Action Progressing

On Monday, June 1st, several complainants again met with an attorney. Based upon facts, affidavits and testimony, it has been determined that solid grounds exist for multiple lawsuits against Rainbow Of Hope. The complainants are currently in the process of assembling the evidence (including but not limited to: documentation, telephone records, recorded telephone messages, letters of reply, testimony, affidavits and personal experiences) in chronological order. Summaries of individual complaints are also being prepared. We've been advised to not post the specifics of the lawsuits but we're at liberty to state that Rainbow Of Hope managers and directors will potentially be held accountable for a slew of State Requirement violations as well as negligence. The complainants are seeking to establish that the overall management of the program has blatantly violated standard labor protocol and has not been within the criteria dictated by the State Requirements for Residential Facilities. Furthermore, the complainants are seeking to establish that the management of Rainbow Of Hope, through gross negligence and dereliction, have created an unsafe environment for the children-residents. It will be argued that this unsafe environment has led to the abuse and neglect of the children-residents.

The primary focus is the matter in which the Rainbow Of Hope Program Manager (Kevin Cook) and Program Coordinator (Lisa Polite) exercise arbitrary delegation wherein the State Requirements are very matter of fact. Rainbow Of Hope is a Youth Residential Facility governed by New Jersey State laws which are very black-and-white. It's obviously blatant that both, Cook and Polite, are unfamiliar with the details of these set standards. Cook and Polite have made decisions at Rainbow Of Hope that conflict with State Requirement policies. There are channels to go through, policies to adhere to, and distinct protocol for exclusive situations which have been outright ignored by Cook and Polite. Therein lies the liability of Cape Counseling Services in not properly informing its management of protocol. Perhaps training, seminars and education should have been in place for those given the power to make decisions. The concepts of "staff discretion" and "consideration given to individual cases" have no practical application. Not when specifics have been set in place by governing agencies. Rainbow Of Hope is a business. It may be referred to as "non-profit" but if so... why is billing conducted for it on a monthly basis? No... Rainbow Of Hope makes money for Cape Counseling Services. It's all part of the brilliant "LLC". And businesses have specific rules they must follow.

Perhaps the agency misinformed its managers and staff as to what is - and what isn't acceptable. But that just deepens the realm of liability. The end result here is that Totora, Cook and Polite have been operating with random and arbitrary discretion while not adhering to specific State protocol. They can't decide who a child-resident speaks to on the phone (without a court order), they can't withhold monies due to children-residents due to arbitrary reasons, and they have no power whatsoever to ignore complaints without referring them to higher investigating agencies. They can't threaten to have a Nurse's license revoked if she speaks out about the blatant injustices she's seen, they can't allow a rumor of defamation to exist about a former employee, they can't refuse to take action against an employee who commits public defamation against an established licensed physician. Yet... through some blind oversight on behalf of Cape Counseling Services... all of this has happened. No corrective action has been taken. Rainbow Of Hope can write out "Corrective Actions" and hand them off to investigators, but we're not going to settle for that. Rainbow Of Hope manager Kevin Cook is all about proactive talking, but that's all it is... talk. There have been no proactive measures to reinforce his words. Anybody can talk. Anybody can assume the role of a leader. But a good, qualified leader takes physical action and makes positive changes. Nobody has seen anything of the sort at Rainbow Of Hope.

So where does the problem lie? Was this man the "best applicant" for the job? Or was he "the only" applicant for the job? Who screened Cook and decided his qualifications were suited for this endeavor? Who put a seemingly deaf and blind commander in charge of a sinking ship? That's where our case grows and blossoms with endless possibilities for liability...

THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE has received numerous complaints about Rainbow Of Hope and is currently involved in the matters at hand. Outside agencies are also interested in the progression of these affairs. This investigation and the legal queries have also attracted the attention of out-of-state agencies and organizations interested in bettering themselves from the outcome and rulings for this situation in Woodbine, NJ. We commend, endorse and appreciate the wide-ranging support we've received in this matter.

The main question we've been asked by the agencies supporting this movement has been, "Why are you doing this?"

