Ramsay D. Steward v. Department of Children and Families (SPR 20200520)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 25, 2020 SPR20/0520 Adelaida P. Jasperse Department of Children and Families Office of the General Counsel 600 Washington Street, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02111 Dear Ms. Jasperse: I have received the petition of Ramsay D. Steward appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Children and Families (Depaiiment) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on January 28, 2020, Ms. Steward requested the following records within the possession of the Department: • Current assignments for Susan Cummings and Caitlin Menard • Leadership assignments in the Berkshire Area Office since January 2017 regarding several personnel members in various units • Organizational charts for the Holyoke Area Office from January 2016 to November 2019 ... specifically the names and dates of supervisory assignments within the Family Resource and Permanency units • · Agenda, hangouts and media presentations from the January 2020 - Western Regional Conference • Educational and licensing requirements for various leadership positions within the Department of Children and Families. Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Ms. Steward petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/0520, was opened as a result. The Department's March 20th Response In its March 20th response, the Department acknowledges that it has responded to the five ( 5) categories of records in Ms. Steward's previous requests to the Department. 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

Ms. Adelaida P. Jasperse SPR20/0520 Page 2 March 20, 2020 Current Appeal In her appeal and two (2) correspondences to this office dated March 12th, Ms. Steward states she is seeking information about the "intra-agency communication between the RAO and other DCF staff involved in the fulfillment of this request. .. to understand the details of the delay." "Requests for public records shall include a reasonable description of the requested record to the records access officer so that he or she can identify and locate it promptly." See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(b). In a phone conversation on March 20th with a staff member of the Public Records Division, the Department claims it did not receive Ms. Steward's request regarding the "intra-agency communication." Based on Ms. Steward's appeal to this office, she is seeking only the "organizational chart for the Holyoke Area Office." I find the Depaiiment has met the burden in providing the requested records. Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Department provided a response on March 11th with respect to Ms. Steward's request regarding the "organizational charts for the Holyoke Area Office from January 2016 to November 2019." Whereas the basis of this appeal was opened as a result of the lack of response by the Department, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Steward may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Ramsay D. Steward