Rule 111-8-2-.15. Client Rights and Grievances

1. (1) Admission to a program is voluntary. A client, in the absence of a court order, may voluntarily discharge from the program at any time.

2. (2) The program must ensure that its clients enjoy the rights and responsibilities listed herein:

   1. (a) Each client must receive care, and services which must be adequate, appropriate, and in compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations in the least restrictive environment permissible.
   2. (b) Each client shall receive treatment without regard to race, sex, or age.
   3. (c) Each client shall have the right to receive treatment at a program that is clean, safe, and promotes an atmosphere of recovery in support of the client's treatment goals.
   4. (d) The program, its agents or employees, must not punish or harass the client, because of the client's efforts to enforce his or her rights.

   5. (e) Each client must have the right to:

      1. 1. Exercise the constitutional rights guaranteed to citizens of this state and this country including, but not limited to, the right to vote.
      2. 2. Choose activities and schedules consistent with the program's treatment services and the client's interests and assessments.
   6. (f) Each client may take part in planning his or her own treatment at the program and know the benefits, risks, and/or side effects of all medications and treatments.
   7. (g) Each client must have the right to enjoy privacy in his or her room; program personnel and others must respect this right by knocking on the door before entering the client's room.
   8. (h) Each client has the right to receive and refuse to receive visitors subject to reasonable safety protocols.
   9. (i) Each client must have the right to associate and communicate freely and privately with persons and groups of the client's choice without being censored by staff subject to the limited exception in Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 111-8-2-.16(d)(8).
   10. (j) Each client must be treated with dignity, kindness, consideration and respect and be given privacy in the provision of personal care. Each client must be accorded privacy and freedom for the use of bathrooms at all hours, while accounting for client safety.
   11. (k) No religious or spiritual belief or practice may be imposed upon any client. Clients must be free to practice their religious beliefs as they choose. Each client must have the right to participate in social, religious, and community activities that do not interfere with the rights of other clients.
   12. (l) Each client has the right to be free from mental, verbal, sexual and physical abuse, neglect and exploitation.
   13. (m) Each client has the right to be free from actual or threatened physical or chemical restraints unless necessary for the protection of the client, other clients or staff. Each client has the right to be free from isolation, corporal or unusual punishment and interference with the daily functions of living, such as eating or sleeping.
   14. (n) Each client has the right to use, keep and control his or her own personal property and possessions in the immediate living quarters, except to the extent a client's use of his or her property would interfere with the safety or health of other clients or pose an immediate and serious safety risk for the client. Each client has the right to reasonable safeguards for the protection and security of his or her personal property and possessions brought into the program.
   15. (o) Each client has a right to send and receive mail and other communications with persons outside the program.
   16. (p) Each client must have access to a telephone and the right to have a private telephone, at the client's own expense. Telephones must be placed in areas to ensure privacy without denying accessibility.
   17. (q) Each client has the right to manage his or her own financial affairs, including the right to keep and spend his or her own money unless that client has been adjudicated incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction or the client has a legal surrogate handling financial affairs on their behalf.
   18. (r) Each client has the right to receive or reject medical care, dental care, or other services except as required by law or regulations.
   19. (s) Each client has the right to choose and retain the services of a personal physician and any other health care professional or service. No program is permitted to interfere with the client's right to receive from the client's attending physician complete and current information concerning the client's diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Each client and his or her representative or legal surrogate, if any, has the right to be fully informed about care and of any changes in that care and the right of access to all information in medical records retained in the program.
   20. (t) Each client has the right to fully participate in the planning of his or her care. Case discussion, consultation and examination shall be confidential and conducted discreetly. A person who is not directly involved in the client's care may be present when care is being rendered only if he or she has the client's permission.
   21. (u) Each client shall maintain or have access to their own money and personal effects, with reasonable limitations for safety.
   22. (v) Each client has the right to inspect and make a copy of his or her own treatment records on request consistent with State law. Each client has the right to confidential treatment of personal information in the client file.
   23. (w) Each client who has not been committed to the program by court order or who does not have a representative or legal surrogate with specific written authority to admit, transfer or discharge, may discharge or transfer himself or herself upon notification to the program in conformance with the program's policies and procedures.
   24. (x) Each client has the right to file a complaint with the department concerning care being provided in the program that violates these rules. The program must post the name of the department and the address and telephone number where licensing complaints are received in the common area of the program.
   25. (y) The program shall establish a code of conduct and rights of clients in compliance with program rules and expectations which conforms with governing law and these rules and regulations. Such code of conduct shall set forth a clear and understandable review and disciplinary procedure for clients alleged to have violated the code of conduct. The code of conduct shall include the right to appeal any decision to the administrator. The program code of conduct shall also advise clients of the right to seek assistance from the Office of Disability Services Ombudsman and to report any complaints to the department, alleging violations of these rules and regulations and laws governing the program.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 37-3-204, 37-3-205, 31-2-4, 31-2-7, 31-2-8, 31-7-2.1.

History. Original Rule entitled "Client Rights and Grievances" adopted. F. Dec. 10, 2024; eff. Dec. 30, 2024.