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Home My WebLink About; ; Records Management Program AUDIT-Fire; 2013-02-06CITY OF CARLSBAD RECORDS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RECORDS AUDIT REPORT DEPARTMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT COVER SHEET ^MINISTRATION AUDIT DATE PREPARED BY 2/06/2013 This records audit has been conducted by Records Management (RM) staff. Its purpose is to determine whether the records in your department are being managed in accordance with the City Council adopted Records Management Program (RMP). This evaluation includes a review of staff RMP training, whether there is a need for potential Records Retention Schedule (RRS) modifications, and whether department records are being processed for archiving or destruction appropriately. INSTRUCTIONS: • Department manager and records liaison review the findings of this report. • After review, please sign and return this single page cover sheet to Records Management. This will acknowledge that the audit findings and any action items have been reviewed. Additional steps to take if there are items listed on the Action Items page: • Complete the listed Action Items within the recommended timeline. • Return Action Item Checklist to Records Management when corrections are completed. Listed below is a summary ofthe audit findings. AUDIT ELEMENT COMPLIANCE STATUS ACTION ITEM Records Management Program Training (RMP) Not in Compliance See Action Item Checklist Records Retention Schedule (RRS) Not in Compliance See Action Item Checklist Records Maintenance and Disposition Not in Compliance See Action Item Checklist If you have any questions regarding this audit, please contact Ronna Stickrod, Records Management Supervisor, at X2482. We have reviewed the following audit report and agree to comply with any required action items. Department Head: (/(^ Date:_^^// Department Staff: Date Annual Records Management Audit Review—Fire Administration CITY OF CARLSBAD RECORDS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RECORDS AUDIT REPORT SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: B RM staff met with the following staff members representing Fire Administration: Deborah Baird, Linda Allington, Bill Anderson, Lisa Juren, and Brianne Daley. They were asked a series of questions regarding records management training, the management of department paper and electronic records, whether the retention schedule is accurate for all records that the Fire Administration is identified as the "Office of Record", and the status of destruction of any record and non-record material. • Everyone present at the audit was familiar with at least one part of the RMP. Comprehensive training is required for the records liaison that is responsible for department records management. It was strongly recommended that all staff view the online RMP training video. See Action Item Checklist. * There were issues from the previous audit that have not been completed: 1) Retention Schedule updates, 2) retention management of FieldSaver information, and 3) the disposition of Volunteer Firefighter Minute Books. These issues are identified in detail below. • The RRS was reviewed for changes. Updates identified in the previous audit had not been completed. In addition, there were questions regarding the need to classify some Emergency Preparedness records as Vital/Essential. There were also several EMS record types (i.e. Narcotics logs. Continuing Education (CE) certificates, and Gurney Maintenance Logs) that are not on the RRS. See Action Item Checklist. • Current EMS records are being processed and stored electronically via Fieldsaver. This was an unresolved issue from a previous audit. The software program was instituted six years ago. Retention for EMS records is 7 years (if patient is not a minor), so records will not be reviewed for deletion/destruction until next year. Backup CD's were a possibility when this program was first instituted, however, due to the amount of space available on the server, CD backups will probably not occur. Linda will check with the vendor regarding a process to have necessary files deleted and obtaining certification of the deletion. See Action Item Checklist. • In the last records audit there was a discussion regarding the archiving of Volunteer Firefighter Minute Books. Since these are not official City records, it was recommended that they be preserved in the Carlsbad Library History room. See Action Item Checklist. ^ The TAB software is not being used by staff appropriately. No files exist in Fire Admin's database. Staff has not been trained on the TAB program and was not aware that other record types (besides EMS reports) should have been inventoried and filed using the program. See Action Item Checklist. * Fire Administration maintains no records with an offsite storage facility. Annual Records Management Audit Review—Fire Administration • Deborah stated that records are routinely reviewed for destruction. Because staff is not completely aware of everything that is considered a record, this review is not comprehensive or complete. At the time ofthe audit, retention and maintenance was unclear for the following record types: paper AMA/Release forms; records requests, and subpoenas. See Action Item Checklist.6 • Currently electronic records on personal and community drives are not being monitored. It was also unclear if official records and/or non-records (i.e. copies of credit card statements) were being saved to these drives department-wide. RM also discovered that Deborah may be inadvertently maintaining duplicate electronic copies of credit card statements because of the department's process of emailing statements to staff. See Action Item Checklist. Fire Admin maintains old EMS reports on a private database in the DMS. These were scanned in several years ago and have not been reviewed for possible deletion/destruction. Due to staff changes, new logins need to be created. See Action Item Checklist. 1 Fire Admin staff is currently maintaining the following non-records: copies of credit card statements for one fiscal year; IFAS batches for 18 months; and employee files (copies) which are destroyed at the end of employment. This short term retention is appropriate for these types of non-records. ^ Due to different responsibilities, official records are generated by multiple staff members in multiple locations. To maintain records in accordance to the RMP guidelines, official records will be sent to Fire Administration for filing, storage, and destruction. Working copies will be retained by staff if needed and destroyed at end of retention. Annual Records Management Audit Review—Fire Administration j CITY OF CARLSBAD RECORDS MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT RECORDS AUDIT REPORT 1 1 1 ACTION ITEM CHECKLIST ! 1 t ACTION ITEM COMPLETED? i 1 I I All staff member view RMP online training video. Comprehensive training recommended for Deborah and Lisa. RM staff to meet with Deborah and Lisa to make them familiar with all records and non-records maintained by Fire Administration. This includes instruction on how these records are processed, filed, and destroyed in compliance with the RMP. YES NO 1 1 1 Meet with Ronna to review RRS for clarity, to include record types not currently listed but that need to be (i.e. Narcotics logs. Continuing Education (CE) certificates, and Gurney Maintenance Logs), and to remove types no longer in use. YES NO i ! Unda will check with FieldSaver vendor regarding the process to have EMS files deleted at end of their retention and obtaining certification of that deletion. YES NO 1 •> i RM will contact Chris Lawrence to discuss moving Volunteer Firefighter Minute Books to Carlsbad Library History room. This process has been okayed by Mary Van Orsdol who is in charge ofthe history room. YES NO 1 J; 1 Train admin staff how to use the TAB system to file and inventory all official records. It is suggested that the volunteer also be trained so she may assist admin staff in this task, this should include labeling past, current, and future files. YES NO 1 Review records based on current RRS and process eligible records for destruction. Contact RM for assistance. YES NO 1 Electronic records stored on the shared Network drives and individual F:/drives should be reviewed for obsolete data. If there is official record data stored on the computer drives, the appropriate retention shall be applied and processed for deletion in accordance with RMP guidelines. Deborah is to delete all electronic copies of credit card statements since these are being maintained in hard copy form. YES NO 1 Old juvenile EMS records being stored in hard copy form are to be reviewed and processed for destruction if needed. EMS records stored in the DMS should also be reviewed and processed for deletion/destruction. This is a private data base with limited access; new logins will need to be created for current staff. YES NO For further assistance regarding an action item please contact Sonya at ext. 2738. I hereby certify that the above listed Action Items have been completed and are now in compliance with Records Management Policy and Procedures. Department Manager Date Records Management Date Annual Records Management Audit Review—Flre Administration