Alabama Administrative Code › Title 950 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES › Chapter 950-1-1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND ORGANIZATION › Section 950-1-1-.10 - Public Request For Information

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
Except as otherwise provided by law, and except as described
				herein, public records of the department are open for inspection by citizens of
				the State of Alabama. Access to public records shall be provided in accordance
				with this chapter.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have
				the following meanings.
(a) Standard
			 request. A public-records request that seeks one or more specifically and
			 discretely identified public records that the department determines would take
			 less than eight hours of staff time to process considering the time needed to
			 identify and retrieve any responsive records and to redact or take other
			 measures to withhold legally protected information. A standard request should
			 require no or minimal clarification by the requester.
(b) Time-intensive Request. A public-records
			 request that the department determines would take more than eight hours of
			 staff time to process considering the time needed to identify and retrieve any
			 responsive records-including because the request is vague or overly broad-and
			 any time needed to redact or take other measures to withhold legally protected
			 information.
(c) Confidential
			 Records. Records of the department (including but not limited to youth case
			 files) containing information concerning any youth for whom the department has
			 provided social services are not public records and are required by state law
			 to be kept confidential. (See, Code of Alabama, 1975, Section
			 44-1-39). In addition certain
			 records containing confidential information concerning individuals or
			 businesses associated with the department, for example certain personnel
			 records, investigative records, business records, and records the disclosure of
			 which would be detrimental to the best interests of the public, are not public
			 records and must be kept confidential.
Youth case files are Confidential Records and are retained by
				the department a maximum of six (6) years. Generally, Youth case files are
				retained by the department until the youth's eighteenth birthday, then
				forwarded for storage at the State Records Center until the youth attains the
				age of twenty-five years. A sampling of youth case files is done prior to the
				destruction of the records. Youth case files will not be produced, except in
				limited circumstances including as described in Code of Alabama, 1975, Section
				44-1-39, and only upon order of
				the committing juvenile court.
The department requires compliance with the Health Insurance
				Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), (Public Law 104-191) before
				producing any records subject to HIPAA. The department will require written
				authorization from the subject before using or disclosing personal health
				information. Certain other laws, for example the Family Educational Rights and
				Privacy Act (FERPA), may prohibit disclosure or require written
				authorization.
Public records of the department that are not Confidential
				Records are otherwise available to citizens of the State of Alabama. To obtain
				public records or request copies of rules of the Department of Youth Services,
				a request should be made in writing to: Department of Youth Services, P. O. Box
				66, Mt. Meigs, Alabama 36057. Attention: Legal Division. Telephone: (334)
				215-3803. The request must provide the legal name, (Alabama) address, and
				contact information of the citizen or entity making the request, the purpose
				for which the Alabama citizen is requesting the information, and must identify
				the requested records with reasonable specificity.
Fees and Costs: A non-refundable twenty dollar ($20.00)
				research fee is required for each request. The research fee includes up to
				twenty photocopies at no additional cost.
A fee for the cost of copies at the rate of fifty cents ($.50)
				per page will be charged for all copies (in excess of twenty), which is the
				actual cost incurred for producing records.
If you, a citizen of Alabama, submit a legitimate request for
				non-Confidential Records in the possession of the department, it is the
				department's intent that you will receive within two business days
				correspondence acknowledging your request.
If you, an Alabama citizen, submit a Standard Request the
				department intends to send you correspondence within two business days stating
				the number of pages and the amount (if any) of additional fee. The department
				expects to be prepared within 15 business days to provide a substantive
				response to such standard request. Upon receipt of certified funds in the
				specified amount, the documents will be copied and sent via US mail to the
				address identified in the request.
If you, an Alabama citizen, submit a Time-intensive Request the
				department intends to notify you within 15 business days after the
				acknowledgement that the request qualifies as a Time-intensive Request. At that
				time, the department intends to notify you of any likely fees and allow you to
				withdraw the Time-intensive Request and submit a new request that is not a
				Time-intensive Request. If you elect to proceed with your Time-intensive
				Request, the department expects to be prepared to provide a substantive
				response fulfilling or denying the request within 45 business days after you
				elected to proceed with your Time-intensive Request. The department may extend
				this 45-business day period in 45-business-day increments by notifying you in
				writing.
Author:
Department of Youth Services
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
				  1975
, §
										44-1-39.