Good Citizen v. Department of Children and Families (SPR 20243230)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 12, 2024 SPR24/3230 Steven S. Treat, Esq. Assistant General Counsel Department of Children and Families 600 Washington Street, 6th Floor Boston, MA 02111 Dear Attorney Treat: I have received the petition of Good Citizen (“requestor”), appealing the response of the Department of Children and Families (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 7, 2024, the requestor requested the following: [1.] List of all DCF and CHD employees, and all persons contracted by either department, in any and all Springfield, MA locations. [2.] Employment dates and current salaries for all DCF and CHD employees, and all persons contracted by either department, in any and all Springfield, MA locations. The Department provided a response on November 14, 2024. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/3230, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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

Steven S. Treat, Esq. SPR24/3230 Page 2 December 12, 2024 Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. The Department’s November 14th Response In its November 14, 2024 response, the Department stated the following: Please be advised, DCF employees, titles, salaries and employment can be found online on a searchable database. That database can be on the Commonwealth Office of the Comptroller’s website at the following web pages: https://cthrupayroll.mass.gov/. Additionally, statewide contracts with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts can be found on the following website: https://www.commbuys.com/bso/. Pertaining to your request for CHD employees and related information, DCF does not [sic] a responsive records or report reflecting this information. Current appeal In his appeal, the requestor states, “[t]he responding party refused to provide the documents that I requested, stating that the information is available by different sources. Even if this was true, which it is not, it is my belief that it would still be his responsibility to provide the records that I requested.” Records on a Public Website Please be advised that it is permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records via a link to a website. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall . . . to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07 (2)(a) (“A records access officer shall inform a requester of the availability of records online to avoid delays and fees associated with the provision of public records”). Therefore, I find the Department must provide the requestor with reasonable assistance to enable him locate the responsive records. Further, based on the requestor’s appeal, it remains unclear if there are any records in the Department’s files that may be responsive to the request. 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 of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). The Department must clarify this matter.

Steven S. Treat, Esq. SPR24/3230 Page 3 December 12, 2024 Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide a response to the requestor, 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Good Citizen