100-3 CONFIDENTIALITY
There are very specific laws and regulations that protect information about Division of Public Assistance clients.
Applicants for, and recipients of, public assistance must make known to division staff intimate facts about their personal lives in order for their eligibility to be determined. Other personal and sensitive information (such as disclosure of domestic violence or substance abuse) necessary to secure supportive services or to provide effective referrals to community resources also may be shared with division staff. Because applicants and recipients often are under extreme financial and personal stresses they may be particularly vulnerable to exploitation if their situation were known. This may be true even when certain information is disclosed to other members of the household.
Therefore, all people served by the division are in particular need of the protection of privacy and confidentiality:
Against the
identification of the individual as belonging to a special group segregated
on the basis of their need for public assistance;
Against exploitation
for commercial, personal, or political purposes; and
Against making information available as a basis for prosecution and other proceedings except in connection with the enforcement of public assistance program laws.
Refer to Addendum 100-A and Addendum 100-B in this manual for the Alaska statutes on confidentiality and misuse of public assistance records, and regulations on safeguarding and disclosure of client information.
100-3 A. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
It is against the law to use or disclose information obtained from households unless it is to:
Persons authorized
by a client-signed Release of Information form;
Persons directly
connected with the administration of the programs;
Persons directly
connected with the enforcement of the provisions of the programs;
or
Persons directly connected with other federal or federally funded assistance programs such as Supplemental Security Income, Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, or the School Lunch Program.
Staff normally does not release information or material from any case record to anyone or any agency without first obtaining a written consent from the client. This includes local and state police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
There are exceptions to releasing information without the client’s consent. Refer to Administrative Procedure Manual Sections 100-3D, 100-3E, 100-3F, and 100-3G for exceptions to releasing information without the client’s consent.
In addition, DPA staff may release information to the Department’s Office of Children’s Services and to Adult Protective Services if they report suspected abuse or neglect of a child or adult. See section 100-9 in this manual.
100-3 B. CLIENT ACCESS TO INFORMATION
An applicant or recipient is entitled access to his or her own case file, including electronic information contained in EIS. When applicants or recipients request documents or information from their case file, attach a Request for Case File Record form ( GEN 35). The form will assist in clarifying the information requested, the fee associated when more than 25 pages of documents are requested and the timeline the Division has to provide the documents. The GEN 35 form is located under e-Forms on the DPA Web page. In addition, any person to whom the client authorizes access by means of a written, signed, and dated authorization is entitled access to that client's case file. No reason for desiring access needs to be given.
IMPORTANT:
Information relating to domestic violence issues, specific victims, and
identifying information that could compromise the family’s health and
safety cannot be released to anyone without the victim’s permission. This
includes formal referrals and agency contacts with community resources
and members of the household.
The client is entitled to a prompt, full, and courteous explanation of why each piece of information in the file was gathered, and explanations of the purpose of each form in the file.
If a client objects to an entry in their file of a particular piece of information, and if a supervisor determines that the objectionable entry was and is unrelated to the determination of eligibility, the entry will be totally and permanently deleted from the record.
Prior to allowing the client or the client's authorized representative access to the case file folder, a designated agency employee will take the following steps:
Review the case
file folder and remove all confidential information protected from
release. This includes:
Adoption
materials,
Information
relating to substance abuse,
Information
relating to domestic violence,
Names of
individuals who have disclosed information about the client without
his or her knowledge, and
The nature
and status of pending criminal prosecution or fraud referrals
and investigations.
Note: The Division of Public Assistance cannot provide any document that contains SSA provided information (i.e. screen prints from SOLQ or the SV hard coding from the HERC or SSDO screens from the file or EIS. Refer to Admin MS 100-3(H)5.
Obtain positive
identification of the client or the client's representative.
Verify a written authorization by comparing signatures in the case file folder to that on the authorization. (If questionable, contact the client to ensure he or she has authorized access to the client’s case file folder.)
An employee of the Division will be present during the entire time the client or client's representative has access to the case file folder. At no time will the client or client's representative be left alone with the case file folder. At no time shall the case file folder leave the DPA office with the client or client’s representative.
The Division will provide copies of documents in the case file folder, except for those noted in step 1 above, at the client's request. No charge will be made for a small number of copies, but costs will be charged for copies over 25 pages. The charge for making copies is $.10 a page. The Division will not charge additional fees for the time it takes staff to make the copies. Ask the client or client’s representative to make the check payable to the State of Alaska. Upon receipt, route the check to:
Finance and Management Services
PO Box 110640
Juneau, AK 99811
Include with the check the following information: client’s name and case number, reason for the check, and number of copies made.
100-3 C. DIVISION OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE RESPONSIBILITIES
In addition to following the above laws and regulations, each staff member of the Division has the following responsibilities regarding confidentiality:
To take every
reasonable precaution against leaving identifying information in any
office work area to which the public has unsupervised access;
To remove identifying
information from the office only upon approval of an eligibility supervisor
and only for purposes related to their official duties;
To politely
refuse to respond to any request for identifying information from
any person not in their prudent judgment clearly and literally directly
connected to the administration of the assistance program in question
and, if necessary, to refer the request to a supervisor;
To comply promptly
and fully with an individual’s request to review their own case file,
to verify the identity of the individual, and to document the date,
time, and circumstances of this access in that case file;
To comply promptly
and fully with a client's written, signed, and dated authorization
to allow another person or organization to obtain specified information
and to file that authorization in the case file; and
To immediately
report to the DPA
office supervisor any suspected breaches of confidentiality or of
office security (such as missing documents or reports, evidence of
burglary, etc.).
100-3 D. LEGISLATIVE REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
There are three different types of legislative requests for information.
