2005 California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 10850-10853 CHAPTER 5. RECORDS

10850.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, all
applications and records concerning any individual made or kept by
any public officer or agency in connection with the administration of
any provision of this code relating to any form of public social
services for which grants-in-aid are received by this state from the
United States government shall be confidential, and shall not be open
to examination for any purpose not directly connected with the
administration of that program, or any investigation, prosecution, or
criminal or civil proceeding conducted in connection with the
administration of any such program. The disclosure of any information
that identifies by name or address any applicant for or recipient of
these grants-in-aid to any committee or legislative body is
prohibited, except as provided in subdivision (b).
   (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person shall
publish or disclose or permit or cause to be published or disclosed
any list of persons receiving public social services. Any county
welfare department in this state may release lists of applicants for,
or recipients of, public social services, to any other county
welfare department or the State Department of Social Services, and
these lists or any other records shall be released when requested by
any county welfare department or the State Department of Social
Services. These lists or other records shall only be used for
purposes directly connected with the administration of public social
services. Except for those purposes, no person shall publish,
disclose, or use or permit or cause to be published, disclosed, or
used any confidential information pertaining to an applicant or
recipient.
   Any county welfare department and the State Department of Social
Services shall provide any governmental entity that is authorized by
law to conduct an audit or similar activity in connection with the
administration of public social services, including any committee or
legislative body so authorized, with access to any public social
service applications and records described in subdivision (a) to the
extent of the authorization. Those committees, legislative bodies and
other entities may only request or use these records for the purpose
of investigating the administration of public social services, and
shall not disclose the identity of any applicant or recipient except
in the case of a criminal or civil proceeding conducted in connection
with the administration of public social services.
   However, this section shall not prohibit the furnishing of this
information to other public agencies to the extent required for
verifying eligibility or for other purposes directly connected with
the administration of public social services, or to county
superintendents of schools or superintendents of school districts
only as necessary for the administration of federally assisted
programs providing assistance in cash or in-kind or services directly
to individuals on the basis of need. Any person knowingly and
intentionally violating this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   Further, in the context of a petition for the appointment of a
conservator for a person who is receiving or has received aid from a
public agency, as indicated above, or in the context of a criminal
prosecution for a violation of Section 368 of the Penal Code both of
the following shall apply:
   (1) An Adult Protective Services employee or Ombudsman may answer
truthfully at any proceeding related to the petition or prosecution,
when asked if he or she is aware of information that he or she
believes is related to the legal mental capacity of that aid
recipient or the need for a conservatorship for that aid recipient.
If the Adult Protective Services employee or Ombudsman states that he
or she is aware of such information, the court may order the Adult
Protective Services employee or Ombudsman to testify about his or her
observations and to disclose all relevant agency records.
   (2) The court may order the Adult Protective Services employee or
Ombudsman to testify about his or her observations and to disclose
any relevant agency records if the court has other independent reason
to believe that the Adult Protective Services employee or Ombudsman
has information that would facilitate the resolution of the matter.
   (c) The State Department of Social Services may make rules and
regulations governing the custody, use, and preservation of all
records, papers, files, and communications pertaining to the
administration of the laws relating to public social services under
their jurisdiction. The rules and regulations shall be binding on all
departments, officials and employees of the state, or of any
political subdivision of the state and may provide for giving
information to or exchanging information with agencies, public or
political subdivisions of the state, and may provide for giving
information to or exchanging information with agencies, public or
private, that are engaged in planning, providing, or securing social
services for or in behalf of recipients or applicants; and for making
case records available for research purposes, provided that making
these case records available will not result in the disclosure of the
identity of applicants for or recipients of public social services
and will not disclose any personal information in a manner that would
link the information disclosed to the individual to whom it
pertains, unless the department has complied with subdivision (t) of
Section 1798.24 of the Civil Code.
   (d) Any person, including every public officer and employee, who
knowingly secures or possesses, other than in the course of official
duty, an official list or a list compiled from official sources,
published or disclosed in violation of this section, of persons who
have applied for or who have been granted any form of public social
services for which state or federal funds are made available to the
counties is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (e) This section shall not be construed to prohibit an employee of
a county welfare department from disclosing confidential information
concerning a public social services applicant or recipient to a
state or local law enforcement agency investigating or gathering
information regarding a criminal act committed in a welfare
department office, a criminal act against any county or state welfare
worker, or any criminal act witnessed by any county or state welfare
worker while involved in the administration of public social
services at any location. Further, this section shall not be
construed to prohibit an employee of a county welfare department from
disclosing confidential information concerning a public social
services applicant or recipient to a state or local law enforcement
agency investigating or gathering information regarding a criminal
act intentionally committed by the applicant or recipient against any
off-duty county or state welfare worker in retaliation for an act
performed in the course of the welfare worker's duty when the person
committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the
victim is a state or county welfare worker. These criminal acts shall
include only those that are in violation of state or local law.
