Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 27-5-5 - Disposition of Complaints5.1. Any person, firm, corporation, member of the Board, or public officer may make a complaint to the Board, which charges a licensed professional counselor, therapist, or applicant with a violation of W. Va. Code §30-31-1 et seq. and/or the Legislative rules, all series, of the Board. The Board may provide a form for that purpose. In addition to describing the alleged violation, which prompted the complaint, the complaint must contain the following: 5.1.a. The name and address of the licensed professional counselor or therapist against whom the complaint is lodged;5.1.b. The date or dates the incident or incidents occurred;5.1.c. The name of any professional who may have treated the client after the alleged incident;5.1.d. The name or names of witnesses to the incident or incidents;5.2. A complaint against a licensed professional counselor or therapist shall allege that such person has been convicted of a felony or is, in his or her professional capacity, engaging in conduct, practices or acts constituting professional negligence, as cited in subsection 4.1 in this rule or a willful departure from accepted standards of professional conduct in violation of W. Va. Code §30-31-1 et seq. and/or the Legislative rules, all series, of the Board.5.3. Complainants are immune from liability for the allegations contained in their complaints filed with the Board unless the complaint is filed in bad faith or for a malicious purpose.5.4. The Board will maintain a complaint log, which records the receipt of each complaint, its nature and its disposition.5.5. The Board will maintain a separate file on each complaint received, and each file will have a number assigned to it.5.6. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Board will issue one of the following acknowledgments to the complainant:5.6.a. That the matter will be reviewed by the Board;5.6.b. That the complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the Board, with suggestions as to how the complainant might best obtain a resolution of his or her problem; or,5.6.c. That more information will be required to adequately review the individual complaint.5.7. The Board will send a copy of the complaint, including any supporting documentation, by certified mail to the licensee or applicant in question for his or her written comment, he or she must submit a written response to the Board within thirty (30) days of the date of correspondence, or waive the right to do so.5.8. Requests for comment on complaints sent to licensees or applicants will be considered properly served when sent to their last known address.5.9. Upon receipt of a licensee's or applicant's comments in response to a complaint, the Board may promptly send a copy of the response, including any supporting documentation, to the complainant. 5.10. After receipt and review of a complaint, unless the complaint is determined to fall within the provisions of subdivision 5.6.b. of this rule, the Board will authorize any reasonable inquiry or investigation it considers necessary to determine the truth and the validity of the allegations in the complaint. A review of complaints and or investigation may, at the discretion of the Board, be assigned to a committee of the Board.5.11. At any point in its investigation of a complaint the Board may, at its discretion, assign the matter to an ethics investigator(s) for review and investigation.5.12. Upon receipt of a complaint the ethics investigator must, within sixty (60) days, review and investigate the complaint and provide the Board with a report. The report must include a statement of the allegations, a statement of facts, an analysis of the complaint, the records reviewed and a statement of the ethics investigator's findings and recommendations. The ethics investigator will, upon request, have the opportunity to conduct an investigative interview with the licensee or applicant in question or other parties involved. A report of the interview will be placed in the investigation file.5.13. To facilitate the disposition of a complaint, the Board or the committee may request any person to attend an informal conference, or to appear at a regular meeting of the Board, at any time prior to the Board entering an order with respect to the complaint.5.14. The Board or the committee must give notice of the conference, the notice must include a statement of issues to be informally discussed. Statements made at a conference may not be introduced at any subsequent hearing on the merits without the consent of all parties to the hearing. Failure to attend a conference will not prejudice any party to the case.5.15. The Board, its Executive Director, the investigating committee, or chairperson may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum to complete the Board's investigation and to determine the truth or validity of complaints. The ethics investigator may request the Board or its chairperson to issue a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum. A brief statement explaining the need for the subpoena must accompany any subpoena.5.16. Upon receipt of the respondent's response or at any point in the course of an investigation or inquiry into a complaint, the Board may determine that there is not and will not be sufficient evidence to warrant further proceedings, or that the complaint fails to allege misconduct for which a licensed professional counselor may be sanctioned by the Board. The committee or ethics investigator must make their respective findings and recommendations to the Board prior to the Board dismissing the complaint.5.17. If the investigative or complaint file is closed on the basis that the Licensed Professional Counselor has not been found to have violated any of the board's governing statutes or rules, the Board shall remove all information relating to that investigation from his or her file.