Policy Updates

January 2026 Program Policy & Procedure Updates

Published January 28, 2026

This is a formal notification of Merrick’s program policy and procedure updates that impact service delivery.

1. The Program Abuse Prevention Plans now include the first year of demographics of ethnic identification in order to provide more inclusive programming sensitive and tailored to our clients’ ethnic preferences. This information will not be used in any other manner and will be protected as part of our Data Practices procedures. We also updated the physical plant descriptions due to ongoing renovations of our program areas.
2. We changed our Pet Therapy Policy to say that the Program Director now has the authority to approve therapy animals for service at our program locations.
3. The Service Suspension and Service Termination Policies were revised to ensure that the Company will use the specific required documentation forms provided by the commissioner of human services.

The policies may be viewed in full using the link below, and we will mail a hard copy to you with a written request. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Download Program Policies & Procedures Handbook – Updated 01/01/2026