Attendance and Participation

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We want you to be successful in treatment. In order for treatment to be helpful, it is important that you are regularly present at appointments. Missed appointments may be a sign that it is not the right time for you to participate in treatment. When you schedule and miss appointments, you are both delaying the time it takes for you to feel better, and you are taking an appointment time that could be used by other individuals who need help. As a result, we must limit the number of missed appointments that you are allowed.

To assist you in remembering appointments, a Clark Center staff person will place a courtesy reminder call or text two days prior to a scheduled appointment. If after receiving that reminder you know that you will not be able to attend the appointment, you have an opportunity to cancel more than 24 hours from the appointment time. If you are not receiving reminder texts or calls, it is your responsibility to ensure the Clark Center has the correct contact information and that your phone is able to accept calls and take messages.

1. For clients in outpatient therapy and substance use programs: If out of your last five (5) counseling appointments, you miss two (2) appointments without calling more than 24 hours in advance, your counselor will attempt to contact you to see if this is an appropriate time for you to be committing to therapy. If we are unable to contact you, after two attempts, we will close your chart. Counseling clients who have been discharged due to not attending appointments can contact the Clark Center at 417-476-1000 ext.0 at a time when they are ready to fully participate in treatment.

2. For clients in medication services: If in a twelve (12) month period you miss two (2) appointments without calling more than 24 hours in advance, you will be unable to reschedule an appointment with your medication provider for the next six months. In order to receive treatment, you must walk-in to the clinic on available days and wait. Those waiting without an appointment will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Those with scheduled appointments will have priority. It is not guaranteed that you will be seen the same day you walk-in if no openings become available, and it is not guaranteed you will see a prescriber with whom you are familiar. If you are not attending appointments and are identified by a Clark Center provider to have severe concerns, you will receive contact from a crisis or outreach worker who will remind you of treatment goals and who will encourage participation in treatment.

3. Any client who is not attending appointments and who is identified by a Clark Center provider to have severe concerns will receive contact from a crisis or outreach worker who will remind of the treatment goals and who will attempt to re-engage the client.

In the event the agency cancels an appointment due to staff absence or weather closure, nothing will be counted against the client, and the client will be offered the next available appointment time.

If a client feels that any missed appointment was due to Clark Center error or the absence was due to unavoidable circumstances that could be considered an emergency situation, the client may present his/her case, with proof of the circumstances to the Clark Center staff. A Clark Center committee will determine if the missed appointment should or should not be counted as a missed appointment.

Updated 2.3.22