This chapter establishes procedures for requesting and gaining access to records and information of the Department of Human Services and the local departments of social services. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Act” means the Public Information Act, State Government Article, §10-611 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland. “Administration” means any of the following administrations within the Department of Human Services: Social Services Administration; Family Investment Administration; Child Support Administration. “Custodian” means an authorized employee of the Department, an administration, or a local department having actual control and custody of a record. “Department” means the Department of Human Services, its administrations, and the local departments. “Information” means any part of a record, in any form. “Local department” means the department of social services in a county or Baltimore City, and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. “Official custodian” means the executive head of the Department, administration, or local department in which a record is located. “Record” means the original or any copy of any documentary material, in any form, in the transaction of public business, that is made by, received by, or received from: The State; Any county or city of the State; or Any subdivision or agency of the State, a county, or a city. “Requestor” means a person requesting disclosure of or access to a record. “State” means the State of Maryland. “Working day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, State holiday, or other day on which State offices are not open for official business. A request for information from, or an opportunity to review, a record of the Department, an administration, or a local department shall be made to the custodian of the record. Requests to personally review a record shall be in writing. Requests For Information From a Record. Requests may be made orally or in writing. The custodian may require that an oral request be made in writing, if the custodian reasonably believes that having the request in writing will assist the custodian in responding to the request. A written or oral request shall include: The name, title, address, and telephone number of the requestor; A reasonable identification of the records sought; The signature of the requestor, if the request is in writing; and A general statement of the purpose for the records, if the request is for records of Social Services, Family Investment, Community Services, Child Support Enforcement, or Medical Assistance programs. Oral Requests for Information. If the individual who receives a request is not the custodian of the record, the individual shall immediately provide the requestor with reasonably obtainable information as to the identity and location of the custodian of the record. Within 10 working days of receiving a request, the custodian of a requested record shall take the needed actions set forth in §A(3) of this regulation that are permitted by this chapter and other applicable State and federal confidentiality regulations and laws. The custodian shall: Provide the requestor, either orally, in writing, or by sending or faxing a copy of the relevant documents, with whatever requested information may be released; Deny the request as to information which cannot be disclosed as a matter of law; or Advise the requestor to submit a written request in accordance with §B of this regulation and Regulation .03C of this chapter. In denying an oral request for information, the custodian shall give the reason for the denial. Written Requests for Information or for Access to a Record. If the individual who receives a written request is not the custodian of the record, the individual shall, within 10 working days of receipt of the request, provide the requestor with reasonably obtainable information as to the identity and location of the custodian of the record. The custodian of a requested record shall respond in writing to a written request within 30 working days of receipt of the request. The response shall include: Disclosure of that part of the requested information which the custodian determines may be disclosed as a matter of State and federal confidentiality law, except as provided in Regulation .05 of this chapter; If requested, permission to personally review records which may be disclosed as a matter of law, except as provided in Regulation .05 of this chapter; Denial of disclosure of that part of the requested information which the custodian determines may not be disclosed as a matter of law or pursuant to Regulation .05 of this chapter; If the custodian grants a request to personally review records, notification to the requestor of a reasonable date and hour, within 30 days following the receipt of the request, when the records will be available for inspection and copying; and Notification to the requestor of any requested record which does not exist or has been lost or destroyed. If, after arranging a time for inspection or copying, the custodian learns that a requested record has been lost or destroyed, the custodian shall notify the requestor of that fact within 10 working days of learning of the loss or destruction. A custodian's denial of a written request for disclosure or review of a record shall include a written statement of the: Reason for the denial; Regulation upon which the denial is based; and Procedures for obtaining review of the