Any individual, group of individuals or entity that believes they have been discriminated against on the basis of race, color, or national origin by Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley may file a Title VI complaint by completing and submitting the agency’s Title VI Complaint Form to the Clients Rights Officer. (Address and phone number are provided on the form.)
Any individual having filed a complaint or participated in the investigation of a complaint shall not be subjected to any form of intimidation or retaliation. Individuals who have cause to think that they have been subjected to intimidation or retaliation can file a complaint of retaliation following the same procedure for filing a discrimination complaint.
A complaint must be filed with Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley no later than 180 days after the following:
1. The date of the alleged act of discrimination; or
2. The date when the person(s) became aware of the alleged discrimination; or
3. Where there has been a continuing course of conduct, the date on which that conduct was discontinued of the latest instance of the conduct.
Once the complaint is received, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley will review it to determine if our office has jurisdiction. A copy of each Title VI complaint received will be forwarded to the Ohio Department of Transportation within ten (10) calendar days of receipt. The complainant will receive an acknowledgement letter informing her/him whether the complaint will be investigated by our office.
Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley has 45 days to investigate the complaint. If more information is needed to resolve the case, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley may contact the complainant requesting further information. The complainant has 15 business days from the date of the letter to send requested information to the investigator assigned to the case. If the investigator is not contacted by the complainant or does not receive the additional information within 15 business days, Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley can administratively close the case.
After the investigator reviews the complaint, the agency will issue one of two (2) letters to the complainant: a closure letter or a letter of finding (LOF).
✓ A closure letter summarizes the allegations and states that there was not a Title VI violation and that the case will be closed.
✓ A letter of finding (LOF) summarizes the allegations and the interviews regarding the alleged incident, and explains whether any disciplinary action, additional training of the staff member, or other action will occur.
If the complainant wishes to appeal the decision it must direct the appeal to the agency initially. The complainant has 30 days after the date of the closure letter or the letter of finding to do so. If there is outstanding concern, the appeal may be directed to the state DOT or FTA. The appeal process information will be included in the letter.
A person may also file a complaint directly with:
Ohio Department of Transportation
Attn: Office of Opportunity, Diversity and Inclusion
1980 West Broad Street, Mailstop 3270
Columbus, OH 43223
or
Federal Transit Administration, Office of Civil Rights
Attention: Complaint Team
East Building, 5th Floor-TCR
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, DC, 20590
If information is needed in another language, then contact 833.289.0227.