool that can be used, and staff will review this recommendation when financial and personnel resources are more readily available.
F3
When citizens do not know how to complain to a specific department, they may bypass that department and go to the Board of Supervisors, the Chief Administrative Officer, or the Civil Grand Jury. This denies an opportunity for the department to become aware of and address potential problems. (R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5) Response: Agree
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors require citizen complaint/comment forms and customer satisfaction survey forms to be easily accessible in electronic and paper formats, as part of County standards. This should be completed by February 1, 2021. (F-1, F-2, F-3) Response: This recommendation will be implemented. The Board will direct the County Administrative Office, through the cross-departmental Hum21 group, to establish a complaint/comment process with an electronic form to be posted on the county web site, which will allow residents to submit comments to any department. In addition, paper forms will be made available to all county departments to print out and make available to residents as appropriate.