Jim Haddadin v. Department of Early Education and Care (SPR 20201516)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 10, 2020 SPR20/1516 Denise J. Karlin, Esq. Assistant General Counsel Department of Early Education and Care 51 Sleeper Street, Fourth Floor Boston, MA 02210 Dear Attorney Karlin: I have received the petition of Jim Haddadin appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Early Education and Care (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 4, 2020, Mr. Haddadin requested “access to and copies of any incident reports provided to EEC by childcare programs since March 1, 2020 that pertain to cases of COVID-19 among staff or participants.” The Department provided a response dated August 18, 2020 in seeking an extension of time to respond to Mr. Haddadin’s August 4, 2020 request which states “EEC is still currently in the process of pulling, compiling and reviewing the materials pertaining to [Mr. Haddadin’s] request…EEC expects to transmit them to [Mr. Haddadin] by August 26, 2020, which is fifteen (15) business days following EEC’s receipt of your request. See M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi).” Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Haddadin petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1516, was opened as a result. Conclusion The Department provided an email response dated September 9, 2020 advising “EEC is in the process of finalizing its response to Mr. Haddadin. It does plan on releasing the requested information by the close of business on Friday, September 11, 2020.” Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Haddadin with said response in compliance with the Public Records Laws and its Access Regulations. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Haddadin may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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. Denise J. Karlin, Esq. SPR20/1516 Page 2 September 10, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Jim Haddadin