Non-Discrimination Policy
It is the policy of the Five County Association of Governments that no person shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, disability, marital status, family composition, pregnancy, genetic information, source of income, sexual orientation/preference, gender identity, gender expression, political affiliation, or belief be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be subjected to discrimination under, or be denied employment in connection with any program or activity administered by the Five County Association of Governments.
The Five County Association of Governments is committed to the support of positive practices and efforts which will ensure equal opportunity and nondiscriminatory treatment of all persons, regardless of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, national origin, sex or disability.
However, Five County Community Action reserves the right to refuse service to clients under the following, non-protected circumstances:
Causes any staff, volunteers, or other clients to feel threatened in any way. This includes sexual harassment, verbal and physical assault, displaying a weapon or a perceived weapon, and issuing threats.
The client seeks services outside of walk-in hours and without a scheduled appointment.
The client has been disqualified from Five County assistance because of fraud, failure to comply with the terms of service, or any other documented reason for that funding year.
Five County Grievance Procedure
Informal:
Consumer will bring issue to attention of the local program provider. If not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, the consumer has the option of pursuing the grievance by issuing a formal complaint.
Formal:
Consumer will submit written grievance to local program provider within five (5) working days of the incident or of knowledge of the incident. The local Program Provider will respond in writing within ten (10) working days. If not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, they have option to proceed.
If the issue is still not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, consumer may submit written grievance within ten (10) working days to Director of Community Action, Five County Association of Governments, 1070 West, 1600 South, Building B, St. George, Utah 84770. The Director of Community Action will respond in writing within ten (10) working days. If not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction they have option to proceed.
If the issue is still not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, consumer may submit written grievance within ten (10) working days to the Executive Director of the Five County Association of Governments, 1070 West 1600 South Building B, St. George, Utah 84770. The Executive Director will utilize support staff or Human Services Council support as deemed necessary to investigate information and render a decision regarding the grievance. The Executive Director will respond in writing within ten (10) working days. If not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, they have option to proceed.
If the issue is still not resolved to consumer’s satisfaction, consumer will be provided with address and telephone number(s) for the Chairperson of both the Five County Human Services Council and Five County Association of Governments Steering Committee. A hearing before the Human Services Council will offer the next level of grievance and help remedy appropriate action(s) regarding the complaint. The nature of the complaint and the investigation shall be properly documented. The response to the consumer will address the complaint received and relevant action taken. If any member of Human Services Council has involvement in the grievance, those members shall exclude themselves from the grievance procedure.
If the decision is not to the satisfaction of the consumer, the consumer shall be referred to the appropriate state agency’s grievance procedure. In most instances, this will be the Utah Department of Workforce Services or the Utah Department of Human Services.