Disclosure of confidential information pursuant to this subdivision
shall be limited to the applicant's or recipient's name, physical
description, and address.
   (f) The provisions of this section shall be operative only to the
extent permitted by federal law and shall not apply to, but exclude,
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of this division, entitled
"Basic Health Care", and for which a grant-in-aid is received by the
state under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.
10850.1.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes
of Section 10850, the activities of a multidisciplinary personnel
team engaged in the prevention, identification, and treatment of
child abuse or the abuse of elder or dependent persons are activities
performed in the administration of public social services, and a
member of the team may disclose and exchange any information or
writing that also is kept or maintained in connection with any
program of public social services or otherwise designated as
confidential under state law which he or she reasonably believes is
relevant to the prevention, identification, or treatment of child
abuse or the abuse of elder or dependent persons to  other members of
the team.  All discussions relative to the disclosure or exchange of
any such information or writing during team meetings are
confidential and, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
testimony concerning any such discussion is not admissible in any
criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding.
   As used in this section, "child abuse" has the same meaning as
defined in Section 18951.  As used in this section, "abuse of elder
or dependent persons" has the meaning given in Section 15610.
   As used in this section, "multidisciplinary personnel team" means
any team of three or more persons, as specified in Section 15715 or
18951, the members of which are trained in the prevention,
identification, and treatment of child abuse or the abuse of elder or
dependent persons and are qualified to provide a broad range of
services related to child abuse or the abuse of elder or dependent
persons.
10850.2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10850, factual
information relating to eligibility provided solely by the public
assistance recipient contained in applications and records made or
kept by any public officer or agency in connection with the
administration of any public assistance program shall be open for
inspection by the recipient to which the information relates and by
any other person authorized in writing by such recipient.  The
written authorization shall be dated and signed by such recipient and
shall expire one year from the date of execution.  In the event of
any hearing under the provisions of this division, the attorney or
authorized representative of the applicant or recipient shall be
entitled to inspect the case record relating to the applicant or
recipient prior to, as well as during, the hearing.
   No list or names obtained through such access to such records or
applications as provided in this section shall be used for any
commercial or political purposes.
10850.3.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 10850, an authorized employee
of a county welfare department may disclose confidential information
concerning a public social services applicant or recipient to any law
enforcement agency where a warrant has been issued for the arrest of
the applicant or recipient for the commission of a felony or a
misdemeanor.  Information that may be released pursuant to this
section shall be limited to the name, address, telephone number,
birth date, social security number, and physical description of the
applicant for, or recipient of, public social services.
   (b) A county welfare department may release the information
specified by this section to any law enforcement agency only upon a
written request from the agency specifying that a warrant of arrest
for the commission of a felony or misdemeanor has been issued against
the applicant or recipient.  This request may be made only by the
head of the law enforcement agency, or by an employee of the agency
so authorized and identified by name and title by the head of the
agency in writing to the county welfare department.  A county welfare
department shall notify all applicants of public social services
that release of confidential information from their records will not
be protected if a felony or misdemeanor arrest warrant is issued
against the applicant.  A recipient of public social services shall
be notified, at the time of renewal of his or her application for
public social services, that a release of confidential information
can be made if a felony or misdemeanor arrest warrant is issued
against the recipient.
   (c) This section shall not be construed to authorize the release
of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving
public social services.
   (d) The provisions of this section shall be operative only to the
extent permitted by federal law.  The section shall not apply to, but
shall exclude, the Medi-Cal program, established pursuant to Chapter
7 (commencing with Section 14000) and following.
10850.31.  (a) For the CalWORKs and Food Stamp Programs only,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the address, social
security number, and, if available, photograph of any applicant or
recipient shall be made available, on request, to any federal, state,
or local law enforcement officer if the officer furnishes the county
welfare department with the name of the applicant or recipient and
notifies the county welfare department that the following apply:
   (1) Any one of the following applies:
   (A) The applicant or recipient is fleeing to avoid prosecution,
custody, or confinement after conviction, for a crime that, under the
law of the place the applicant is fleeing, is a felony, or, in the
case of New Jersey, a high misdemeanor.
   (B) The applicant or recipient is violating a condition of
probation or parole imposed under state or federal law.
