CAA-complaint resolution

Transcription

1 CAA-complaint resolution Inbox x Lilah Dear: Ms. Piedrasanta I called you yesterday evening and left a voice Shahid mail. M... Jan 13 Dear: Ms. Piedrasanta I called you yesterday evening and left a voice mail. M... Jan 13 to spiedrasanta Dear: Ms. Piedrasanta I called you yesterday evening and left a voice mail. My name is Lilah Shahid. In the voice mail I requested the name of the person to direct my complaint to; this is regarding an application for tuition assistance I submitted to the CAA (located in Edgar Mills Bldg.) The application has not been reviewed and processed according to established federal guidelines. I have tried discussing this matter with the director on site at that location; Mr. Monfort Alexis but to no avail. There seems to be a language barrier issue; Mr. Alexis is an immigrant and English seems not to be his native language. I'm not sure his is able to fully understand English. Also, Mr. Alexis does not appear to understand the point I made to him, about his having the responsibility to process all applications according to federal guidelines. During the orientation session, Mr. Alexis made the statement that he "decides who gets the money". Mr. Alexis is mistaken. Mr. Alexis is simply an employee of the County who has been placed in the role of applying established federal guidelines to CAA applications. So without going into further details, I am requesting the name of the person (or office) to escalate this complaint. Sincerely, Ms. Shahid 1 out of 2 people will be diagnosed with a chronic disease during their lifetime. I t e a c h p e o p l e h o w t o live healthier.

2 I offer antioxidant juices, nutritional supplements and healthy coffees. I also teach daily yoga. Drinking antioxidant juices and practicing yoga consistently, corrects and prevents chronic disorders. For more information log on at Jan 14 Piedrasanta, Shatara <SPIEDRASANTA@broward.org> to me Good afternoon Ms. Shahid, If you were not able to resolve your concerns with Mr. Alexis, then I am the person to whom you would direct your grievance. Please forward your grievance in writing, stating the specific facts upon which the appeal is based, including names(s), place(s), date(s), agency policies, professional regulations or local, state, or federal laws that are alleged to have been violated; which are important to assist in the prompt and proper resolution of the appeal. You can use the attached Request for Appeal/Grievance form to report this information. Once your grievance is received, the information will be reviewed and the findings and conclusion will be communicate to you within three (3) business days. Regards, Shatara Piedrasanta Shatara Piedrasanta, MSW Broward County Community Action Agency

3 Edgar P. Mills Center 900 NW 31 Avenue, Suite 3100, Fort. Lauderdale, FL Office: ; Efax#: (954) Jan 22 to Shatara Hello Ms. Piedrasanta, I am forwarding to you the correspondence from the Action Agency. This will bring you up to date on this situation. I am noticing on the final I received from case worker Ms. Remy, that she forwarded you a copy of her inappropriate and colorful reply. I take it that she is accustomed to complaint escalations and she knew this situation was headed in your direction. She was correct. I will be forwarding 2 separate s in addition to this . I will also back to you, the grievance application. It is my understanding that the Board and the director (located at 115 Andrews) is in charge of making sure federal money received for the CAA is appropriated fairly and legally. Perhaps they too should be a part of this conversation and made aware of this situation, as I am sure, I am not the first person to raise this concern of Broward County's CAA office not being in compliance with federal and county laws and regulations regarding funds distribution. For now I will leave this decision up to you, You should receive a total of 3 s from me, this one (with Grievance attachment) and 2 others. Below is the published link, just in case the attachment does not open.

4 I look forward to hearing from you. Ms Shahid May 28 to cremy Hello Ms. Remy, If you would tell me exactly what it is your office is seeking in terms of completing my application for tutition assistance, I would greatly appreciated it. In terms of verifying my income I have the following: I am in the Career Source (formerly known as WorkForce One) work and activity program. This program pays $25.00 a month. As I have explained to you, I am with ARDYSS International as an independent distributor. And so, I only get paid when I sale merchandise. I have not derived any income from this company over the last 12 months. I do have a stamped, field office form from the social security office verifying my income over the past 12 months. This forms shows fica for 2014 and displays my self employment status. Today, I will both forms to your office. I called your office around 3:30 today and left a voic . I will call again tommorrow and verify that you have recieved my fax. I look forward to working with you. I can be reached at : Have a nice day.

