Maine DOC Youth Pay to Stay Policy (Department of Health and Human Services)

Hello,

We have received your request for Department of Health and Human Services FOAA Office 221 State Street Augusta, ME 04330 February 2, 2023 To Whom It May Concern: Pursuant to the Maine Freedom of Access Act, I hereby request the following records: The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of fees and debt for incarcerated youth (i.e., juvenile): All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which incarcerated youth (i.e. juvenile) and/or their parents or legal guardians are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc). All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department/office or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of youths (i.e., juveniles) charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021. I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by 1 M.R.S.A. § 408(6). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage. In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not. Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires. Sincerely, Kelly Stevenson View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here: https://www.muckrock.com/ If prompted for a passcode, please enter: •••••••• Filed via MuckRock.com E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS For mailed responses, please address (see note): MuckRock News DEPT MR 139995 263 Huntington Ave Boston, MA 02115 PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable. for the period of N/A

The Department of Health and Human Services (“the Department”) acknowledges receipt of the above-referenced records request. The Department will produce the requested records to the extent that such records are “public records” as defined by Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (“FOAA”). The Department denies your request to the extent that any requested records are confidential, otherwise protected from disclosure, not in the possession or custody of the Department, or otherwise outside the scope of FOAA.

The Department will work to make any public records available to you as soon as possible. However, the Department first requires a reasonable period to determine which of its records relate to your request. The Department also needs time to identify which records are subject to public inspection or copying, and to determine which records, or portions thereof, are confidential, otherwise protected from disclosure, or otherwise outside the scope of FOAA. The Department will schedule the inspection, and copying of responsive records, if needed, to occur so as not to delay or inconvenience its regular activities, pursuant to FOAA.

Please be aware that you may be charged for retrieving, compiling, converting, and copying of responsive records. You may inspect public records, without charge for copying, if it is feasible to separate or prevent the disclosure of any confidential information contained in the records. The Department will provide you with a good faith, non-binding estimate of the time and cost of complying with your request before it begins to work on your request.

Sincerely,

DHHS Public Access Officer

2/3/2023
RE: Freedom of Access Act ("FOAA") request for, "I hereby request the following records: The following materials regarding the imposition, assessment, collection and balances of fees and debt for incarcerated youth (i.e., juvenile): All current policies and procedures regarding medical and room & board costs or fees for which incarcerated youth (i.e. juvenile) and/or their parents or legal guardians are or may become liable. Please include all policies and procedures related to how fees are set, accrued, imposed, collected, and enforced (such as those related to per diem fees, ability to pay determinations, penalties for late or non-payment, authorization for civil or criminal action for payment enforcement, etc). All reports, databases, spreadsheets, or equivalent materials regarding debts/restitution paid to or owed to this department/office or any facility/agency under its jurisdiction in FY2021. Please include all relevant data regarding medical and room & board costs, including the number of youths (i.e., juveniles) charged for medical and room & board costs or fees and the total amount of medical and room & board fees imposed in FY2021. I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by 1 M.R.S.A. § 408(6). The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage. In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not." Dated 2/2/23.
Kelly:
On behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services ("the Department"), this letter is in response to your above-referenced request.

The FOAA defines "public record" as "any written, printed or graphic matter or any mechanical or electronic data compilation from which information can be obtained, directly or after translation into a form susceptible of visual or aural comprehension, that is in the possession or custody of an agency or public official of this State or any of its political subdivisions or is in the possession or custody of an association, the membership of which is composed exclusively of one or more of any of these entities, and has been received or prepared for use in connection with the transaction of public or governmental business or contains information relating to the transaction of public or governmental business".

The Department does not maintain custody of the above-referenced records and therefore cannot fulfill your request. I suggest contacting the Department of Corrections at https://www.maine.gov/corrections/foaa to submit a request to their department.

This request is closed as of the date of this mailing.

FOAA requests can be submitted in person at any of our locations, by phone at (207) 287-3707, or by emailing FOAARequests.DHHS@maine.gov.
Best Regards,
Dayna Collins
Public Access Officer
Office of the Commissioner
Maine Department of Health and Human Services
109 Capitol St. Augusta, ME 04333