Management Bulletin 16-02

Early Learning and Care Division

Subject: Electronic Document Storage or Record Preservation

Number: 16-02

Date: March 2016

Expires: Until Rescinded

Authority: California Education Code (EC) sections 33421, 35254, 8227.3 and 8262.1; California Government Code (GC) Section 12168.7; and California Code of Regulations, Title 2 (2 CCR), sections 22620.1–22620.8.

Attention: Executive Directors and Program Administrators of Child Care and Development Programs Center-based Child Care (CCTR), California State Preschool (CSPP), Family Child Care Homes Education Networks (CFCC), Programs for Special Needs Children (Handicapped) (CHAN), Migrant (Center-base) (CMIG), CalWORKs Stage 2 (C2AP), CalWORKs Stage 3 (C3AP), California Alternative Payment Program (CAPP), and Migrant Alternative Payment Program (CMAP)

Purpose

This Management Bulletin (MB) is to inform center-based child care contractors, alternative payment programs, and alternative payment providers that they may maintain records electronically, in accordance with state and federal standards, as determined by the California Department of Education (CDE). 

Neither this MB nor the laws discussed herein require a contractor or child care provider to create records electronically.

Background

On October 4, 2015, the Governor signed Assembly Bill (AB) 271. AB 271 amended EC Section 8227.3 to authorize center-based child care contractors (i.e., contract types CCTR, CSPP, CFCC, CHAN, CMIG), alternative payment programs (i.e., contract types C2AP, C3AP, CAPP, CMAP), and alternative payment providers to maintain records electronically, as well as to convert records from a paper format to an electronic format.

Policy

Effective January 1, 2016, center-based child care contractors (CCTR, CSPP, CFCC, CHAN, and CMIG), alternative payment programs (CAPP, CMAP, C2AP, and C3AP), and alternative payment providers offering services to eligible families in the alternative payment programs may maintain records electronically and are authorized to convert records from a paper format to an electronic format. This management bulletin provides information on how to maintain, convert, store, and destroy records.

Information related to the requirements for maintaining records electronically:

• Effective January 1, 2016, center-based child care contractors, alternative payment programs, and alternative payment providers may maintain records electronically, in compliance with state and federal standards, as determined by the CDE. Any conversion from a paper record to an electronic format, as well as the storage of the electronic record, must comply with the minimum standards described in GC Section 12168.7 at http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-12168-7.html , and the standards for trustworthy electronic document or record preservation described in chapter 15 of Division 7 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations, (2 CCR) (commencing with sections 22620.1–22620.8, which can be found at: http://www.sos.ca.gov/administration/regulations/current-regulations/technology/trustworthy-electronic-document-or-record-preservation/ ). These minimum requirements are further delineated below.

• The principle of least privilege (POLP) is the practice of limiting access to the minimal number of persons that will still allow for normal functioning. POLP should be applied for access to documents. That is, only those individuals who have a legitimate business need to access the documents to do their job should access the documents. More information about POLP can be found at: https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/bestprac/implementing-privilege-enterprise-1188 .

Information related to the requirements for converting records:

• Consistent with the above-mentioned standards in the GC and regulations, contractors, alternative payment programs, and alternative payment providers must take steps to ensure that each paper document that is to be scanned in order to convert the document to digital form is not altered as part of the conversion process and that the digital scan accurately captures the content of the paper document.

• 2 CCR sections 22620.1–22620.8 list minimum standards recommended by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) and provide specific conditions that would meet the definition of a trusted system, as provided in GC Section 12168.7.

• 2 CCR Section 22620.4 states:

  To ensure that all electronic versins of official documents or records (including documents or records converted from hard copy or electronically originated documents or records) are stored and managed in a trusted system as required in GC Section 12168.7(c), electronic content management systems . . . shall be designed in accordance with Section 6.2 Recommended Project Steps and Activities of “AIIM ARP1-2009 Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems,” approved June 5, 2009 . . .

• 2 CCR Section 22620.6 states:

  When it is determined that electronic documents or records are to be compressed and to ensure that electronic documents or records can be accessed after being converted from hard copy format, only those compression technologies identified in section 5.4.2.4. Document image compression of “AIIM ARP1-2009 Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems,” approved June 5, 2009 . . . , shall be used.

