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Transparency and Public Information Policy – B0010

BOARD COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS POLICY:

Administrative Committee

PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Transparency and Public Information Policy is to establish guidelines for timely public access to information and records in accordance with Welfare and Institutions Code (“WIC”), §§ 4629.5, 4640.6(l), 4639, the California Public Records Act (GOV § 7920.000 et seq.) (“CPRA”), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the state’s contract with Tri-Counties Regional Center (“TCRC”).

POLICY:

TCRC’s Chief Financial Officer shall have overall responsibility for monitoring compliance with the Transparency and Public Information Policy. TCRC’s Chief Information Officer shall ensure that the required information is posted accurately and as expeditiously as possible.

This Policy does not waive any exemption to disclosure that may apply under the CPRA.

If any paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Policy is held unlawful or invalid for any reason, said unlawfulness or invalidity shall not affect the remaining portions of this Policy.

  1. To promote transparency, TCRC shall include the following information on its Internet Website:
    1.  Annual independent audits. WIC § 4629.5(b)(1)
    2.  Bi-annual fiscal audits conducted by the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). WIC § 4629.5(b)(2)
    3. Annual reports pursuant to WIC § 4639.5:
      1. Current salary schedule for all personnel classifications WIC § 4639.5(a)
      2. Prior fiscal year expenditures from the regional center operations budget for all administrative services, including managerial, consultant, accounting, personnel, labor relations, and legal services, whether procured under a written contract or otherwise. WIC § 4639.5(b)
    1. Contract awards, including the organization or entity awarded the contract, and the amount and purpose of the award. WIC § 4629.5(b)(4)
    2. Purchase of service policies. WIC § 4629.5(b)(5)
    3. The names, types of service, and contact information of all purchase of service vendors, except persons served or family members of persons served. WIC § 4629.5(b)(6)
    4. Board meeting agendas and approved minutes of open meetings of the board and all committees of the board. WIC § 4629.5(b)(7)
    5. Bylaws of the regional center governing board. WIC § 4629.5(b)(8)
    6. The annual performance contract and year-end performance contract entered into with the department. WIC § 4629.5(b)(9)
    7. The biannual Home and Community-Based Services Waiver program review conducted by DDS and the State Department of Health Care Services. WIC § 4629.5(b)(10)
    8. The board approved Transparency and Public Information Policy. WIC § 4629.5(b)(11)
    9. The board approved Conflict-of-Interest Policy. WIC § 4629.5(b)(12)
    10. The board approved Procurement Policy. DDS Contract.
    11. The board approved Whistleblower Policy. DDS Contract.
    12. A link to the page on the DDS Internet Web site specified in WIC § 4629.5(d) that includes both a list of services purchased by regional centers or provided directly to persons served by regional centers and a brief description of those services.
  2. TCRC shall provide timely public access to records, upon request, that includes but is not limited to:
    1.  Requests for proposals and contract awards. WIC § 4629.5(a)
    2. Service provider rates. WIC § 4629.5(a)
    3. Documentation related to establishment of negotiated rates for service providers. WIC § 4629.5(a)
    4. Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, Form 990, for the past three (3) years. WIC § 4629.5(a) & IRS
    5. Management letter issued to TCRC by TCRC’s independent accounting firm. WIC § 4639
    6. Employment contracts with regional center staff or contractors. WIC § 4640.6(l)
    7. Articles of Incorporation. IRS
    8. IRS determination letter that established TCRC as a non-profit corporation. IRS
    9. Tax Exemption Application (if organization was formed after July 1, 1987). IRS
    10. Any other record subject to the provisions of the California Public Records Act, and in compliance with the California Public Records Act Policy B0012. (GOV § 7920.000 et seq.)