We feel the need to reiterate that this action is not vindictive. Parents of the children-residents, former staff members and former children-residents themselves approached the management of Rainbow Of Hope with serious complaints and issues. RAINBOW OF HOPE MANAGEMENT FAILED US. Cook and Polite did not follow up on our complaints, Cook and Polite did not look into our complaints and the baseline here is that Cook and Polite did not take parents, staff or the children-residents serious when they complained about errors in the operation of the program. Lack of staff supervision permitted our children with the opportunities to cut themselves, run away from the group home, and put themselves into serious and critical situations. Rainbow Of Hope management might argue that "Everybody makes their own choices" (God knows we've all heard that!) but our kids are there for making poor and irresponsible choices to begin with! The staff and management of Rainbow Of Hope is supposed to be professionally trained at helping our kids learn coping skills. Staff isn't supposed to be yelling at our kids nor should they be calling us "some dumb bitches" in their posts on this blog. When someone asks "Why are you doing this?" consider the facts at hand. We've tried to maintain active communication with Rainbow Of Hope staff and management but we as parents get treated like criminals or inferior people because our children are in a facility and not under our care. Granted, some of us as parents have made mistakes but people change. The fact that we're seeking help for our children establishes our responsibility for mistakes we may have made. But Sam Totora, Kevin Cook and Lisa Polite allow themselves to believe they have the power to play God over families. They don't. They believe they can utilize agencies such as DYFS (Department of Youth and Family Services) as weapons against us when we complain about their serious lack of professional management. They can't. Interestingly, they did. And in the context of this entire evaluation of Rainbow Of Hope, that was wrong on many levels. Rainbow Of Hope is supposed to seek family reunification. However, when called on the carpet for their lack of professional management, they reach into their bag of deplorable tricks and turn DYFS loose on parents like some rabid dog. But what Rainbow Of Hope management DIDN'T consider with that stunt is that certain individuals meet all aspects of criteria for the program. In other words, that stupid stunt did more to hurt Rainbow Of Hope's credibility.

Do us all a favor and stop approaching us with questions about this blog. You know that what we're saying holds merit. Or perhaps you don't think any of what we're saying holds merit. That doesn't matter because there are agencies larger than yours that think otherwise.

"Really?" you ask?? Well, let's take a look at the Privacy Policy located on Cape Counseling Services web site... We've placed the "interesting stuff" in bold type....

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW HEALTH INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND SHARED AND HOW YOU CAN GET A COPY OF THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

If you have any questions or if you do not understand any part of this Privacy Notice, please call our Privacy Officer at 609-463-0014 Ex. 20. This notice is to help you to understand what is your health information, how we may use it and share it with others and it briefly describes what your rights are. We are required by law to give you this notice. Within certain limits, we must also maintain your privacy about your medical information. This notice will describe for you examples of how your information may be used or shared. Health information includes identifying information (name, date of birth, social security number, address, diagnosis, medications prescribed) that we have received from you or other health care providers. It may include information about your past, present or future physical and/or mental health or condition. It may also concern how you received health care treatment and the type of payment received in the past, present or future for your health care services.

All Cape Counseling Services, sites and locations follow the terms of this notice. All Cape Counseling Services, programs, sites, and locations may share health information with each other for treatment, payment or organization operations as described in this notice. This notice also applies to the following: Any service provider authorized to enter or review information in your records. All Cape Counseling Services departments and units. All employees, staff and other paid company personnel.

Privacy Policy Pledge: We understand that your health information is personal and we want to protect your privacy. Our records will have information about you such as, your appointments, your planned treatment, services you receive, modalities used, progress, your insurance information, etc. We need this information to provide you with care and receive payment for the services we provide. The information that you provide to us is confidential and private within the requirements of various state and federal laws. Release of this information for purposes other than conducting business or providing treatment within this organization require that you sign an authorization for the release of the information. We cannot and will not release any information without such a release. Children over the age of 14 require an authorization for the release of information that is signed by the minor, before a staff member can discuss their case with their parents.

By law we are required to: Keep your medical information private. Provide you with a notice of our duties and policies concerning your personal data. Comply with the policies protecting your personal data.