• AIIM ARP1-2009 Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems can be found at: http://archives.cdn.sos.ca.gov/pdf/er-aiim-arp1-2009.pdf .

Information related to the requirements for storing records electronically:

• 2 CCR Section 22620.4 states:

  All existing electronic content management systems . . . should be evaluated to the greatest extent technologically and procedurally possible, and as soon as practicable secure all necessary local and/or state approvals to meet the intent of GC Section 12168.7 that electronic documents or records be stored in a trusted system as defined in these regulations.

• GC Section 12168.7: http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-12168-7.html .

• 2 CCR Section 22620.8 states:

  To ensure long term accessibility of documents or records converted from hard copy format into electronic format, the storing and recording of permanent and nonpermanent documents or records shall be maintained in a trusted system as defined in Section 22620.7, Trusted Storage of Official Electronic Documents or Records, using standards adopted or developed by ANSI or AIIM and as identified in Section 5.4.1.4 Image formats of “AIIM ARP1-2009 Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems,” approved June 5, 2009, which is incorporated by reference in this section. If PDF/A is chosen as the file format for long-term storage, the adopted standard that should be followed is “ANSI/AIIM/CGATS/ISO 19005-1:2005, Document Management – Electronic Document File Format for Long-Term Preservation – Part 1: Use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/A-1),” approved as ANSI Standards, June 15, 2008 . . .

• All records, regardless if they are kept in hard copy (paper) or electronic format, must be retained for at least five years. Regardless of whether the records are in paper or electronic format, contractors must maintain a recordkeeping system that can be readily accessible to auditors and CDE staff who may conduct audits or reviews of the contractors' records. 5 CCR Section 18067 and EC Section 33421.

Information related to the requirements for destroying records (paper or electronic):

For Local Educational Agency (LEA) contractors:

• CAUTION: LEA contractors may not destroy any original record that is basic to any required audit until on or after the second July 1st succeeding the completion of the audit. EC Section 35254 states:

  The governing board of any school district may make photographic, microfilm, or electronic copies of any records of the district. The original of any records of which a photographic, microfilm, or electronic copy has been made may be destroyed when provision is made for permanently maintaining the photographic, microfilm or electronic copies in the files of the district, except that no original record that is basic to any required audit shall be destroyed prior to the second July 1st succeeding the completion of the audit.

• EC Section 35254: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_2251-2300/ab_2266_bill_20100630_amended_sen_v97.html .

For LEA and non-LEA contractors:

• 2 CCR Section 22620.7 states:

  To ensure that every official electronic document or record is considered to be a true and accurate copy of the original information received and before the original copy may be destroyed, at least two (2) separate copies of the official document or record must be created on electronic media meeting all the conditions of a trusted system as identified in section 5.3.3 Trusted system and legal considerations of “AIIM ARP1-2009 Analysis, Selection, and Implementation of Electronic Document Management Systems,” approved June 5, 2009 . . .

• 5 CCR Section 18067, requires contractors to retain all records to support claims for reimbursement for a minimum period of five years and longer where an audit by a government agency remains unresolved. 5 CCR Section 18067: https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Document/I3E907DA0D48111DEBC02831C6D6C108E?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default) .

• When the retention period for records has expired, records must be destroyed in a manner that eradicates all confidential information. Best practices include that paper records be crosscut shredded and that electronic records be destroyed through a secure data wiping process (data erasure) or by destroying the storage media. More information about the secure data wiping process can be found at: http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-88r1.pdf .

Contractors are reminded of the following:

• No contractor is obligated to create records electronically; and
• Documents shall not be altered during conversion from paper format to an electronic format.
  

If you have questions regarding the information in this management bulletin, please send an e-mail to digsig-estorage@cde.ca.gov.

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This Management Bulletin is mandatory only to the extent that it cites a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement. Any portion of this Management Bulletin that is not supported by a specific statutory and/or regulatory requirement is not prescriptive pursuant to California Education Code Section 33308.5.