The Minnesota Board of Psychology (Board) envisioned a process that would enable individuals to file complaints with the Board online. The Board participated in a Kaizen event that developed goals and objectives for creating an online complaint submission solution. Over the past two years, the Board has worked tirelessly to develop a system that will allow an individual to submit a complaint to the Board electronically.
It was important the process be simple and accessible. The result met all of our requirements. On February 2, 2015, individuals wishing to file a complaint can visit our website and walk through a simple process to express their concerns regarding an applicant, licensee, or individual practicing psychology without a license. Building on the Board value of simplification, the Board does not require a user account prior to filing a complaint.
The individual is first advised of their rights under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act prior to providing data to the Board. This advisory also tells the user what the data supplied will be used for, who will have access to it, and what might happen if data is not supplied in connection with a complaint.
In Section 1 of the process, the individual is asked to enter their name, address, and telephone. Contact information is critical when filing a complaint. Often times it is necessary for the Compliance Director to reach out to complainants for additional information. The identity of a complainant is classified as confidential and is never revealed during or after an investigation.
In Section 2, the individual is asked to enter the name, address, telephone, and license number of the individual against whom they are filing a complaint. It is very helpful to obtain this information prior to initiating the complaint process. Any information provided by the individual in the beginning reduces the time spent by Board staff to obtain it. Moreover, by obtaining the license number you will be able to know immediately whether the provider is a licensed psychologist. In the State of Minnesota licensed psychologist license numbers are formatted as follows: LP0000.
Section 3, the individual is asked to tell their story and explain the complaint. Names, dates, times, or places should be included where possible. Individuals can either type their complaint directly into a text box, or prepare their complaint in a Word document and copy and paste the content into the text box, if preferred.
At the conclusion of the process the individual is provided with some information regarding when they will hear from the Board. All complainants receive acknowledgment of receipt as well as an explanation of the Boards complaint resolution process.
If evidence exists such as health records, cards, letters, videos, photographs, please contact the Board Compliance Director to arrange for submission of that information.
