Herbert Andrews v. Correct Care Solutions (SPR 20181606)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 16, 2018 SPRlS/1606 Carol Colby 2 Clark Street P.O. Box 43 Norfolk, MA 02056 Dear Ms. Colby: _ __ ____________ I have received_ the_ petition of Herbert Andrews appealing the response of Department of Correction - MCI Concord (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see --- also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on July 23, 2018, Mr. Andrews requested "a copy of (CCS) Dental Protocol." Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR18/1274 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 6, 2018.) In my September 6th determination I found the Department must provide a response to Mr. Andrews in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. The Department responded on September 11, 2018 and Mr. Andrews objects to this response. The Department's September 11th response In its September 11th response the Department provided a Medical Records Request form, rather than a copy of (CCS) Dental Protocol. The Department later notified this office that records responsive to Mr. Andrews' request would be in the custody of Correct Care Solutions, a third party vendor. Public records; agency relationship Public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the general public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). Although the Department indicates that the requested records are not in the custody of the Department, the Department is advised that where a public entity contracts with a third party to fulfill its public One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Carol Colby SPR18/1606 Page2 November 16, 2018 duties, and the public entity exercises control over that third party, an agency relationship is created. In light of the above information, it is unclear how an agency relationship does not exist between the Department and Correct Care Solutions, the company that provided inmate dental services for the Department's facilities. See Fifty-one Hispanic Residents of Chelsea v. School Committee of Chelsea, 421 Mass. 598, 607-08 (1996) (d iscussing agency relationship between a public and private entity within the context of the Public Records Law). The Department must clarify this matter and provide records that are within the scope of any such agency relationship. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § IO(a)(ii); see also Massachusetts Statewide Records Retention Schedule (2017 Edition). Conclusion To the extent that responsive records exist and are within the scope of an agency relationship, the Department is ordered to review the records, redact where necessary, and provide Mr. Andrews with responsive records, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Herbert Andrews