Confidentiality Breach Highlights Flaws In OCFS Abuse Registry

JOSEPH FISCH: Agency stigmatized the innocent.

The State Inspector General has proposed legislative and departmental changes to the Office of Children and Family Services after a breach of confidentiality was cited by a man who was wrongfully listed in the State Central Registry for allegedly sexually abusing his two underage daughters, as was the older of the girls for allegedly condoning her sibling's abuse.

Inspector General Joseph Fisch released a 33-page report Dec. 29 that found the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment, which OCFS oversees, had inadequate security for hotline telephone records, and the agency improperly retained records it had indicated it would expunge.

False Accusations by Caller

A Suffolk County father, identified in the report as John Doe, was accused by an anonymous caller of sexually abusing his two daughters in July 2006. The claim, which was ultimately deemed unfounded, also identified the elder daughter as condoning the abuse of her sister.

The man sought to have the records expunged and learn the identity of the caller. He called numerous state employees and eventually obtained the State Central Register's telephone records. The Suffolk County father then tried to sell the records back to the state, setting off a dispute which prompted both him and OCFS to contact the Inspector General.

The Inspector General found that one now-retired employee gave information to Mr. Doe, but the greater problem involved records that should have been deleted. An OCFS secretary, who maintained a spreadsheet of her work, improperly included the names of individuals who had been granted expungement.

"In addition, the Inspector General learned that a relatively new computer system used by SCR employees was faultily designed to retain records of correspondence relating to expungement requests," the report stated. "The database included information identifying Doe and others who had been granted expungement as subjects of unfounded child abuse allegations." The state's law requires that agencies provided information in the course of a child-abuse investigation expunge all records that identify a person as a subject of a child abuse allegation if the allegation is unfounded.

Kept Him Waiting Five Months

After learning of the error, OCFS required Mr. Doe to wait five months for a determination on his request for expungement, rather than acting promptly to correct the record. "At a minimum, OCFS should have immediately expunged the record rather than wait months to complete its administrative review to determine if the Doe family presented 'clear and convincing evidence' that the abuse did not occur," the report stated.

OCFS also violated its own recordretention policy by determining how long to keep documents based on the space in a file cabinet rather than the allotted three years. "As a result of these lapses, OCFS was unable to provide responsive materials to a Suffolk County Grand Jury subpoena requesting information regarding the call to the SCR about Doe," the Inspector General's report stated.

"We are extremely pleased upon re- ferring the case to the Inspector General that he conducted such a thorough and comprehensive investigation and found some other weaknesses," said OCFS spokesman Edward Borges. "Under his guidance we have strengthened the anonymity and security at SCR."

'Must Protect Records'

The report found fault with Mr. Doe for illegally obtaining confidential records, but the Inspector General concluded that OCFS's weaknesses were the greater issue. "Doe's ability to obtain the [hotline's] telephone records, even through deceit, reveals potential weaknesses in the state's protection of this confidential information," the report stated.

It was recommended that OCFS ensure that all its employees understand and follow the confidentiality rules of the State Central Register. OCFS also should work to develop stronger protections with its telephone vendor, the IG stated. Finally, administrative and legislative action should be taken to strengthen the security of the hotline telephone records.

This is not the first alleged impropriety at the State Central Register this year. In June, three state employees were arrested for checking confidential child-abuse files for personal use while at work. One employee resigned after it was discovered that he copied a file and gave it to an acquaintance, who used it to stalk a 14-yearold girl who he believed was his daughter.