Workplace Essentials (WE) Recipient Rights for Community Mental Health and Affiliated Agency Staff
As a staff member working with recipients of mental health services for Community Mental Health or one of its contractual providers, you must understand the rights people retain while receiving services and the additional rights that the law provides. The modules in this series provide you with basic information about rights that recipients have while receiving mental health services, your role to ensure that those rights are protected, and your responsibilities regarding those rights. Rights you will learn about in this course include person centered planning, freedom from abuse or neglect, family rights and civil rights in the Community Mental Health setting. You will also learn about confidentiality, consent, dignity and respect and you will become familiar with reporting complaints, the investigative process, and the consequences of violations. We will also discuss some of the rights you have as an employee.
In this course, you will learn important information about Recipient Rights for people receiving mental health treatment in the community through five individual modules. In each module there are some knowledge checkpoints to help you assess your learning, and at the end of each module you will complete a quiz. When you've completed all the modules, you'll take the final course assessment and receive your completion certificate
The State Office of Recipient Rights created and approved the content of this course as appropriate recipient rights training for all employees who work in or are affiliated with a contracted agency of Michigan’s community mental health system, licensed psychiatric hospitals or who provide telepsychiatry services.
In the five individual Recipient Rights Training Modules, you will be provided basic information and knowledge specific to employees who work within the Community Mental Health system, and their affiliated and contracted agencies.
- Recipient Rights
- Person-Centered Planning
- Abuse and Neglect
- Confidentiality; Photos, Prints, Audio Recording; Dignity and Respect; Civil, Family, Residential and Other Rights
- The Rights Process and Reporting Rights Violations
Have you ever wondered:
- What happens when a person receiving mental health services has a service animal?
- What rights do mental health recipients have in Person-Centered Planning?
- Who can complain on behalf of a recipient?
- What happens if a complaint is made?
These questions and many, many more are answered in this course!
The learning objectives are found inside each lesson.
Andrew Silver
Andrew Silver is the Director of Education, Training and Compliance for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Recipient Rights (ORR). In his various positions at ORR he has been a rights investigator at several state hospitals, a reviewer of CMH rights protection systems, and the Director of Education and Training for the MDHHS Office of Recipient Rights. In his current position he oversees the development and implementation of MDHHS ORR training programs, the CMH assessment recipient rights compliance process, and the technical assistance activities MDHHS ORR provides to Licensed Private Hospitals, other State Departments, consumers and other stakeholders.
Beverly Sobolewski
Beverly Sobolewski is one of ORR’s four Community Rights Specialists, at MDHHS-ORR. Her focus is on the Rights system in the private hospitals, which includes the psychiatric units.
Ms. Sobolewski has more than 39 years of diversified experience in the Behavioral Health Services and Recipient Rights fields. She been in state government service 2000, serving in the Office of Recipient Rights. She is resource for rights officers in both the licensed hospital and CMH offices. Ms. Sobolewski trains new rights officers and advisors and assists consumers and rights staff in accessing and understanding the rights system. She trains advocates and recipients in the community on the rights process and how to successfully navigate the system, from complaint through appeal.
Previously, she was a recipient rights advisor at Mercy Hospital-Detroit, Southwest Counseling and Development Services (a part of DWMHA) and St. John Northeast Hospital in Detroit.
Ms. Sobolewski holds a Master’s degree in Administration with a concentration in education and training from Madonna University, in Livonia, Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Course Progress
Course Content
What People Are Saying
I enjoyed reading this module. I believe I retain a lot more information when the subject matter is in a presentation, rather than a simple PDF."