I. How your Personal Health Information may be used: We may request, use and share your health information for several reasons: We may use your health information within Cape Counseling Services, to provide and manage your treatment, to receive payment for your treatment, and for our organization operations including the review of client care and areas to improve. Uses of information not described in this notice will mostly be made with your written permission, called an “authorization”. You have the right to change or to take back your written authorization at any time. To “revoke” or to change your authorization, you may do the following. Contact your Cape Counseling Services professional, to discuss your situation and how it will affect your treatment. You may then complete a Revocation of Authorization to Release Protected Health Information form. Please be advised that we are unable to take back any information we have already released with your permissionn. We will obtain your signed consent to communicate with insurance providers for payment of the services you receive from us. This information is found on the Cape Counseling Services Charge Slip that we use for billing purposes. In most instances when we need to share PHI with a third party we will seek your written permission. There are times when CCS is permitted or required by law to use and disclose your health information without specific consent from you, as described in each category listed below. We may use and share your health information without your permission or opportunity to refuse under some special situations. Examples are as follows: a. Emergencies. - We may use and share your information in an emergency treatment situation. b. As required by law. - We will share information about you when required by federal, state or local law. c. To lessen or prevent a serious threat to health or safety. We may share information about you when necessary if there is a threat to your health or safety or to the public’s health or safety. We will only share information with someone who is able to help prevent or lessen this threat. d. Public Health Activities. We may share information about you as necessary for Public Health activities such as the following: i. Report of death; ii. Report of abuse, neglect or domestic violence as required by law; iii. Report to public health authorities to control or prevent disease, injury or disability; e. Health Oversight Activities. Oversight agencies include government agencies that manage the health care system and civil rights laws. We may share the following information. Reports as required by law to government programs such as the Division of Mental Health or the Office of Legislative Services for monitoring of our company f. Legal Proceedings and Law Enforcement Activities. We may share health information with law enforcement officials for specific purposes such as: A court order or if a similar legal process requires us to do so. g. Protective Services for Government Officials, National Security and Intelligence Activities. We may release health information to authorized federal officials for intelligence, security and protective services as authorized by law. h. Research. We may share your health information with Cape Counseling Services researchers only when the Executive Leadership and Governing Board of Directors has approved their research. The privacy board will ensure that the research protects your private health information. II. Your Rights Regarding Your Health Information: You have the right to ask to inspect or copy your health information that has been used to make decisions about your care. Under some circumstances we may deny your request to inspect or copy your information. To exercise this right please complete the Client Request to Copy/Read Private Health Information. Any staff member can give you a copy. Mail this notice to the Privacy Officer Cape Counseling Services, 217 N. Main Street, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 You have the right to amend or change any health information used to make decisions about your care. To request a change of your health information, you must complete a Client Request to Amend Private Health Information Form. You may obtain the from a Cape Counseling Services staff person. In the form, tell us why you believe the information is incorrect. Upon completion, return it to a Cape Counseling Privacy Officer at Cape Counseling Services, 217 N. Main Street, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210 for follow up. Be advised, we may deny your request for amendment if you ask us to amend information that: Was not created by us, unless the person or party that created the information is no longer available to make the amendment; Is not part of the information kept by our facility; Is not part of the information which you would be permitted to inspect or copy, or Is accurate and complete. You have the right to request restrictions, meaning you may tell us who you do not want information released to. To request a restriction, you must complete a Request for Restriction form which any staff member can you give to you and send it to our Privacy Officer at Cape Counseling Services , 217 N. Main Street, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210., and tell us how you want the information restricted. We are not required to agree to a restriction that is needed to provide you with emergency care. We may also deny an amendment if it is not in writing or does not include a reason to support the request. We may also deny your request if you ask us to amend information that was not created by us, or if the information is not part of the information, which you would be permitted to inspect and copy. You have the right to request an “Accounting of Disclosures.” This is a list of the health information outside of treatment, payment or operations that we have released to another source about you. To request this list or accounting of disclosures, you must contact your CCS professional to obtain a Request for Accounting of PHI Disclosed by CCS form. Review the form with the Cape Counseling Services staff person, complete it and return it to the Privacy Officer, Cape Counseling Services, 217 N. Main Street, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. Be advised that we cannot account for any time periods that are beyond six years or that include dates before April 14, 2003. Note that by law we are not required to account for disclosures that you have given written permission or authorization for the release of information. You have the right to request that we communicate in a confidential manner with you about medical matters, such as only at home, or work, etc. You have the right to receive a paper copy of this Privacy Notice at any time. To receive a copy, please contact our Privacy Officer at 609-463-0014 Ex. 20 COMPLAINTS If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you may file a complaint with Cape Counseling Services or with the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. To file a complaint with Cape Counseling Services, please contact the Privacy Officer in writing at Cape Counseling Services, 217 N. Main St. Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. All complaints must be sent in writing to the Privacy Officer. You will never be punished or penalized for filing a complaint. WE MAY CHANGE THIS NOTICE We have the right to make changes in this notice effective for health information we already have about you as well as any information we may receive in the future. We will post a copy of the current notice in all of our Cape Counseling Services facilities. The notice will contain on the first page, in the top right hand corner, the effective date. In addition, each time you register at or are admitted to Cape Counseling Services for treatment we will offer you a copy of the current notice in effect. If you have a question about this notice, please call the Privacy Officer at 609-463-0014 ex. 20.