Constituent
inquiries;
Requests for
general program information; and
Requests for Alaska Temporary Assistance financial information.
Each type of request for information is handled differently:
"Constituent
inquiries", or legislative contacts made on behalf of clients
are treated as client inquiries or complaints. By requesting
elected officials or their staff to assist with a complaint or issue,
the client has authorized the release of information to that person.
DPA’s responsibility
is to establish to the degree practical that the client is in fact
the source of the complaint and that the public official is inquiring
on their behalf. No legislative contact report is necessary.
Requests and
responses to general program information requests must be documented
on a DHSS "Legislative
Request/Contact Form". Each program inquiry and response
to a legislator or legislative aide must be documented on this form
and submitted to the Director’s office.
Alaska state
law and regulations allow legislators access to financial information
concerning an eligibility determination for a person applying for
or receiving Alaska Temporary Assistance. These requests are
different than a constituent inquiry in that the legislator is seeking
the information as part of his/her official duties rather than at
the request of the client
If you receive such a request, politely inform the caller that the
request must be made in writing and refer them to the Director’s office.
The Director’s office will respond to the legislator’s request.
100-3 E. SUBPOENAS AND COURT ORDERS
A subpoena is a legal document requiring a specific person to appear and testify in court as a witness. If an employee is served with a subpoena to appear in an official capacity to testify, with or without confidential records, follow these instructions:
The employee
must immediately contact their supervisor and provide the supervisor
with a copy of the subpoena.
The supervisor
will scan and email a copy of the subpoena to the Attorney General's
office. Until directed otherwise, send the subpoena to Assistant
Attorney General Alexander Hildebrand at alexander.hildebrand@alaska.gov,
or fax it to (907) 465-2539.
The supervisor
will also send a copy of the subpoena to the DPA
Director.
The employee and the supervisor will take no further action until they receive instructions from the Attorney General's office.
The issuance and serving of a subpoena does not signify that the issue is directly related to the administration of an assistance program. A subpoena must be reported even if it is accompanied with a valid client release of information. See Alaska Administrative Code 7 AAC 37.050.
If a local, state, or federal court orders an employee to appear to testify in an official capacity, with or without confidential materials, or a search warrant is served, the worker should take no action until they report to their supervisor and receive instructions. See 7 AAC 37.060.
100-3 F. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
Generally, law enforcement officials do not have access to DPA client information in absence of a court order. There may be times, such as officers responding to a disturbance in a DPA office, when officers may ask for client names, addresses, and phone numbers as part of investigating the incident. Rules of confidentiality do apply. However, supervisors must exercise prudent judgment in these situations. The interests of public safety may dictate providing the police with information regarding a client. This might include the name and address of an individual involved in the disturbance.
In addition, the Alaska Temporary Assistance and SNAP programs have specific requirements for releasing information about fleeing felons. If a law enforcement officer provides the name of an individual which they say is a felon fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody, or confinement after conviction, or is violating a condition of probation or parole, the current residence address of the individual must be released to the officer. The SNAP Program also allows for the release of the social security number and the photo identification on file. See Alaska Temporary Assistance manual section 710-3 and SNAP manual section 600-1E for guidance before releasing any information.
Contacts from the Ombudsman are treated like Legislative Requests described in 100-3D above. Once the caseworker establishes the client made the contact with the Ombudsman to assist with a complaint or issue, the client has authorized release of information to the Ombudsman. State statutes specifically provide for the Ombudsman to have access to records of state agencies, including confidential information.
100-3 H. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION FROM OTHER AGENCIES
A written consent from the client is not required to release public assistance information to or from specific partner agencies, contractors, and grantees.
Note:
The Division of Public Assistance is not allowed to release SSA provided information (i.e. screen
prints from SOLQ or the
SV hard coding from EIS
HERC or SSDO screens) from our files or EIS
to any outside agency, including those listed in this chapter.
Important:
Information related to domestic violence issues, specific victims, and
identifying information that could compromise the family's health and
safety cannot be released to anyone without the victim's permission. This
includes formal referrals and agency contacts with community resources
and members of the household.
The following list identifies agencies that exchange information with DPA without a written release of information from the client. If the agency is not specifically listed below, a release of information is required.
Attorney General's (AG) Office
A written consent from the client is not required to release public assistance information to the Attorney General’s Office, which serves as our Division's legal counsel. All requests from the AG's Office, including the Department of Law's Welfare Fraud Section, for information on a client, material from a case file folder, or an entire case file folder and/or EIS will be granted. Division staff will comply with all subpoenas for information and case file material issued at the request of the Attorney General's Office.
The caseworker must consult with a supervisor anytime she or he receives a subpoena related to a public assistance client or case.
The Attorney General’s office is available to advise Division staff on all agency-related matters, including disclosures of information, releases of case files, subpoenas and court orders that do not originate from the AG’s Office. Contact the Policy and Program Development Team or Chief of Field Operations for assistance prior to contacting the AG’s office.
The Social Security Administration (SSA)
Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) Division
Child Care Program Office (CCPO)
Child Care Assistance Program Grantees:
Alaska Family Services
The LeeShore Center
Thread
Child Support Services Division (CSSD)
Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) / Disability Determination Service (DDS)
Division of Senior and Disabilities Services (DSDS)
Division of Health Care Services (DHCS) / Conduent
Department of Corrections (DOC)
Halfway house organizations and their staff contracted throughout the State of Alaska are not currently included under these MOA's. A release of information is needed for each client on a case-by-case basis while communicating with these organizations and their representatives.
Comagine Health
Office of Children's Services (OCS)
Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC)
Work Services Contractors:
Nine Star
Metlakatla Indian Community
Center for Community (CFC)
Alaska Family Services (AFS)
Catholic Social Services (CSS)
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