   (C) The applicant or recipient has information that is necessary
for the officer to conduct an official duty related to those issues
stated in paragraph (1) or (2).
   (2) Locating or apprehending the applicant or recipient is an
official duty of the law enforcement officer.
   (3) The request is being made in the proper exercise of an
official duty.
   (b) This section shall not authorize the release of a general list
identifying individuals applying for or receiving public social
services under the CalWORKs program or the Food Stamp Program.
   (c) This section shall be implemented only to the extent permitted
by federal law.
10850.5.  A county welfare department may, without the need to
provide written documentation that consent has been obtained from a
client, provide information to a housing authority created pursuant
to Part 2 (commencing with Section 34200) of Division 24 of the
Health and Safety Code, in order to aid the housing authority in the
administration of that part.  This section may be implemented either
through an automated data exchange system or through a manual system.
  Any housing authority receiving and maintaining information
pursuant to this section shall comply with confidentiality and
privacy laws concerning the collection, maintenance, and
dissemination of information, as contained in Section 10850 and the
federal Privacy Act of 1974, contained in Section 552a of Title 5 of
the United States Code.  The county welfare department shall provide
a written form to each person about whom information is to be
provided to a housing authority pursuant to this section.  The form
shall notify the person that the information exchanges may occur.  A
copy of the form may be retained by the person and the county welfare
department.  The form shall specify the purpose for which the
information has been solicited, the entities to which the information
may be provided, the uses that may be made of the information, as
set forth in Section 552a(e)(3) of Title 5 of the United States Code,
and the right of the client to request review of the information
that has been provided to the authority.  The county welfare
department may provide only information that is necessary to
determine eligibility for housing authority programs or services for
which the client has applied or which he or she is receiving.  The
county welfare department shall allow the client to review the
information it has provided to a housing authority, upon request of
the client.  This section is not intended to eliminate any other
legal obligation of the county welfare department to obtain consent
from a client before releasing information to another entity.
10850.7.  (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 10850, an
authorized employee of a county welfare department may disclose
confidential information concerning a public social services
applicant or recipient to any law enforcement agency where the
applicant or recipient is deceased.  Information that may be released
pursuant to this section shall be limited to the name, address,
telephone number, birthdate, social security number, and physical
description of the applicant for, or recipient of, public social
services.
   A county welfare department may release the information specified
by this section to any law enforcement agency only upon a written
request from the head of the agency specifying that the applicant or
recipient is deceased and that the agency is otherwise unable to
adequately identify the deceased.  The information specified may
alternatively be released by telephone, whereupon the head of the law
enforcement agency shall submit the request in writing within five
days of the release.
   (b) This section shall not be construed to authorize the release
of a general list identifying individuals applying for or receiving
public social services.
   (c) The provisions of this section shall be operative only to the
extent permitted by federal law.  The section shall not apply to, but
shall exclude the Medi-Cal program established pursuant to Chapter 7
(commencing with Section 14000) and following.
10850.9.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 10850, an authorized employee
of a county social services department may disclose  the name and
residential address of elderly or disabled clients to police, fire,
paramedical personnel, or other designated emergency services
personnel, in the event of a public safety emergency that
necessitates the possible evacuation of the area in which those
elderly or disabled clients reside.  Those public safety emergencies
include, but are not limited to, fires, earthquakes, gas leaks, bomb
scares, and other natural or human-made occurrences that jeopardize
the immediate physical safety of county residents.
   (b) The Director of Social Services shall seek any federal
approval necessary to implement subdivision (a).
   (c) Subdivision (a) shall be implemented only if the director
executes a declaration, that shall be retained by the director,
stating that any federal approval required for implementation of
subdivision (a) has been obtained, and only for the duration of that
approval.
10851.  (a) Each county shall establish and maintain a case record
for each public social services case and shall retain the record for
a period of three years.  The three-year retention period begins on
the date on which public social services were last provided.  The
records shall be retained beyond the three-year retention period when
the county is notified by the department or the State Department of
Health Services, whichever has jurisdiction over the records, to
retain records for a longer period of time.  The department or the
State Department of Health Services, whichever has jurisdiction over
the records, shall instruct a county to retain records beyond the
three-year period when the retention is necessary to a pending civil
or criminal action.
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the board of supervisors of
any county may authorize the destruction of the case narrative
portions of the case record that are over three years old in any case
file, active or inactive, only after audit by the department or the
State Department of Health Services, whichever has jurisdiction over
the record.  In addition, the board may also authorize the
destruction of those documents contained in the case file that are
over three years old and are no longer necessary to document the
recipient's continued eligibility for public social services.
