State Department and Local Office Responsibility
A. The State Department shall maintain records of complaints received. These records shall be obtained via submission from local offices on a frequency set forth by the State Department. These records will be reviewed on an office-by-office basis at least annually. The local office shall analyze complaint records for any potential or actual patterns of deficiencies and shall include descriptions of those patterns with its submitted materials. Complaints lodged directly with the State Department shall be triaged by the Department. Appropriate complaints shall be referred to the relevant local office for resolution. B. When requested by the State Department, the local office shall be responsible to respond to any complaint no later than the response date specified by the Department in the forwarded complaint. “Respond to” refers not only to acknowledgement of receipt, but also the successful completion of the resolution criteria outlined by the Department in the complaint. C. The State-level complaint system shall include notification to the complainant, either verbally or in writing, of the action taken in resolving the complaint. Notification to the complainant shall be accomplished within the following time frames: 1. Complaints involving expedited services shall be investigated and a response provided to the complainant no later than three (3) business days following the date the complaint was received by the State Department. 2. All other complaints shall be investigated, and a response provided to the complainant no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the date the complaint was received by the State Department. D. If a complaint can be resolved through the fair hearing process, the State Department shall advise the complainant of the process for requesting a fair hearing and offer the complainant assistance to request a fair hearing. The State Department may require the local office to provide the same offer of assistance to the complainant.