1010 Request for Assistance from DHS Associate General Counsel (AGC) | ADMINISTRATION-5600-MANUAL

Once a request is made, the DAS Section Manager should arrange for a meeting to discuss the legal matter. Appropriate background information and documents must be provided to the AGC.

After the intake meeting, the AGC will notify the Section Manager and the Division Director of whether there is a legal matter that exists that can be handled by the OGC.

If there is a legal matter that will be handled by the OGC, the AGC will specify the legal matter that will be handled, the legal guidance given or the legal work that will be done. The AGC and DAS Director will discuss the issues and the AGC will keep the DAS Director informed of progress.

If a legal issue does not exist, or the AGC does not handle such a request, the AGC will notify the Division Director, Section Manager or DHS General Counsel.

Any direct contact with the AGC must include notification of the staff person’s supervisor, such as by email copy.

Regional Coordinator(s) and Programmatic Staff draft responses to Area Agency on Aging (AAA) request for waiver of policy/procedures following process outlined in MAN 5600, Sections 8003 and 3077. The Division Director will sign the response and engage the AGC if necessary.

When there is active litigation, all communications must go through an appointed SAAG. In the rare occasion where an attorney or judge reaches out to the Division which is not about a client or a case matter, the AGC will assist in writing a response to written correspondence from attorneys and judges for the Director’s signature or on behalf of the Department on non-litigation matters.

If a judge or attorney reaches out to a DAS staff member directly, staff should discuss the matter with their supervisor and/or District Manager and confer with the AGC.

DAS adheres to DHS policy/procedures set forth in POL 1412. Additional confidentiality policy/procedures may be found in programmatic manuals.

Contracts and Memoranda of Understanding or Agreement which are non-standard receive office legal review within the process initiated with the DHS Office of Contracts and Procurement. DAS staff must follow procedures outlined in MAN 5600, Sections 2010- 2012. The DAS Business Operations Section Manager or the Division Director can involve the AGC as necessary during the earlier phase of contract creation and Division review; doing this may avoid common problems later in the review process.

DHS has an official Privacy Officer for the Department. Any suspected HIPAA violations must be reported immediately to the DHS Privacy Officer with notification to the AGC and Division Director in compliance with DHS/DAS policies and procedures. The AGC will assist the program that is evaluating the suspected breach in complying with the necessary steps within the breach investigation process.

DAS staff must notify the AGC immediately at the first indication of a pending lawsuit against the Division. DAS staff must immediately notify the AGC upon receipt of any documents that have come from any judicial body or that have been filed with a judicial body, including OSAH, in addition to State, Probate, and Superior Courts. Refer to PRO 1641.

The AGC is responsible for legal risk management and works with the DAS Director on corrective action steps, if necessary, to put the state agency in compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations, or to correct any problems.

DAS policy and procedures, new or revised, do not received legal review by the AGC unless requested by the Division Director. End user review is required, and procedures set forth in PRO1441 and MAN 5600, Section 1050 are followed. All Manual Transmittals must be signed by the Division Director before submission to the DHS Office of General Counsel for review.

Public Guardianship Office staff must follow the policy/procedures outlined in MAN 5800 regarding medical consent.

DHS has an appointed Open Records Officer. All official Open Records Requests must be made directly to the assigned Open Records email or address. Division staff cannot forward an email or phone request but should instead inform the requestor how to reach the official Open Records address. If a request for records is still received unofficially by Division staff, such must be routed to the AGC immediately, no later than close of business the day of receipt. Refer to PRO 1641.

Any necessary legal review is conducted by the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and does not need to involve the AGC unless specially requested.

DAS staff will follow procedures specified in PRO 1501 and MAN 5600, Section 8002. Legal review by the AGC is requested by the DAS Section Manager or DAS Director for review of legal references.

Programmatic review is conducted by Program Staff who are the subject matter experts.

The AGC serves as the liaison with the Attorney General’s Office for DHS/DAS. If APS or PGO need to initiate or respond to a legal matter, they must go through the AGC in order to gain the assistance of the appropriate SAAG for that judicial circuit.

Once the AGC has secured the services of a SAAG, the Adult Protective Services and Public Guardianship Office staff may communicate directly with that

Validation of SAAG invoices is required and the process is outlined in MAN 5600, Section 5010.

The AGC is included in stakeholder review of any State Plan developed by DAS to determine legal sufficiency. The request for the AGC review of State Plans is made by the DAS Director and AGC intake attended by assigned staff.

Programmatic review is conducted by Program Staff who are the subject matter experts.

Adult Protective Services and Public Guardianship Office staff must follow procedures in their respective manuals.

All other DAS staff must route subpoenas immediately to the AGC, no later than one (1) business day from date of receipt.

All other Legal Pleadings such as Requests for Production of Documents must be cleared by the AGC; staff should immediately notify the AGC and submit a copy of the written request for review. This does not include requests for records made by entities specifically authorized in O.C.G.A. §30-5-7 or requests from the Georgia Advocacy Office; those requests shall be responded to in accordance with agency policies.

The Department sets requirements for and provides access to many mandatory training modules for DAS staff including, but not limited to Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), cyber security, ethics, and other matters. The AGC will provide various other legal training directly for DAS staff after consultation with the Division Director and/or Section Managers.

Section Managers may request additional training for staff, which will be at the discretion and availability of the AGC.

Training modules, materials for distribution, and training presentations prepared by DAS staff are subject to discovery and open records requests. Therefore, provide all such materials to the AGC for review when creating or updating materials.