However, if a civil or criminal action against a person based on
alleged unlawful application for, or receipt of, public social
services, is commenced before the expiration of the three-year
period, no portion of the case record of the person shall be
destroyed until the action is terminated.
   (c) Each county shall maintain fiscal, statistical, and other
records necessary for maintaining accountability and meeting
reporting requirements relating to the administration of public
social services.  These fiscal and reporting records shall be
retained for a minimum period of three years from the date of
submission of the final expenditure report and shall be retained
beyond the three-year period when audit findings have not been
resolved.
   (d) The retention requirements imposed by subdivisions (a) and (c)
of this section are for public social services purposes only and are
superseded to the extent another statute requires retention of the
same records for a longer period for a different purpose.
   (e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), or any other statutory
requirement concerning the retention of public social services
records, a child protective services agency may, but need not, retain
a child abuse report that has been determined to be an unfounded
report, as defined in Section 11165.12 of the Penal Code.
   (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county may
retain a case record established pursuant to subdivision (a), and
retained pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (c), using either
electronic or other alternative storage technologies.  Permissible
alternative storage technologies shall include, but not be limited
to, photography, microphotography, electronically recorded video
images on magnetic surfaces, electronic data processing systems,
optical disk storage, or any other electronic medium that is a
trusted system and that does not permit additions, deletions, or
changes to the original document and meets Section 12168.7 for
recording of permanent records or  nonpermanent records.  A duplicate
copy of any record reproduced shall be deemed an original.
10851.5.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 10851, each county shall
retain all records that are necessary to determine the number of
months each adult recipient has received aid subject to the time
limits provided in Section 11454 and Section 608(a)(7) of Title 42 of
the United States Code.  The county shall retain the records for the
period of time established by the department by regulation.
   (b) Each county shall provide case record information to the
department's automated system for tracking the period of time a
recipient has received aid.  Each county shall provide information,
as determined by the department, to the department's automated system
that is sufficient to allow reliable determinations of the number of
months each adult recipient of aid has received aid for purposes of
Section 11454 and Section 608(a)(7) of Title 42 of the United States
Code.  The department shall, pursuant to the adoption of emergency
regulations, specify the case record information that each county
shall provide under this section.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), if a county cannot provide
sufficient information to the automated system, the county shall
maintain the information in a nonautomated format, and shall promptly
provide that information to any county requesting this information
to accurately determine time on aid and enforce time limits.
   (d) Any county that fails to provide information required by
subdivision (b) or (c) shall be subject to the following:
   (1) To the extent that the failure to provide or maintain reliable
time clock information results in an audit exception, the costs
associated with that exception shall be passed on to the county
responsible for the exception unless the county can demonstrate that
the costs would have been incurred if the county had provided the
information in subdivision (b).  In such a case, this amount shall be
applied as a reduction in the county's single allocation under
Section 15204.2.
   (2) Increased program costs resulting from a court order requiring
the department to provide additional months of eligibility to any
adult aid recipient due to the failure to reliably determine the
number of months each adult recipient has received aid for purposes
of Section 11454 shall be passed on to the county responsible for the
failure unless the county can demonstrate that the costs would have
been incurred if the county had provided the information required in
subdivision (b).  The county's single allocation under Section
15204.2 shall be reduced by an amount of the increased program costs
resulting from a court order that is proportionate to the responsible
county's caseload.
   (e) The department, by regulation, shall establish good cause
standards and an appeal process.
   (f) In any fiscal year in which a county is assessed a cost under
subdivision (d), the county shall expend additional funds to replace
any reduction in the single allocation resulting from the penalty.
   (g) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this
section in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
The initial adoption of any emergency regulations and one readoption
of the initial regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health
and safety, or general welfare.  The initial emergency regulations
and one readoption of those regulations shall be exempt from review
by the Office of Administrative Law.  The emergency regulations
authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of
Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and
publication in the California Code of Regulations.
10852.  All persons who are subject to investigation or supervision
by the department, or who are connected with any institution subject
to such investigation or supervision, or who are in any way
responsible for the administration or expenditure of funds which are
subject to investigation or supervision by the department, shall
furnish to the department such information and statistics as it may
request or require, and shall allow the department free access to all
such institutions and to all records of such institutions and
persons.
10853.  In order to secure accuracy, uniformity, and completeness in
such statistics and information, the department, by regulation, may
prescribe forms of report and records to be kept by all persons,
associations, or institutions subject to investigation or supervision
by the department, and each such person, association, or institution
shall keep such records and render such reports in conformity with
the forms so prescribed.