Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
QUESTION
How can clients file complaints about mistreatment or harsh interactions with staff at the Department of Homeless Services (DHS)?
1:46:09
·
4 min
The administrator explains that DHS has a dedicated complaint line that clients can call if they feel mistreated by staff.
- Clients can also file complaints through 311 which get routed to the same complaint line
- The severity of the complaint dictates who will respond to it
- Complaint numbers are posted at DHS facilities
- DHS is working to have more staff presence on floors to address client concerns in the moment
- DHS recognizes the difficulty of the job and has implemented measures like bringing frontline staff upstairs for training to help address potential insensitivity from burnout
Diana I. Ayala
1:46:09
Is there a place where folks can make a complaint?
1:46:14
If they feel like they've been mistreated or I mean, I I I I I don't know how you do it because, you know, doing providing social services is very difficult, and the burnout rate is really high.
1:46:30
You know, usually at DSS and DHS, you know, the retention rates are pretty high.
1:46:37
Most folks that I speak to have been there for over 20 years, which is unheard of.
1:46:44
But I have witnessed interactions, right, between some workers and clients that are a bit harsh.
1:46:52
Right?
1:46:53
And I think that with time, people become desensitized.
1:46:56
And so we wanna make sure that that's not happening with that.
1:46:59
At least we're recognizing it when it does.
1:47:02
And allowing that individual, you know, an opportunity to kinda reassess whether or not this is something that they wanna continue do.
1:47:10
Is that part of the training?
Joslyn Carter
1:47:11
It is.
1:47:12
But let me just step back a little bit.
1:47:13
That's that's one of the things that's important for us is thinking about staff also.
1:47:20
So when I when I got to path and, you know, I'm gonna it's gonna talk about myself.
1:47:24
When I got to path, the folks are not because our folks stay like you said.
1:47:29
Of folks on the front line had been there for a long time.
1:47:32
And so one of the things that I started to institute was pulling them off the front line and having them come upstairs for some training and have managers work that front line.
1:47:40
Right?
1:47:41
To give them opportunity, to kinda talk about what's happening for them because What I always say to them is that I recognize where clients are coming from.
1:47:48
You know, what's happening with them and what they're giving to is not don't take it personally.
1:47:52
They've been through trauma.
1:47:53
Right?
1:47:54
And so and so you're getting secondary trauma.
1:47:56
So what happens to you?
1:47:58
So then I so what I have now and I was I am still a licensed social worker.
1:48:02
Is having the personnel who's in charge, the person who was miss White, who was also licensed.
1:48:07
And now putting a social work in that role prior to me was an attorney, nothing against attorneys.
1:48:12
But Right?
1:48:14
But, you know, we wanna put people who have some kind of, you know, clinical trainings of pull folks off the line and have them talk about how they're feeling.
1:48:23
Right?
1:48:23
And what we're always thinking about families and who's coming in.
1:48:26
But right.
1:48:26
So what we do now is pull folks off so that we can actually hear how they're doing because we wanna also recognize how hard this job is.
1:48:33
Right?
1:48:33
This is a hard job.
1:48:35
And so that is happening.
1:48:36
Right?
1:48:36
So that's that's one of the things.
1:48:37
But he asked me what complaints are passed.
1:48:39
So we do have a dedicated complaint line that clients can call.
1:48:45
That we have posted up.
1:48:46
Then if if clients call 311 and talk about how bad we're doing that path, hopefully, they don't do that.
1:48:52
But if they do, we get routed to the same complete line, then they cycle.
1:48:55
Right?
1:48:56
So there's multiple ways that that our our clients, our families, can complain and can leave kind of hopefully good things about us too when it's addressed.
1:49:06
Depending on the severity of what the complaint is really depends it it really will tell us who is going to respond to that.
1:49:13
So it that those numbers are posted up.
1:49:16
So we wanna make sure that we get an opportunity.
1:49:19
On the floors at path now, we have as you come off the elevators, those those you've been there.
1:49:24
So when you come off those those, you know, count as a staff now.
1:49:28
Right?
1:49:28
So we want people when they come out to have somebody to talk to.
1:49:31
I'm now making sure people are on those floors.
1:49:33
Asking questions, getting people getting their answers met, their question is answered.
1:49:37
And if there's something happening, they can find a person to talk to.
1:49:40
So that they don't leave.
1:49:41
We don't have any answer the questions answered.
1:49:44
And so there are multiple places, multiple touch points that we put in place now.
1:49:48
And we, you know, Sometimes you don't do it right, but I wanna make sure that if we know that we can, you know, fix it.
1:49:54
And so we have posted the numbers up staff is on the floor.
1:49:58
I don't want staff just in offices.
1:49:59
I don't want a 7th floor with people.
1:50:01
I want people downstairs on the floors.
1:50:03
Right?
1:50:03
Just kind of roam in the building.
1:50:04
So that's how we're changing the culture there.
1:50:06
But I also wanna recognize how hard the job is.
1:50:08
Yeah.
1:50:09
You know, we stay and we stay because we love the job.
1:50:11
Right?
1:50:12
People who come in, I always say, You choose to work here.
1:50:14
I love you, but you choose to work here because it's something about you.
1:50:17
Mhmm.
1:50:18
And that's why, you know, our staff stay.
Diana I. Ayala
1:50:20
Certainly not for the money.
Joslyn Carter
1:50:21
Certainly not for the money.
1:50:24
Right about that.