The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a series of sweeping reforms today addressing the County’s policies for the retention and destruction of confidential documents.
These reforms came about as a result of a legislative priority of Supervisor Don Knabe to strengthen the County’s document destruction policies to ensure that any confidential or personal information is secured and disposed of properly in all County departments and agencies.
Serious questions of existing policies came into question after an investigation by KNBC-TV in early 2006 revealed several incidents of security breeches of confidential employee records and welfare recipient client information maintained by the Department of Public Social Services. As a result of this investigation, Supervisor Knabe called for a review and reform of document retention policies across the entire County.
In providing services to the public, this County has no more important responsibility than to protect any confidential or personal records of our residents, said Knabe.
The plan approved by the Board of Supervisors today represents the most sweeping reform in document retention policy since the Board first addressed the issue in May 1958. The new plan includes policies for portable computing devices, such as laptops, policies for the handling and destruction of confidential documents in all County departments, policies for record retention and protection and outreach programs for County employees and residents who may have been the victims of identity theft.