There is an inherent power dynamic between therapist/client that can make it hard for some folks to offer critical feedback to a provider, especially if those in positions of power and authority have not always been safe and validating.

As a nonprofit therapy practice that follows the NASW Code of Ethics, the National Association of Black Social Workers’ Code of Ethics, and also an ethic of abolitionist social work praxis, we reflect regularly on Mia Mingus’ now well-cited four-part apology, as a guidepost for self-correcting during the times when we mess up, make mistakes, and cause harm (an unavoidable reality of any type of care work).

Our practice believes in building accountability and self-correction into everything we do. For us, this is a sign of ethical practice. We want to build in ways for as many different folks to offer us feedback and loving critique — the most vulnerable of which can come in the form of letting us know we caused hurt.

One thing we’re currently building into our model is identification of specific board members as Accountability Stewards, meaning they can receive email contact from any client, partner agency, or community stakeholder with concerns about ethical violations or harm we might have caused.

The email address to reach our Accountability Stewards is ijwdboard@protonmail.com.

Please be aware this is a new process for us, and our short-term goal is set up email forwarding; however, until we announce that update, responses to this email account may be delayed by 1 – 2 weeks.

Once you email our accountability stewards, they’ll be responsible for addressing the issue with other Board Members or leadership as appropriate. Depending on who the person is making the complaint, the nature of what’s shared, and who may have been impacted, the Accountability Stewards may end up notifying the rest of the Board Members and/or organizational leadership, offer connections to local restorative process facilitators and/or transformative justice consultation, assisting client(s) or other stakeholders who were harmed in self-advocating as necessary and requested, or act as whistleblowers and report certain matters that require it to the appropriate outside bodies or professional associations–to name just a few of the many possible solutions.

We are proud to have many skilled restorative justice and transformative justice practitioners in our community of practice, including on our Board of Directors, and our leadership leans on them regularly for guidance in ethical decision-making that considers the values and ethics of our profession and the people we serve.

Some additional resources that may help you with concerns about harm or ethical violations connected to our work include…

• The Michigan Mental Health Code – MDHHS publishes a “blue book” entitled Your Rights when Receiving Mental Health Services in Michigan, which provides the highlights of this extensive law regarding the rights of Medicaid recipients of mental health / substance abuse treatment, and information about reporting rights violations to Recipient Rights
• Detroit Disability Power (https://www.detroitdisabilitypower.org/) is a grassroots, Detroit-based organization of disability justice organizers that provides advocacy and support for Detroiters who identify as d/Disabled
• You can always report any licensed healthcare professional in the state of Michigan to the Bureau of Professional Licensing, by visiting https://www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bpl/complaint. 
• Because lance is a member of the National Association of Social Work, Michigan Chapter, you are also able to report any ethical violations from him to the NASW of Michigan (https://www.nasw-michigan.org/). For social workers in Michigan, an ethical violation is considered any action or inaction that violates our NASW Code of Ethics, which can be found at https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/
• If at any point it would feel helpful to you to file a formal complaint against my license with the state of michigan through the Bureau of Professional Licensing, or with the NASW of Michigan, I am always happy to assist; however, if you would prefer to receive support with this process from a third party, it might helpful for you to reach out to Disability Rights Michigan (https://www.drmich.org/), the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) (https://namimi.org/what-is-nami/contact-nami), or Justice in Mental Health Organization (JIMHO) (https://jimho.net/). 
• Bay Area Transformative Justice Network – on PODs and POD-Mapping
• If you are someone who is interested in, open to, and/or already engaged in restorative and/or transformative justice-based approaches to resolving harm, I am also happy to share more with you about resources to resolve any potential harm in our work together through these approaches, and frequently receive our most direct support to this end from friends at Detroit Justice Center, Michigan Restorative Justice Network, and Detroit Safety Team.