Appeals Process

AMERICAN BALINT SOCIETY ("ABS")

APPEALS PROCESS
FOR
CREDENTIALING AND SUPERVISION OF
CREDENTIALED BALINT LEADER CANDIDATES

Passed June 5, 2004 by ABS Council
Amended December 13, 2004 by a vote of ABS Council

I. Definitions.

(a) ABS Council: The governing body of the American Balint Society.

(b) Applicant: An individual who has applied to the ABS for credentialing as a Balint group leader.

(c) Candidate: An individual whose application for Balint leadership has been accepted by the ABS to begin the credentialing process.

(d) Credentialing Intensive: The sessions during which the Candidate leads Balint groups and has his or her performance evaluated.

(e) Credentialing Coordinating Committee ("CCC"): The committee established by the American Balint Society to be responsible for accepting applications by Applicants and credentialing of Candidates.

(f) Supervisor: An individual who has been credentialed by ABS as a Balint group leader and has met the established qualifications to act as a supervisor to train other Balint group leaders.

II. Policies and Procedures. All Applicants accepted into the credentialing process of the ABS shall be provided a written copy of the procedures for supervision and credentialing Balint leaders. All questions by Applicants and Candidates regarding the policy and procedures shall be directed to the Chair of the CCC. The Candidate must send a signed copy of the supervision agreement to the Chair of the CCC which includes a statement that the Candidate has read and accepted the policies and procedures of the credentialing process.

III. Assessment of Applicants and Candidates. Each Applicant shall be evaluated in accordance with the written criteria made available to the Applicant at the beginning of the application review process by the CCC. Each Candidate shall be evaluated in accordance with the written criteria made available to the Candidate (a) at the beginning of supervision; and (b) during the Candidate's Credentialing Intensive. After each supervision session, the Supervisor shall provide a written evaluation on the stated criteria and, if applicable, indicate if the Supervisor is concerned whether the Candidate will be able to meet the stated standards for credentialing. The evaluator at the Credentialing Intensive shall provide the Candidate with an explanation of the evaluation process and show him/her the evaluation criteria that will be used to judge his/her leadership.

IV. Unfavorable Decision and Decisions that may be Appealed.

(a) Unfavorable Evaluation or Decision. The ABS reserves the right to reject any Applicant at the outset who does not meet basic minimum qualifications as set forth in the ABS credentialing policies, which are provided to each Applicant when they request or submit an application. The ABS also reserves the right to reject any Applicant whom the ABS deems unsuited to perform as a Balint group leader. An Applicant not admitted into the credentialing process has no right to appeal. The Supervisor, the CCC or the ABS may determine that a Candidate should be denied credentialing or asked to do further training. The denial or request for further training shall be made for one or more of the following reasons:

(1) The Candidate discontinued supervision and failed to request re-instatement within the allotted time according to published policy.

(2) The Candidate did not provide the materials necessary for supervision to take place or did not present himself or herself for supervision in a timely fashion.

(3) The Candidate failed to sustain a Balint group of sufficient frequency for the required two years credentialing period.

(4) The Candidate demonstrated substandard or unsatisfactory performance.

(5) The Candidate no longer qualified for membership in the ABS (no longer a licensed provider in good standing in his or her primary profession) or failed to maintain membership in the ABS.

(b) Decisions that may be Appealed.

Set forth below is a list of events or issues that may be appealed:

(1) The Candidate disagrees with decision made by the CCC regarding the Candidate's requirements for supervision, the duration of supervision and the number of Intensives the Candidate must complete for credentialing.

(2) A Candidate in supervision does not agree with the judgment of the Supervisor about his/her competence, the decision of the CCC concerning their supervisory relationship, his/her readiness to attend a final Credentialing Intensive or to be reviewed by the CCC for a credentialing decision.

(3) The Candidate has completed the Credentialing Intensive and does not agree with the judgment of the designated evaluator or the CCC as to whether he or she demonstrated sufficient competency as a leader at the Credentialing Intensive.

The Candidate has completed all required activities for credentialing, and disagrees with the decision of the Supervisor or entity (the CCC or ABS Council) that he or she is not qualified to be a credentialed leader.

Either the candidate or his/her supervisor is not satisfied with a decision made by the CCC about their supervision or supervisory relationship, as outlined in the document “Appeals Process for Problems in the Supervisory Relationship.”

