H12-033– Procedure

May 15, 2012
TO: / Home and Community Services (HCS) Division Regional Administrators
Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) Regional Administrators
Area Agency on Aging (AAA) Directors
FROM: / Bill Moss, Director, Division of Home and Community Services
Linda Rolfe, Director, Division of Development Disabilities
SUBJECT: /
Confidentiality of Adult Protective Services (APS) Reports/Information and Public Records Requests
Purpose: / To clarify confidentiality of APS reports/information and establish a uniform approach to public records requests received by all ADSA staff and Area Agencies on Aging (AAA).
Background: / APSrecords are confidential and exempt from disclosure under RCW 74.34.095 without a court order.
What’s new, changed, or
Clarified / Confidential Information – Disclosure RCW 74.34.095
The following information is confidential and not subject to disclosure:
  • Any report of abandonment, abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, or self-neglect made to APS;
  • The identity of the person making the report; and
  • All files, reports, records, communications, and working papers used or developed in the investigation or provision of protective services (RCW 74.34.095)

ACTION: / Effective immediately, APS Staff will adhere to the following procedures regarding APS outcome reports:
  • Maintain confidentiality of all APS documentation and information per RCW 74.34.095.
  • Outcome reports sent to the following AAA offices outside the DSHS firewall must be encrypted to protect client personal information under IT Security Manual:
  • Seattle Aging & Disability Services
  • Snohomish County LTC & Aging Division
  • Pierce County ALTC
  • Kitsap County of ALTC
  • Colville Indian Area Agency on Aging
  • Yakama Nation Area Agency on Aging
Effective immediately, all staff will adhere to the followingprocedures regarding APSrecords request:
  1. Promptly notify your Public Disclosure Coordinator or Legal Benefits Attorney/Advisor of the request;
  2. Do not disclose or acknowledge that a referral to APS was made;

Related
REFERENCES: /
  1. Do not disclose copies of any allegations (i.e., Intake or Incident Reports), even if the client names are redacted;
  2. Do not disclose findings made prior to the granting of due process rights in October 2003;
  3. After due process is completed (October 2003 or later) and a request for an APS Registry name search is received, if a matchis found you may disclose the fact that a substantiated “final finding” was made against the named alleged perpetrator only including:
  4. Type(s)of substantiation
  5. Year(s) substantiated
LTC Manual APS Chapter 6, Public Disclosure refer to #4
DSHS policy Data Encryption and Secure File Transfer
ATTACHMENT(S):
CONTACT(S): / Vicky Gawlik, APS Program Manager
(360) 725-2615

Diane Rosie, Public Records Program Manager
(360) 725-2537

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