According to federal law, any agency that keeps records must
make them available to individuals to whom those records pertain. The
1974 Privacy Act is quite
specific in stating that individuals have the right to review and make copies
of such records. However, these regulations are often ignored, with individuals
denied access or forced to navigate a sea of unnecessary obstacles and red tape
to view records that, under federal law, are their own property. Agencies,
under the law, are merely custodians of these records, the information
considered the legal property of the individuals to whom it pertains.
In a recent example of this sort of abuse of power, the
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation clinic in Alpine, Texas
refused to release copies of the mental health records of a 16 year old boy to
his mother, his legal guardian. To be provided these records,
Melinda Secor had
to spend hours on phone calls to agency staff, beginning with the local clinic
Mental Health Manager Teresa Williams and her supervisor, Mental Health
Director Todd Luzadder, then traveling up through the chain of command to state
level officials of the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.
In
each and every phone call, Ms. Secor cited the federal regulations, reading the
applicable section of the 1974 Privacy Act verbatim, only to be told that,
regardless of federal law, and despite a court order that clearly states that
Ms. Secor is to be given access to all records pertaining to her son, the
records would not be released. Finally, after Ms. Secor made complaints to the
department's client rights office and involved an attorney, the agency has
agreed to release the documents as required by law.
This sort of obstructive behavior begs the question, are
agency officials ignorant of the rights of their clients, or do they simply
feel that they can flout federal laws and regulations without consequence? Why,
even when informed of the law, would a public agency resist complying with
their legal obligations? What end does it serve to routinely and unlawfully
deny individuals access to their own information, which, according to federal
regulations, are their own personal property?
Whichever the case – deliberately
obstructive, power-tripping petty bureaucrats or pure, incompetent ignorance –
parents do not have to tolerate such treatment, even if they don’t have the
immense amount of cash on hand typically required to combat a breach of their
legal and civil rights. Study the law and be persistent in demanding it be
respected. Learn how to file legal documents. Talk to the media. Never
surrender.
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