Confidentiality and Collect Calls

Introduction

Federal and State laws mandate that records relating to applicants/recipients of assistance are to be confidential. THE RELEASE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS IS A MISDEMEANOR and punishable by law.

Exception: When the client is physically present, the release may be given to the client or his/her authorized representative.

Agency Policy

The release of information concerning individual recipients is strictly guarded by the Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 10850. California Department of Social Services “may provide for giving information to or exchanging information with agencies, public or private, which are engaged in planning, providing, or securing social services for, or on behalf of recipients or applicants.” No records will be open to examination for purposes other than those connected with the administration of public social services.

In General Assistance cases, any citizen is entitled to receive from the County's records a statement as to the amount, character, and value of the assistance received by any person. This is authorized by the W&I Code, Section 17006.

Information in other cases, regarding the personal identity of a client or his/her eligibility for or receipt of, benefits may not be revealed to or discussed with anyone other than the client, his/her authorized representative, or an Agency under the jurisdiction of or excepted by the CDSS, without the client's written permission. Oral authorizations are permitted only in cases in which information from the case record is to be released to the authorized representative, and both the recipient and authorized representative are present. Telephone authorizations, when done separately by client and authorized representatives, are acceptable. It should be noted that recipients may request or consent to share information with any individuals, agency, or organization.

In instances where confidential information cannot be released by a staff member of the department, that staff person must explain, in a courteous and professional manner, the extent and limitations of our programs and regulations, especially in regard to the laws which protect the identity of all clients. General information regarding program regulations is a matter of public record and, therefore, may be discussed with any caller.

CDSS provides for the following agencies to have information from case records to use in the execution of those official duties related directly to the administration of public social service programs without permission of the applicant or recipient:

• Other County Welfare Departments, Department of Social Services, State Department of Health Care Services
• Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service
• Grand Jury
• Other County Agencies
• EDD and CWES
• Social Security Offices
• Juvenile and Adult Probation (through Central ID only). 

For more confidentiality information, refer to:

• CalFresh Handbook Rights and Responsibilities topic in the Application chapter.
• CalWORKs Handbook Confidentiality topic in the Applicant/Agency Responsibility chapter.
• Medi-Cal Handbook HIPAA/PII topic in the Application chapter.

Procedures

No information regarding applicants/recipients is to be given by telephone to unauthorized persons. When a telephone request is received, the clerk will ask for the name and address of the caller and explain that the requested information cannot be given. The caller can be referred to a supervisor in the Agency to explain the policy as per district office procedures.

Important rules to follow are:

1. Know the caller; obtain the caller's name and organization or department.
2. If in doubt, do not give the caller any information that would lead him/her to learn that an applicant/recipient is known to this Agency.
3. If a caller is insistent, transfer the call as per district office procedures to the appropriate supervisor.

Agency employees, employee's relatives, well-known citizens, or others with special situations who become applicants/clients may have their cases handled as Confidential/Sensitive cases. The provisions of the special handling of these cases are established to avoid undue embarrassment to the employee/client concerned. Refer to Confidential/Sensitive Cases. 

Collect Calls

The Department of Employment and Benefit Services will accept collect calls from clients. For example, a worker may receive a collect call from a client in prison due to reporting that they are incarcerated or to initiate an application in anticipation of leaving incarceration. 

As with any phone call, staff must follow confidentiality practices as indicated in the Procedures section above.