Feedback and Complaints

We are open to questions, feedback, and complaints regarding the management and operations of our organization. This is the case regardless of whether you are a client, family member, volunteer, employee, donor, or community member.

Informal or General Feedback

We recommend, in many cases, that you begin by discussing the matter with the staff member with whom you have a disagreement or complaint. Our employee should strive to ensure they have a full understanding of the nature of your concern and acknowledge within three (3) business days upon receipt. They should also make every effort to schedule a meeting/discussion with you within ten (10) business days.

Complaints relating to client support needs should always be directed to the supervisor or executive director.

Serious, Formal, or Unresolved Concerns

STEP 1:

Any questions, concerns, or complaints that have not been dealt with to your satisfaction, cannot be dealt with at the front-line staff level, and/or are more serious in nature may be taken to the relevant program supervisor as appropriate.

The supervisor will connect directly with you (the individual making the complaint) and listen fully and respectfully. They will ensure that they have a full understanding of the nature of your concern.

When able to adequately do so, the supervisor will provide a response. This could be done in person, by phone, by video, or in writing to the person who raised the issue, having due regard for the privacy and confidentiality rights of individuals and staff.

The supervisor should provide you a response within ten (10) business days from the time you made a complaint.

If you have a complaint about a supervisor, the complaint should be forwarded to our executive director.

If the complaint is about our executive director, the complaint should be forwarded to our board chair.

STEP 2:

If you are not satisfied with the response of the supervisor, or the complaint is about the supervisor, you may bring the issue to the attention of our executive director.

Our executive director should respond to you within ten (10) business days from the time you brought the matter to their attention.

If you are not satisfied with our executive director’s response and ask to speak to someone else, our executive director can initiate a third-party mediator to help resolve the situation or connect you with our board of directors.

Complaints may be submitted through several avenues including, but not limited to: a physical format (e.g., letter, comment card), an electronic format (e.g., email), or verbally.

If you wish to remain anonymous in making a complaint, please send a letter without contact information to the mailing address below. Alternatively, a voice message may be left at 519-744-0904 ext. 212 in confidence.

Child Witness Centre
ATTN: Kim Rodrigues
111 Duke Street East
Kitchener, ON N2H 1A4

We commit to ensuring any information that could be used to identify you is kept confidential unless there is a legislative duty to disclose, a court order or any other legal requirement, or you otherwise consent to disclosure of your information.

All parties will be afforded procedural fairness in the handling of complaints, including:

• No service disruption for a client who offers feedback or makes a complaint
• Responding to all feedback/complaints in a timely manner
• Ensuring that all parties to a complaint know what to expect during the complaint handling process
• Carrying out the complaint handling process in a transparent manner
• Providing all parties with equal opportunity to participate in the process
• Treating all parties in a respectful manner; and
• Providing reasons for decision(s) made

We may decline to deal with a complaint if the complaint is:

• Unrelated to our agency
• Frivolous
• Vexatious or malicious
• Not made in good faith
• Lacking in substance

Clear documentation will be retained for all complaints we receive. Records will detail the concern, anyone involved in the matter, and our response.

We will retain records in relation to complaints for seven (7) years from the expiry of the Transfer Payment Agreement with the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG), under which the complaint was made.

Child Witness Centre client database systems is the primary tool for storing information needed by our agency to deliver services. In addition, we also maintain a donor database and utilize the services of CanadaHelps for processing donations.

Our client databases contain information about children and their families who receive services. It also contains information about caregivers and their relations, as well as specific information about services provided and court matters as applicable. We only collect and retain information for the purpose that is consented to and for a limited period of time.

Our destruction timeline policy is as follows:

Client Services and Records

• Inactive client records: Seven (7) years after the last entry or, if the client was less than eighteen years of age at the date of the last entry, or at least seven years from the day the client became or would have become eighteen.
• Deceased client records: Two (2) years from the time of death.
• Client Complaints: Seven (7) years from the expiry of Ministry of Attorney General agreement.

Research

• Inactive research grantee records: Seven (7) years from the time of the last grant.

Fundraising, Marketing and Communications

• Inactive donors: Seven (7) years from the time of last donation.
• Inactive event participants: Seven (7) years from time of last participation.
• Planned giving – expectancies: Until notification that gift has been received.
• Planned giving – realized: Seven (7) years after final gift in donor’s will received.
• Fundraising strategy documents and plans (final versions): Indefinite.
• Do not call lists: Indefinite.
• Do not mail lists: Indefinite.
• Official newsletters: Indefinite.
• Annual Reports: Indefinite.

Our donor databases and CanadaHelps contain information about donors such as names, addresses and in some cases credit card information. Child Witness Centre retains credit card and/or banking information only for as long as needed to process a donation.