Contractors and DHS employees are prohibited from any form of retaliation against any child, family, advocate, provider staff, or DHS employee for reporting or discussing possible performance deficiencies with any authorized agent of the Department.  Authorized agents for this purpose include Child Welfare staff, supervisors, county directors, area staff, and personnel of Division of Children and Family Services inclusive of Continuous Quality Improvement staff.  Retaliation under these circumstances is not allowed and may be addressed by procedures for provider sanction, OAC 340:75-18-8(p), or DHS corrective discipline policy.