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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09161997 - SD2 To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Sp,� �- �r 1 Contra FROM: SUPERVISOR DONNA GERBER, DISTRICT III �- Costa SEPTEMBER 16 , 1997 County SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION THAT THE COUNTY PROVIDE A LIST OF OF ALL IN—HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES (IHSS) PROVIDERS TO SEIU LOCAL 250 SPECIFIC REOUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)i SACKOROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: Consider recommendation that the Board of Supervisors direct the Contra Costa County Social Services Director to provide a list to SEIU Local 250 of the County's in-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)providers. The database should include providers' names, addresses,phone numbers, and the number of hours they worked in the previous two months. BACKGROUND: The reason for providing the Contra Costa County IHSS provider list to SEIU Local 250 is because IHSS workers who provide these valuable services and the consumers who receive in-home care will benefit from advocacy. Contra Costa County should not stand in the way of allowing for advocates to assist in the process of bringing providers together so they can work on common issues in a collective manner. In addition, on July 8, 1997, the Board of Supervisors directed the County Administrator, the Social Services Director, the Human Resources Director , and County Counsel, to initiate the process that will establish a public authority to administer the IHSS program in the County. Since it is the intent of the Board of Supervisors to form a Public Authority in the County, the Social Services Department should follow the lead of others counties where public authorities have already been established, and provide the list of IHSS providers to SEIU Loud-V250. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES BIONA W RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER BIONATUREfSl: ACnON OF BOARD ON September 16, 1997 X APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Dana Simon, SEIU Local 250, spoke in support of the above recommendation. The Beard members discussed the issues and took the following action: CONTINUED this matter to a future Board meeting. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IB A TRUE -Y -UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ------------- AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AMON TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: "STAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. M Contra Costa County Administrator ATMITIED September 16, 1997 Phil Batchelor PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Social Services Director RS AND C0 NYADM frMATO County Counsel District III Office M382 (10/88) *§C:!h�riZstL1neWamp_Te-r EP Request to Speak Form ( THREE (3) MINUTE LIMIT) - Complete this form and place It in the box near the speakers' rostrum before addressing the Board. Name: J o /Ay��f 1 am speaking for myself_ or, C Z- c oww of oraanizaHOW 0!,E,C K ONS s� 1 wish tok on hem #_L. Date: � A8� My comments will be: g9enwal _for_agairw . _ 1 wish to speak on the subject of 1 do-not wish to speak but leave these comments for the Board to consider: "'JUL-23-97 14 :23 FROM:M. B. 8 G. ID: 3-12751043B 17'ALiE 1/:t STR"(E I INTERNATIONAL UNION, AFL-CIO, CLC 14 WEST ERIE STREET• CHICAGO, IL 60610• (312) 751-1170 FAX.(312)751-0438 CRAIG BECKER ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL ' -- RECEIVE® SEP 16 RK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Dana Simon L..CONTRA COSTA CO. Health Care Workers Local 250 SEW 560 20th St. Oakland, CA 94612 July 23, 1997 By fax to (510)763-2680 Re_ List of IHSS providers Dear Ms- Simon. You have asked for my legal opinion about the lawfulness of the County of Contra Costa's refusal to release a list of names and addresses of individual providers on in-home supportive services. I have reviewed Robert M. Sessler's July 3, 1997, letter to you concerning the matter. I have concluded that Mr. Sessler's analysis is incomplete and therefore erroneous- The County has a legal obligation to release such a list to the Union upon request for the following reasons. Mr. Sessler first points to Welf. & Inst. Code section 10850 et �. These provisions protect the records of individuals applying for or receiving public social services- They have no application to individuals who provide such services such as the individual providers at issue here. In fact, we have obtained an opinion letter from the Administrator of the federal Health Care Financing Administration (which administers the Medicaid program) that release of a list of names and addresses of sliuWar individual providers in the State of Illinois did not violate the parallel confidentiality provision in the federal law. A copy of this letter is enclosed. Mr. Sessler also cites the privacy provision of the California Constitution. But as Mr. Sessler himself acknowledges, the provision has been interpreted to protect information the release of which would constitute an invasion of privacy, such as medical records or financial information. The release of a name and address has not been held to be an invasion of privacy- The list in question is clearly a record covered by the Public Records Act and thus it must be disclosed upon request unless it falls into one of the exemptions to the disclosure requirement. The only exemption that even arguably applies is that for "personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of.which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy-" Grov't Code section 6254(c). To determine whether disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy, the courts will balance the public interest in release against ANDREW L.STERN BETTY BEDNARCZYK INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT DiTERNATIpNAL SECRETARY-TREASURER PATRICIA ANN FORD ELWO MEDINA PAUL POLICICCHIO EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDI W EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT 2403 t I WO ,.JUL-23-97 14 =23 FROM=M. S. & G. ID= 3127510436 PAGE 2/3 Dana. Simon Health Care 'Workers Local 250 SEIU July 23, 1997 Page Two the intrusion it would cause. Here, there is a strong public interest in release of the list to the Union as the legislature has expressed its intention that individual providers have access to the process of collective bargaining. Unions cannot possibly organize providers so that they may engage in collective bargaining unless they can find them. There is thus a strong public interest M- release of the Iist. On the other side of the privacy balance, the release of the list will not infringe on the privacy of providers_ The list will contain no personal information of any kind. Under the analogous provision of the federal Freedom of Information Act, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals held, "The giving of names and addresses is a very much lower degree of disclosure; in themselves a bare name and address give no information about an individual which is embarrassing." Getman v. NLRB 450 F.2d 670, 675 (D_C.Cir. 1971). Balancing the strong public interest in disclosure against the minimal privacy interest, courts will order disclosure of the list- The istThe most closely analogous California case is CBS. Inc. v. Block, 42 Cal-3d 646 (1986). In that case, the Supreme Court ordered disclosure of applications to cant' a concealed weapon which contained names and addresses. The Court found no substantial privacy interest in the data revealed on the applications. The same finding would be made here. In sum, the County of Contra Costa has a legal obligation to honor a request by the Union for release of the names and addresses of individual providers of in-home supportive services. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance in r ation to this matter_ S' ely, Z- Beck Associate neral Counsel -JUL-23-S7 14 : 24 FROM:M. B. & G. ID: 3127bI04JU J/ J �• I�i�l�d946 l.3�ad •ADf12NI5T�ituK'�.i.e-i-i� - --- a. DEPA4TMEKTOF HXALT H 6.iiL•.14At SERVICES ''t+ca�eh ice RStiitrilC.On • _ ••• i • • - - • - • O.Y•r. 9MZ il13 L stead,NX, t. DeWW Stat>3: ' t . Thank YOU far yOW Ietta con=09 tbo relae•af ti a 1*of'uaases and m • _ ' aftam ofyoaotruaion McMbeS wAo IRC employed at PasMd=MUM bar -M=is •, = -. . . Home��, lritxs - .-: � - A5VMUUdcnftUd1bcdM3diM YMuttiWS Cdb fW dM:tem to parol*d" ' naiaa vn*a ►list offim mmm wd add= ofan pmoaml*Slab R,aoeady,ft Mbwia DepoMnag of R oa Services has OPUMAU4 dM it shoWd aotre a for a dpenod-.:amb wbo bM medlar casoeoees oddmss as their imn maffin WAva an*a pmh thf sach'rekas+e wadd violate Me&Md • •- - ' • � -co��Sde�tti�tsr laws: - - . Mm sty is cimetmed dmtmlc=of the add of pxsnd mahtM v&o bm given camoisw addmsm as fta ovmwaWd Wendy m utaid gremkimmu apd wobft aectian _ 15W&n of the Soc.hd Scam Act(the A4 Aws aeumdaMod the Sas,we believe - d&fear is UdbMidC&-'1'lM to be Robing in des MOM list to is a when a • pessaual us=a cummeemaddws,normuld tba ume of dw camme r be ipcluded an the W Underflimire de not behave secdw I90Xan af dw Apt or its imdwenliml=SWMWM e wWftblitsg fie Wdress ofPasmA We hoc th,a abm i Agms imas'aba bdpU to Yoain-&Iz=mg Ym -,, -yam .. '. . - - S , �• •-... . w. - Ad T�1 I EL P.82 ?2•d W"_b0 96, 8Y AON • C�'�.. Sty. �-- Sal Rosselli President June 22, 1997 Shirley Ware Secretary-Treasurer VICE PRESIDENTS: Mr. John Cullen Convalescent& Director, Department of Social Services Retirement Care 40 Douglas Drive Division: Patricia Gobui Martinez, CA 94553 Ella Raiford Emergency Medical Services Division: Mark Caplin Homecare Division: Dear Mr. Cullen, Rosie Byers Hospital Division: I write to request that the Department of Social Services make available a list of the Marilyn Benson county's IHSS providers. Teresita Gatan Kaiser Division: In our efforts to address problems that face the approximately 5,000 homecare Juanita Barbarin Linda Jacobs Providers in the program, we face unusual difficulty in involving people in the process Rachel Rodriguez of identifying and solving those issues: The homecare provider population is dispersed District 1: throughout some 4,000 recipients' homes, and so they are a hidden population. Butch Cole District 2: It would be important toward leveling the playing field in this public process that the Linda Beckman Barbara Palmer providers be able to find one another and work on common issues collectively. This is District 3: a practical impossibility unless we can access the list of who and where the workers Lauren Ball are. It is also important that we be able to make economic proposals directly related to District 4: the improvements that are being proposed within the IHSS program. This ranges fromEileen Abalos Oletha Hunt difficult to impossible when we are unable to contact the people involved. Bob Lewis Carolyn Perkins For these reasons, we request a copy of a database listing providers' names, addresses District 5: and phone numbers, and the number of hours they worked over the most recent pay Debbie Zimbelman District 6: periods. Fay Nielsen District 7: Thank you for your attention to this request. Louise Peters Gloria Toole District 8: Anne Stepp Si cerely, District 9: Bill Bower Suzanne Mitchell District 10: Dorothy Ballet V" � Vi Matthews Dana Simon Corin Picou Janet Smith District 11: Becky Duran Cc: Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier BOARD OF AUDITORS: Supervisor Donna Gerber Maria Samuel Claude Van Marter, Staff to Family and Human Services Committee '' Charlie Ridgell, Local 250, SEIU Jeanine Meyer Rodriguez, SEN HEADQUARTERS SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE SAN (OSE OFFICE SACRAMENTO OFFICE FRESNO OFFICE 560- 201h Street 973 Market St, 7th floor 453 W.San Carlos St. 4206 Power Inn Road 1645 E Street #102 Oakland, CA 94612 San Francisco, CA 94103 San lose,CA 95110 Sacramento.CA 95826 Fresno,CGS 93706 110/251-1250 415/441.2500 408/287-3030 916/736-2500 109/485.1163 FAX: 510/763-'21680 I AX: 41S/56i-9914 FAX:.408/2984651 1 FAX: 916/716-1116 FAX: 109/237-2516