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)
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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
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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
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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
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