Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Pursuant to Section 8(11) of the Act, a
caregiver is only entitled to a copy of the statement of allegations from the
abuse report and the substantiation decision from the final investigative
report contained in the case record of the victim maintained by an APS provider
agency.
1) Written and/or digital information
about the victim is not material and/or relevant to the limited issue on
appeal. Disclosure of the case record, including, but not limited to, intake
reports, risk assessments, plans of care, status reports, documents pertaining
to interventions/services, and updates, constitutes an unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy and/or protection afforded to a reporter.
2) APS provider agency written and/or digital
information, including, but not limited to, logs, tracking records, case
recording forms, and reports to the Department's Office of Adult Protective
Services, are not relevant to the limited issue on appeal and discloses
investigative techniques to the detriment of program administration.
3) Program written and/or digital
information, including, but not limited to, auditing and monitoring information
about the APS provider agency, is not relevant to the limited issue on appeal
because this information exceeds the scope of the verified and substantiated
finding.
4) All other materials,
including, but not limited to, information relating to the identity of the
reporter, are confidential and protected from disclosure under Sections 4(c)
and 8 of the Act.
b)
Discovery is a process primarily conducted between the parties. The
Department/other entity will not facilitate the exchange of information, except
when a motion is made alleging failure to comply with discovery
obligations.
c) Case-specific
information regarding timeframes for discovery will be included in the Notice
of Hearing.
d) The parties shall
not use discovery to harass or cause needless delay, and hearings shall not be
delayed to permit the exchange of information unless timeliness and due
diligence is shown by the party seeking the information.
e) Upon written request served upon the
opposing party, any party will be entitled to:
1) The name and address of any witness who
may be called to testify;
2) Copies
of any document that may be offered as evidence; and
3) A description of any other evidence that
may be offered.
f) If a
party fails to answer a request for information, the Department/other entity
may enter any just and appropriate order to advance the disposition of the
matter, including but not limited to:
1)
Staying any further proceeding until the request for information is
answered;
2) Barring the testimony
of any witness not disclosed in the answer to the request for
information;
3) Not allowing the
introduction of, or any testimony concerning, any document or evidence not
provided in an answer to the request for information; or
4) Issuing protective orders that deny,
limit, condition, or regulate discovery to minimize unreasonable expense, or to
prevent harassment, to expedite resolution of the proceeding, or to protect
confidential materials from disclosure consistent with Sections 4(c) and 8 of
the Act and this Section.
