Report 2021-112 Recommendation 28 Responses

Report 2021-112: The Child Abuse Central Index: The Unreliability of This Database Puts Children at Risk and May Violate Individuals' Rights (Release Date: May 2022)

Recommendation #28 To: Orange County

To ensure the confidentiality of sensitive and personally identifying information protected by state law, Orange County should, by July 2022 adopt grievance hearing policies requiring the return of confidential evidence when the county provides such evidence to suspects for a grievance hearing.

60-Day Agency Response

The County of Orange Social Services Agency has amended its policy, "Child Abuse Central Index (CACI) Grievance Reviews," to include a procedure for requiring the return of confidential documents should the County provide the evidence to the grievant. A copy of the policy has been provided to CSA for review. SSA will continue to monitor and refine our CACI related policies and procedures to ensure data integrity.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

Orange County updated its grievance hearing policies to require that confidential evidence be returned to the county at the conclusion of the hearing.

All Recommendations in 2021-112

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.