5 Ms. Shahid May 29 Remy, Carine to Monfort, me, Shatara In response to your inquiry, your application was denied on November 7, 2014 because you did not provide all the required documentations. In order to receive assistance from Community Action Agency you must re-apply and comply with the program guidelines. I will be out of the office until June 10, 2015, therefore I suggest that you contact the supervisor Monfort Alexis ( ) or the Program Director, Shatara Piedrasanta ( ) so that your case can be re-assigned. Sincerely, Carine Remy Broward County Commission Family Success Administration Division Community Action Agency 900 N.W. 31st Avenue, Suite 3100 Fort Lauderdale, FL Fax Jun 25 to Hello Mr. Alexis, I recieved your voic s (all at once) on yesterday. Apparently, there was a clitch with my voic s. From your most recent

6 voic you stated that it would not be neccessary for me to to attend another orientation session. You also stated that you would like to meet with me in your office. It would be more convient for me to speak to your over the phone. I am also interested in the HOP program and the AFI Grant. Just to let you know: I tried returning your call today, however the extention 5729 is connected to another person in another Broward County office (courthouse). Perhaps you could try calling your extention through the main Action Agency number. I tried both ways: directly at and I also tried ext 5729 both times I got another office. Until this phone glitch at the Action Agency is rectified, I think it best for you and I to correspond via . Again, it would be more convient for me to schedule a time to speak to you over the phone. Best Regards. Jun 25 to me, Shatara, Carine Ms. Shahid, Thank you for taking time to respond to me. It is very important that we have a face-to-face meeting to go over the program's policies with you before we re-start the process of admitting you into the program. I want to extend to you the opportunity to ask question in order to eliminate any hurdle. This meeting will be that venue. Please let me know when you are available to meet with me, and I will arrange my

7 schedule accordingly. I am in the office Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00M. Be aware that my direct number is You can always reach me via if it is more convenient for you. I look forward to speaking to you soon. Thank you Jun 30 to Monfort Hello Mr. Monfort, You are making a special request to meet with me in your office. This is not standard CAA protocol or procedure. I have expressed to you that there are time restraints on my schedule. I made the suggesting, that we talk over the phone, however you insist that I meet with you in your office. You mentioned in your last , that you would like to go over the program's policies. I do not understand the necessity of this. Program policies are printed on CAA literature for clients to see. And despite the availability and practicality of and the phone, you continue to insist on meeting with me in your office. I do not know why you feel it is important for me to meet with you in your office, however I will clear 20 minutes on my schedule Monday July 6, 2015 for a brief meeting. 8:40a-9a Please reply to this to confirm, that this chosen date and time is agreeable to you. Thank you, Ms. Shahid

8 Alexis, Monfort Jul 1 to me, Shatara, Carine Good morning, Thank you for responding to my . Yes, our meeting is confirmed for Monday, July 6, between 8:40am and 9:00am. I will see on that day. Thank you. From: Lilah Shahid [mailto:lilahshahid877@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 30, :50 PM To: Alexis, Monfort Subject: Re: CAA-complaint resolution Jul 6 to Monfort Good Morning Mr. Alexis, I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend. I will not be able to make our meeting this morning. Would it be possible for us to reschedule it for Thursday July, 9 at 8:40a?

9 I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you, in advance. Ms. Shahid Alexis, Monfort Jul 6 to me Perfect. I will see on Thursday. Have a nice day. Jul 24 to Monfort Hello Mr. Alexis, I will be at your office today at 12:45a-1p this afternoon. Since I had to cancel our last scheduled meeting time; remember you recommended that I come by your office anytime, at my earliest convenience. I am available this afternoon See you then, Ms. Shahid Aug 14 (6 days ago) to Monfort Good Afternoon,

10 I have not been contacted by the new case worker that you told me, you would select for my case. During the brief meeting with you (July 24, 2015) I mentioned that I would prefer to be contacted via . At this address. He or she may also call me at Also, I mentioned to you that I would be applying for the "rapid rehousing" program. This program name seemed not to ring a bell with you. Below I have included a link, this is an informational flyer describing all the programs under the CAA. You may note that under Housing Options Program (HOP) "rapid rehousing" is listed. I have already call the person responsible for that program. Also, I called and have already received information about the AFI program. This would be grant money for a small business. I look forward to hearing from the case worker you have selected for this case (tuition assistance) and I look forward to working with Broward County's Community Action Agency. Ms. Shahid Also, my new website is now online, feel free to browse. You may also place an order online, if you have any questions about a product, you can call me and inquire.