V. Notification of Unfavorable Decision. As soon as administratively feasible following the decision not to credential a Candidate as a Balint leader, the Chair of the CCC shall notify the Candidate of such decision in writing. The notice shall contain a statement of the reasons for such decision and inform the Candidate that the Candidate has the right to request a hearing on the decision within 30 days from the date of the notice. The notice shall describe or include a copy of the hearing procedures.

VI. Request for Hearing. A Candidate shall have 30 days from the date of the notice of an unfavorable decision to request a hearing before the Appeals Committee (as defined below). A request for a hearing before the Appeals Committee shall be made in writing to the President of the ABS and will be deemed to have been duly given when delivered in person or when dispatched by telegram or electronic facsimile transfer (confirmed in writing by mail simultaneously dispatched) or one business day after having been dispatched by a nationally recognized overnight courier service. The written request for a hearing before the Appeals Committee must be signed and dated by the Candidate and shall include the following information:

(a) A narrative description of the Candidate’s dispute with the unfavorable decision, including the names of all persons involved in the disputed decision;

(b) A description of the informal attempts made at resolution of the dispute, if applicable;

(d) Any documentation relating to the subject matter of the appeal.

Within 30 days following receipt of the written request for a hearing, the President of the ABS shall send to the person requesting the hearing an acknowledgement indicating whether the Candidate’s complaint represents an appeal that can be reviewed by the Appeals Committee.

VII. Appeals Committee; Purpose and Composition.

(a) Purpose. The purpose of a hearing before the Appeals Committee is to offer a formal mechanism for resolving a Candidate's dispute with the decision made about his/her supervision or candidacy for becoming a leader credentialed by the ABS. A Candidate may request a hearing before the Appeals Committee only with respect to the decisions set forth in Section IV(b) above. The Appeals Committee shall not be convened nor consider or hear any issues outside the scope of those matters set forth in Section IV(b).

(b) Composition. When a request for hearing is appropriately made and the President of the ABS accepts the appeal for review, the President of the ABS shall appoint an ad hoc Appeals Committee. This committee shall consist of 3 people, all of whom are members of the ABS and credentialed Balint group leaders, one of whom has had Balint leader supervisory experience and one of whom is on the ABS Council. The Appeals Committee shall exclude from its committee (1) all individuals who have been in a supervisory or co-leadership relationship with the Candidate filing the appeal, (2) all faculty or reviewers for the Candidate’s Credentialing Intensive, and (3) all persons from the Candidate’s department or residency program.

VIII. Hearing before the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee shall schedule a hearing date that is no later than 60 days following the date of the receipt of a Candidate’s request for hearing properly made in accordance with Section VI of this policy. This time period may be extended by the President of the ABS to the extent necessary in order to insure the availability of the parties participating in the hearing. The Appeals Committee shall conduct the hearing via telephone conference call at a time it determines is best to hear from the appropriate parties. The Appeals Committee shall select, from among its ranks, a Chair and a Recording Secretary to prepare its written findings and recommendation. The Chair of the Appeals Committee shall notify the person filing the appeal of the time and contact information for the Appeals Committee hearing, and of the names of the members of the Appeals Committee. The person filing the appeal and the members of the Appeals Committee shall be provided with all materials that have been collected relating to the appeal. At the hearing the Chair of the Appeals Committee shall conduct the hearing process. All interested parties including the person filing the appeal, the Chair of the CCC, the Candidate’s Supervisor or credentialed co-leader, the evaluator from the Candidate’s Credentialing Intensive, and one other person of the Candidate’s choosing, who must be a member of the ABS, may participate in the call and have the right to present relevant information. The person filing the appeal may question other parties participating in the hearing and may challenge the facts presented, provided, however, that the hearing shall not be conducted in accordance with the formal rules of evidence and procedure. Formal opening and closing statements are not required, but the Chair of the CCC and the person filing the appeal will each be given an opportunity to summarize their respective positions. Attorneys will not be allowed to represent any party at the hearing. In addition, the hearing shall not be recorded in any manner.

IX. Decision of the Appeals Committee. The Appeals Committee shall deliberate in private and decide the appeal by majority vote. Within 10 calendar days following the hearing, the Appeals Committee shall submit its findings, recommendation and reasons for its recommendation in writing to the ABS Council, and the person filing the appeal. If the findings are favorable to the person filing the appeal and recommendations for corrective action are made, the Chair of the Appeals Committee shall forward the recommendations to the appropriate parties to take action. The findings of the Appeals Committee constitute final action on the appeal.