denial as set forth in Regulation .07 of this chapter. With the consent of the requestor, a custodian may extend a time period established by this regulation for an additional period not to exceed 30 days. The custodian shall document the consent of the requestor to an extension in the record. If the official custodian believes that disclosure of a record would cause substantial injury to the public interest, but no other regulation or law permits denial of the request, the custodian may: Temporarily deny disclosure of the record; and Within 10 working days of the denial, petition the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which the record is located for an order permitting continued denial of inspection. If, under a subpoena, a custodian is required to produce or testify about a record, disclosure of which is not permitted by this chapter, the custodian shall: Call the court's attention to this chapter and any other relevant confidentiality law, including applicable federal regulations; and Ask the court for permission not to comply with the subpoena. If the court denies the request for permission not to comply with a subpoena to produce records, the custodian shall: Request the court to review the documents in chambers and to order disclosure only as required by due process; and Specifically request that only a summary, which shall exclude the identity of the reporter of any allegation of child abuse or neglect, of the information contained in the record be disclosed. If the court orders disclosure of the actual record, the custodian shall request permission to delete the identity of the reporter of any allegations of child abuse or neglect. If the court orders that the custodian provide copies of the records, the custodian shall also request that the agency be permitted to charge appropriate fees to the party requesting the records, in accordance with Regulation .10 of this chapter. If the custodian denies a written request for inspection for a reason other than because the official custodian has obtained a court order under Regulation .05 of this chapter, the requestor may: Within 30 days of receipt of notice of the denial, request an administrative hearing on the denial; or File an appropriate action in circuit court in accordance with State Government Article, §10-623, Annotated Code of Maryland. Appeals. A requestor may: Only appeal a written request for access to a record to an administrative hearing or a circuit court; or Submit a written request for disclosure or personal review of the record containing the information sought, if denied an oral request for information. An administrative hearing authorized by this regulation shall be conducted in accordance with the Department's regulations and procedures for fair hearings. If the agency's final decision on an administrative hearing is a total or partial denial of a request, the requestor may appeal to the appropriate circuit court pursuant to State Government Article, §10-222, Annotated Code of Maryland. If the custodian grants a request to review a record, the requestor may inspect the record at the agency at which the public record is located, during the agency's normal working hours, or at a more suitable and convenient place for inspection requested by the requestor and approved by the custodian. A requestor who is authorized to review a record is entitled to receive a copy of that record. The custodian may charge the requestor the fee set forth in §B of this regulation for the search for, and preparation, reproduction, and delivery of, a record authorized to be disclosed. Unless provided otherwise by other statute or regulation, the duplication fee schedule is: 25 cents a page when reproduction can be made by a photocopying machine located within the agency of the custodian of the record; The actual cost of reproduction when the record is not susceptible to photocopying or needs to be copied outside the agency; An additional $1 a page if the requestor asks that a copy be certified as a true copy of the original; A reasonable fee for any time in excess of 2 hours which is spent by agency staff searching for the record, preparing the record for inspection, or copying the record; and If the requestor asks that copies be mailed or delivered to the requestor, the cost of postage or delivery. Before reproducing the record, the custodian: Shall estimate the cost of reproduction and obtain the requestor's agreement to pay the cost; and May require prepayment of an estimated fee before reproducing the record. If fees for copies, printouts, photographs, or certified copies are specifically set out by a law other than the Act or this regulation, that specific fee controls. A court may find a willful or knowing violation of this chapter to be a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000. Article 88A, §5; State Government Article, §10-611 et seq.; Article 41, Title 6; Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: February 1, 1973 Regulation .04D amended affective December 10, 1975 (2:28 Md. R. 1666); December 2, 1985 (12:24 Md. R. 2346) Regulations .01—.07, Confidential Nature of Records, repealed effective October 28, 1991 (18:21 Md. R. 2305) Regulations .01—.11, Procedures for Access to Records, adopted effective October 28, 1991 (18:21 Md. R. 2305) Chapter revised effective April 5, 1999 (26:7 Md. R. 540) Regulation .02B amended June 18, 2007 (34:11 Md. R. 971) Regulation .04A, B amended June 18, 2007 (34:11 Md. R. 971)