PROCEDURE:

  1. Public records maintained by TCRC are available for inspection in its Santa Barbara office by members of the public during TCRC’s regular business hours or on TCRC’s website at www.tri-counties.org.
  2. Requests for inspection or copying of public records shall be processed by procedures set forth in the CPRA unless the request involves records that are maintained on TCRC’s website for the purpose of immediate public inspection.
  3. TCRC shall maintain the most current document or records required by Welfare and Institutions Code, Section § 4629.5 on its website. All prior documents and records will be available on request by the public.
  4. Written and email requests for records shall be directed to the following at TCRC:

Public Records Analyst
Tri-Counties Regional Center
520 East Montecito Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
public.records@tri-counties.org

  1. Public requests can also be made using the CPRA Portal. The CPRA Portal shall document the date of the CPRA request and assign a reference number.
  2. Any requests involving members of the Board should be brought to the attention of TCRC’s General Counsel and Executive Director.
  3. Requests may take up to ten (10) calendar days for TCRC to review the request and inform the requester whether or not the records are available and whether or not the records may be provided.1 If the tenth day falls on a weekend or a holiday, the due date is the next business day. For example, if TCRC receives a request on February 1, then the tenth day would be February 11. If February 11 is a Saturday, then the response is due on Monday, February 13. All notifications by TCRC will either be made in writing or by e-mail to the requester.
  1. If the records are available on TCRC’s website, the requester shall be directed to TCRC’s website to obtain the records (GOV § 7922.545 (a)).
  2. If the records are available and not on TCRC’s website, TCRC will, at TCRC’s discretion either: 1) provide a copy (electronic or paper copy) of the records to the requester; or 2) notify the requester, in writing, the date that the records will be available. In some cases, TCRC will require an extension of time to make the records available to the requester due to “unusual circumstances” and will indicate this to the requester in writing.2 Unusual circumstances may include, but are not limited to, the following:
    1. The need to search for and collect the requested records from off-site storage.
    2. The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records that are demanded in a single request.
    3. The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency or legal counsel.
    4. The need to compile data, write programming language or a computer program, or to construct a computer report to extract data.
    5. The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine records during a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor in the jurisdiction where the agency is located when the state of emergency currently affects, due to the state of emergency, the agency’s ability to timely respond to requests due to staffing shortages or closure of facilities where the requested records are located.
  3. TCRC personnel shall be in compliance with the Electronic Communications Policy B0011 for gathering responsive e-mails and records located on personal devices or accounts.
  4. If the records are not available or maintained, TCRC will notify the requester, in writing or e-mail, of the reasons for not providing the records requested and the name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial.
  5. TCRC shall not disclose any records or information that are exempt from disclosure by statute or regulation or if the disclosure of records or information violates Welfare and Institutions Code, Section § 4514.
  6. TCRC shall not disclose to a member of the public the Social Security Number reported in the employment contract between regional center and an employee or contractor. WIC §4640.6(k)(2). Therefore, Social Security Numbers shall be redacted by TCRC personnel from all employment contracts prior to inspection by the public.
  7. TCRC shall not disclose any records or information to a member of the public that contains confidential information about persons served or family members of persons served.
  8. If a request does not reasonably describe an identifiable record, TCRC may ask the requester for clarification. TCRC is required to assist in making the request more focused or understandable. However, the agency is not obligated to create new records or compile data in response to a request.
  9. The operational functions of TCRC shall not be suspended to permit public inspection of records during periods in which such records are reasonably required by TCRC personnel in the performance of their duties.
  10. If the request requires review of numerous records, a mutually agreeable time will be established for the inspection of the records.
  11. In those cases where the records exist in an electronic format, and TCRC determines to provide digital access to such records rather than photocopy, TCRC will not charge a photocopying fee to the requester for the records.
  12. TCRC may make a reasonable charge in an amount not to exceed the actual cost of reproducing the record, unless the imposition of the cost would prohibit the exercise of the right to obtain a copy. A charge shall not be made to search for or retrieve any record. WIC § 4725(a).

Approvals:

  • 2025 09 05: Revision Approved by TCADD Board of Directors
  • 2018 05 05: Revision Approved by TCADD Board of Directors
  • 2017 11 14: Revision Approved by TCADD Board Administrative Committee
  • 2011 07 08: Approved by TCADD Board of Directors
  • 2011 06 21: Approved by TCADD Board Administrative Committee
  1. Gov. Code § 7922.535 ↩︎
  2. Gov. Code § 7922.535 ↩︎