Client Rights

At the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, we respect all our clients and take their rights very seriously.  Specifically, we believe that our clients have the right to:

• Be treated in a courteous and respectful manner, and to be free from mental, physical, and financial abuse by the service provider.
• Be recognized for their individuality, needs and preferences, including ethnic, spiritual, linguistic, familial, cultural and sexual orientation factors.
• Be informed about the nature of, and approach to, service being proposed by staff prior to the intervention occurring.  For consent to be ‘valid’, the client must be able to understand the implications of the service provided, as well as the benefits and costs of the service.  The client must be physically and mentally able of providing consent.
• Receive service in French if participating in a program that has been designated as bilingual (i.e., English/French).
• Participate in the service provider’s assessment of their needs, the development of the plan of service, and in the service provider’s subsequent evaluations and revisions.
• Know about other available services appropriate to their needs.
• Voice concerns or recommend changes to their service, without fear of interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal.
• Refuse service and be informed of the consequences.
• Be made aware of the limits to confidentiality, including harm to self or others and legal requirements.
• Have their records kept confidential in accordance with the law.   Clients have a right to privacy that will be respected by staff throughout the WOCRC.  Information gathered from the client throughout the course of the service provided will be subject to the rules of confidentiality.
• Issue a complaint regarding their service at the WOCRC.
• Correct factual errors in their record.
• Ask that their information be released to a third party.
• Know when they are receiving services of a student and/or volunteer and the right to refuse these services.
• Review agreements between the various funders and the WOCRC.

Along with the WOCRC’s Guiding Beliefs, these Client Rights are a fundamental part of our approach to serving residents of our community.