(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch.
This unaltered story first appeared on URL:
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com
Licensed for republication through Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
------------
DHS refuses to discuss program, treats questions about it as document requests
['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2022-02-04 00:00:00
The Iowa Department of Human Services says questions posed about a nursing home program that the agency oversees will be treated as requests for government documents which are subject to the imposition of fees.
The department said it will not make DHS Director Kelly Garcia or anyone else in the agency available for an interview about the program, will only respond to written questions on the topic, and will treat those written questions as document requests made under the Iowa Open Records Law.
That law allows public agencies to charge fees, which can run into the thousands of dollars, for the time spent retrieving documents and conducting legal reviews to determine whether the records should be disclosed or kept confidential.
DHS spokesman Alex Carfrae said Friday that “at this time” he doesn’t expect the agency will charge a fee to answer questions about the program posed by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
The issue first arose on Jan. 6, when the Capital Dispatch asked DHS three questions about a nursing home program that relies on care facilities to pay quarterly fees to the state. In its request, the news organization noted that one Iowa nursing home chain has stated in court that it failed to pay $4 million of those fees to the state. The Capital Dispatch asked DHS which Iowa nursing homes are behind in their payments, how much they owe, and what action, if any, DHS is taking to secure payment.
In response, Carfrae said the questions were being treated as a demand for documents made under the Iowa Open Records Law. “While you aren’t requesting an existing document, we treat the request the same as if you were,” Carfrae said.
The Capital Dispatch objected, arguing that a request for documents could lead to the imposition of fees, adding that it was merely “posing a couple of questions.”
On Jan. 12, after no answers or documents were provided, the Capital Dispatch requested an interview with either DHS Director Kelly Garcia or someone else of the agency’s own choosing, about the program.
Twelve days later, on Jan. 24, the department indicated no interviews would be provided, but the department would answer questions submitted in writing.
The Capital Dispatch submitted five questions in writing and indicated it was still waiting for answers to the three questions posed on Jan. 6.
In response, Carfrae said DHS was treating the five additional questions as another demand for documents made under the Iowa Open Records Law.
As of Friday, the department had yet to provide any answers or documents to either set of questions. Carfrae said Friday the agency is still working on the matter.
The Capital Dispatch has objected to the department’s actions in part by noting that every public records request involves a legal determination as to whether the sought-after documents are public records or confidential records. The Capital Dispatch told DHS it’s impossible for the agency’s lawyers to make such a determination without first identifying the specific documents being sought — and in this case, the Capital Dispatch pointed out, it’s not requesting access to any existing records or asking the agency to create any new records.
The news organization told Carfrae that if the agency chooses to answer certain questions only by retrieving every agency document considered relevant to each question, the cost to taxpayers would be excessive and any fees the agency might charge to offset those expenses would make access to the documents cost prohibitive.
“This is troubling on so many levels,” said Randy Evans of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. “The attitude that state officials cannot be bothered to answer a few questions is totally out of whack with all principles of good government. The Legislature and multiple court decisions have made it abundantly clear that government cannot cut the public off from the facts simply because those facts might prove to be embarrassing for government officials — or, in this case, the owners of some nursing homes.”
[END]
[1] Url:
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/02/04/dhs-refuses-to-discuss-program-treats-questions-about-it-as-document-requests/
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/