Privacy Notice | Client Complaints

So with all that information so eloquently quoted by Cape Counseling Services on their public web site, let's revisit this famous post by a Rainbow Of Hope employee:

"worm2908 said...

KIRA KIRA KIRA 1st i didnt know what was going on when u got signed out, i was in shock, but second u should of stayed didnt you try to kill yourself recentally,, not sure but i know for a fact your father triedto admit you to Bridgeton,,so what does that go to show you, your sick and you need help.... WHats up with you laying in the tub with RICE thats weird, HUH

May 18, 2009 4:19 PM"

Does anybody else see the problem here??? By all means, if you see a problem please forward it to:

Greg Speed, CEO
by email: gspeed@capecounseling.org
by phone: 609-463-0014 ext 18

Cape Counseling Services also has this juicy tidbit to offer on their web site:

Client Complaints

(609) 465-4100 Main Office
(609) 463-0014 Administrative Offices

Cape Counseling Services is committed to providing the highest degree of professional services for all clients. However, there are times when questions related to your care/treatment, clinician, service delivery, denial or termination of services might be cause for review by CCS Management and Unit Ombudsperson. Any client who has received services within the last 3 months, parent/guardian, or client designee, shall have the right to seek review.

(Nah... 3 months has nothing to do with it... you can enact this review at any time)

Cape Counseling Services' goal in the review process is to be responsive in a timely fashion and resolve the complaint in the best interests of the client(s).

(We suppose that this happens in "the event" Cape Counseling Services takes the complaint(s) seriously.)

• Generalized complaints received in writing will be forwarded to the V.P./Chief Operating Officer for initial review, tracking and forwarding to the responsive party.
• Complaints specific to care practices, etc. should be submitted directly to your clinician, therapist or case manager. All complaints will be shared with the Program Manager.
  

Therein lies part of the problem!

• Your complaint will be reviewed within 5 working days and a resolution will be negotiated with you.
  

5 working days?? The shortest time frame we have on record for Rainbow Of Hope's "program manager" attempting to try to resolve a complaint is 7 1/2 weeks!!!

If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your complaint at the provider/program level, you may appeal the decision to the relevant Unit Director who will serve as the Unit Ombudsperson.The Unit Ombudsperson will meet with you to hear your appeal within 5 working days. If you are not satisfied with the Unit Ombudsperson's response, resolution, you may request a review by the Chief Operating Officer.

The Chief Operating Officer will hear the appeal, conduct an investigation and make a final decision.

(Nah... we'll let other agencies handle this from now on)

You will receive a written report from the COO within 7 working days. If the COO does not resolve your complaint, you may request a review by the Cape May County Mental Health, Alcohol/Drug Board.
(465-1055 Human Services).

Additional Advocacy Services that are available are:

• Division of Mental Health Services - (609) 567-7352
• Division of Youth and Family Services - (609) 463-9652
• Board of Social Services - (609) 886-6200
• NJ Protection & Advocacy, Inc., 210 Broad Street, 3rd Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608
  1-800-922-7233 and 609-292-9742
• N.J. Division of Mental Health Services- Complaint 1-800-382-6717
• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations - Complaint Hotline
  (including requests for a Public Information Interview) - (800) 994-6610
  

Clients not interested in filing a complaint but still wanting to express a concern or make a recommendation regarding care/services, are welcome to call the CEO directly at 463-0014 ext. 18 or put in your comments in one of the "suggestion" boxes throughout the Agency.

Lastly, we appreciate the list of links provided on the Cape Counseling Services web site. The contacts have provided many allies to our cause. Seems we're not the only ones with complaints...