The obligations outlined in the ESL Corporate Compliance Plan (the Plan) apply to our relationships with persons receiving services, their families, governmental authorities, vendors, consultants, third-party payors, subcontractors, independent contractors, and one another.
We will provide high-quality care to our clientele while observing high standards of legal and ethical conduct. The Plan is based on our unifying principles, mission, and vision statements and serves as the foundation of our corporate compliance program. It applies equally to everyone. The policies outlined in the Plan are mandatory and must be followed by all of us.
ESL has been a not-for-profit organization since 1951. Our organization, with legal contracts or agreements with the State of Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals’ Office of Aging & Adult Services (OAAS),
Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) and Office of Behavorial Health (OBH), provides services for persons with physical and mental developmental disabilities throughout several civil parishes across the State of Louisiana.
Mission Statement
ESL is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities achieve independence. We achieve this mission by striving to enable people with developmental disabilities to achieve fulfilling lives within their local communities by establishing a home, belonging, self-determination, learning, productivity, and individual respect.
Unifying Principles
ESL embraces and measures itself against the following principles, which guide us in the work we do:
Integrity: doing the right thing for the right reason, telling the truth, and providing a positive example of ethical and principle-based behavior.
Respect: honoring diverse backgrounds and exhibiting a high level of regard, courtesy, and commitment, to individuals’ dignity and rights.
Positive Relationships: building strong, healthy bonds with coworkers and encouraging responsible choice and self-determination in those we serve. We practice compassion, enthusiasm, active listening, clarity of information sharing, constructive problem solving, cooperative teamwork, and responsibility.
Innovation: questioning the status quo, building on current success, and offering new ways to improve the system of services as well as its performance.
Learning: committing ourselves to continuous quality improvement of self and task outcomes, advancing understanding, and applying skills effectively.
Intent: The Plan applies to all staff, officers, representatives, including independent contractors, and volunteers of ESL.
The Plan was approved by ESL’s Board of Directors and is a formal statement of the Agency’s commitment to the standards and rules of ethical conduct.
ESL is committed to preventing the occurrence of unethical or unlawful behavior, stopping such behavior as soon as possible upon discovery, and disciplining employees who violate the Plan, including employees who neglect to report a violation. All employees must comply with this plan, immediately report any alleged violations of wrongdoing, and assist management and compliance personnel in investigating allegations of wrongdoing. Employees reporting suspected violations in good faith are protected from retaliation as “whistleblowers”.
Stakeholder Satisfaction
ESL implemented a statewide stakeholder survey to obtain a baseline assessment of stakeholder feedback by gathering data on how stakeholders feel about ESL's service quality. View the executive summary of that survey here.
Seeking Guidance and Reporting Violations
Employees must report to their supervisor or to the ESL Compliance Officer suspected violations by employees of applicable law, rules, regulations, or the Plan. Employees have the same reporting obligations for actual or suspected violations committed by a vendor or subcontractor of ESL.
ESL has also established a compliance email address at corporatecompliance@laeasterseals.com.
Correspondence can be sent anonymously in a sealed envelope and addressed to the Corporate Compliance Officer and sent to ESL’s Corporate Headquarters. Mailing can be done via the US Postal Service, interoffice mail, or email.
There will be no reprisals against employees for good faith reporting of compliance concerns to their department supervisor, the Corporate Compliance Office, or to the Director of Human Resources.
