The Fairfield County ADAMH Board does not provide direct services. However, we do contract with agencies that provide mental health and substance use disorder recovery services. Listed below are rights guaranteed to individuals who receive services at agencies in the ADAMH Network of Care. Should your rights be violated or should you feel that your rights have been violated, you can file a grievance. “Grievance” means a written complaint initiated either verbally or in writing by a client or by any other person or agency on behalf of a client regarding denial or abuse of any client rights.

Clinical Care Coordinator
740.654.0829 x308
108 W. Main St., Suite A
Lancaster, Ohio 43130

All who access mental health services are informed of these rights:


  • The right to be informed of the consumer rights before you consent to receive services.
  • The right to request a written copy of these rights – Inpatient hospital and residential facility rules require individual is informed within 24 hours of admission.
  • The right to receive information in language and terms appropriate for your understanding.
  • The right to be fully informed of the cost of services.
  • The right to be treated with consideration, respect for personal dignity, autonomy, and privacy, and within the parameters of relevant sections of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) and the Ohio Administrative Code.
  • The right to receive humane services.
  • The right to participate in any appropriate and available service that is consistent with an individual service/treatment plan regardless of the refusal of any other service unless that service is a necessity for clear treatment reasons and requires the person’s participation.
  • The right to reasonable assistance in the least restrictive setting.
  • The right to reasonable protection from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, inhumane treatment, assault, or battery by any other person.
  • The right to a current Individual Service Plan that addresses the needs and responsibilities of an individual and specifies the provision of appropriate and adequate services, as available, either directly or by referral.
  • The right to actively participate in periodic Individual Service Plan reviews with the staff, including services necessary upon discharge.
  • The right to give fully informed consent to any service, including medication, prior to commencement and the right to decline services, including medication, absent an emergency.
  • The right to be advised of and refuse observation by techniques, such as one-way vision mirrors, tape recorders, televisions, movies, or photographs, or other audio and visual technology – This right does not prohibit an agency from using closed-circuit monitoring to observe seclusion rooms or common areas, which do not include bathrooms.
  • The right to decline any hazardous procedure.
  • The right to be free from restraint or seclusion unless there is imminent risk of physical harm to self or others.
  • The right to reasonable privacy and freedom from excessive intrusion by visitors, guests, and non-agency surveyors, contractors, construction crews, or others.
  • The right to confidentiality unless a release or exchange of information is authorized and the right to request to restrict treatment information being shared.
  • The right to be informed of the circumstances under which an agency is authorized or intends to release, or has released, confidential information without written consent for the purposes of continuity of care as permitted by division (A)(7) of section 5122.31 of the Revised Code. *ORC 5122.31(A)(7) “That hospitals within the department, other institutions and facilities within the department, hospitals licensed by the department under section 5119.20 of the Revised Code, and community mental health agencies may exchange psychiatric records and other pertinent information with payers and other providers of treatment and health services if the purpose of the exchange is to facilitate continuity of care for a patient.”
  • The right to have access to one’s own psychiatric, medical, or other treatment records unless access to particularly identified items of information is specifically restricted for that individual patient for clear treatment reasons in the patient’s treatment plan – If access is restricted, the treatment plan shall also include a goal to remove the restriction.
  • The right to have the grievance procedure explained orally and in writing; the right to file a grievance with assistance if requested; and the right to have a grievance reviewed through the grievance process, including the right to appeal a decision.
  • The right to receive services free of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, age, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental handicap, developmental disability, genetic information, human immunodeficiency virus status, or in any manner prohibited by local, state, or federal laws.
  • The right to exercise rights without reprisal in any form, including the ability to continue services with uncompromised access – No right extends so far as to supersede health and safety considerations.
  • The right to have the opportunity to consult with independent specialists or legal counsel at one’s own expense.
  • The right to be informed in advance of the reason(s) for discontinuance of service provision and to be involved in planning for the consequences of that event.
  • The right to receive an explanation of the reasons for denial of service.