11 I recommend the red Le Vive juice, it is our best seller antioxidant, nutritional supplement. For product testimonials you may view this website: Aug 17 (3 days ago) Alexis, Monfort to me Ok. I was waiting for you. So, it will be done this week. Thank you. From: Lilah Shahid [mailto:lilahshahid877@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, August 14, :25 PM To: Alexis, Monfort <MALEXIS@broward.org> Subject: Re: CAA-complaint resolution

12 Aug 18 (2 days ago) to Monfort Hello Mr. Alexis, I was contacted by Ms. Shields yesterday. I didn't speak to her, she left a voice mail. I am assuming she is the new case worker assigned to my case (tuition assistance). She did not leave me her address. I need to her my schedule and book list for this term (Fall 2015), today. Classes start this coming Monday at Broward College, so in order to expedite her receiving this information, I am ing you. Also, I mentioned to her in my return voice mail, that she could retrieve my file from case worker Ms. Remy. The file (from Ms. Remy) is complete with all the information requested on the CAA application, except for the tuition waiver for this term (the earliest I would be able to secure that piece of paperwork would be next week), my schedule, book list for this term and verification of my housing status, this information is attached to this . PLEASE CLICK ON PDF LINKS BELOW. Would you forward the information to Ms. Shields and ask her to contact me via , so that we do not waste valuble time on "phone tag" type calls. SCHEDULE FALL TEXTBOOK LIST

13 HOUSING STATUS VERIFICATION Thank You, Ms. Lilah Shahid Aug 18 (2 days ago) Alexis, Monfort to Wanda, me Good afternoon, Unfortunately, when we met the last time, apparently you did grasp the content of the conversation. Obviously, what we discussed was that you would be assigned a new Case Manager. You need to meet with the new Case Manager to start over the admission process to the Self-Sufficiency/Case Management Program. Second, you need to start answering the calls or returning the calls. So, yes, she your New Case Manager. Now, you need to contact her to determine your eligibility and move forward. Thank you

14 From: Lilah Shahid Sent: Tuesday, August 18, :55 PM Aug 18 (2 days ago) to Monfort Mr. Alexis, You are mistaken, what we discussed during our meeting was that I would not have to start the process over again. This is what you said. You said the purpose of the meeting with you; was so that you could select a new case manager to take over the case from Ms. Remy. Please refer to the s correspondence. Also, during our meeting, I asked you if Ms. Remy still had my file with all the contents. You answered, yes. What was the purpose of my meeting with you, if I needed to begin the process from the beginning? I could have simply gone through orientation again and I would have automatically been assigned a new case worker. This would have been faster and more convenient for me. But some reason you insisted that I meet you in your office. Again, please refer to the previous s in order to read the reason you gave for wanting to meet with me. In the last , I mentioned to you that I called Ms. Shields back on yesterday. But in this you have just sent to me, you state: "second, you need to start answering the calls or returning the calls." That reply did not make any sense to me. Was my to you not clear?

15 My grasp on the English language is superb. And I also tell the truth. I will make the request again: please me the new case worker's address, so I may contact her via . This will prevent her and I, from engaging in "phone tag". Also please reread my previous to you, very carefully so that there is no misunderstanding on what I am conveying to you. My classes start this Monday, and what I need at this time, is for the case worker you have selected, to contact me. I look forward to hearing from Ms. Shields, and I am assuming you have forwarded the previous I sent to you, to her as I requested. Have a nice day, Ms. Shahid out of 2 people will be diagnosed with a chronic disease during their lifetime. I t e a c h p e o p l e h o w t o live healthier. I offer antioxidant juices, nutritional supplements and healthy coffees. I also teach daily yoga. Drinking antioxidant juices and practicing yoga consistently, corrects and prevents chronic disorders. Log on for more information Aug 19 (1 day ago) Alexis, Monfort to me, Wanda

16 Good morning, As it stands now, the new Case Manager needs to meet with you because it has been so long since you have submitted the documents. The first application is dated back to October 9, 2014, so it has outdated information and forms. Because things have changed since then, you need to meet with the Case Manager and cooperate with her. Anything you want to discuss must be done with your Case Manager. Also, it is important that you understand she has other clients with whom she works. If you fail to act on time, you may not receive the services on a timely manner. Second, from now on, you need to communicate with your assigned Case Manager, Wanda Shields. You do not have to communicate with me unless you need the Supervisor to get involved. Third, you need to return the Case Manager s call on time so that she can get the case moved. Simply sending will not work at this initial stage. Fourth, during our meeting, I explained to you that you needed to understand how the CSBG/Self- Sufficiency Case Management worked. We do not just give away money; we follow a process. And, you need to comply with the process. Please, remember, we want to help you, but we need to abide by the policies that govern the agency. Thank you.