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CDA 23-17
STATE OF CALIFORNIA - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY GAVIN NEWSOM Governor
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF AGING
Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
2880 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95833
www.aging.ca.gov
TEL 916-419-7500
FAX 916-928-2267
TTY1-800-735-2929
PROGRAM MEMO
TO: Long-Term Care Ombudsman EXPIRES: Until superseded
Program Coordinators, representative
staff, volunteers and AAA Directors
NO: 23-17 PROGRAMS AFFECTED: Long-
Term Care Ombudsman
DATE ISSUED: November 9, 2023 SUPERSEDES: N/A
SUBJECT: Guidance for Addressing Legal Matters and Inquiries
Purpose
This Guidance discusses how to address any legal matters or inquiries that a local
Ombudsman program and/or its representatives may receive. Such matters and inquiries
may include subpoenas, California Public Records Act requests, and other legal papers
served on the local program. Such documents and inquiries may be served by general
members of the public, attorneys, advocacy groups, or the courts. In addition, this
Guidance addresses the procedure to report any other legal issues or questions that arise
in relation to the Ombudsman programs and representatives/job duties.
Non-exhaustive list of documents that fall under legal matters or inquiries:
Subpoenas. A subpoena is an order that usually requires you to either appear at a certain
place, date, and time to testify as a witness about a particular case, or to produce
documents related to a case or investigation you may have worked on. The subpoena will
generally provide the date by which the testimony or document production is required to
be released. The subpoena can be served in person or by mail.
California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests. Generally, CPRA requests are made
Program Memo Summary:
All legal matters or inquiries received by Ombudsman program representatives
and staff should be reported to the California Department of Aging’s (CDA) Office
of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (stateomb@aging.ca.gov) within 24
hours of receipt. After reporting, Ombudsman program representatives and staff
should await further instruction prior to taking further action.
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CDA 23-17
when any member of the public asks for records held by a government agency. The CPRA
allows a government agency 10 days to respond to these requests by stating whether the
agency has responsive records. Because of the sensitive nature of some government
records, however, not all documents are subject to the CPRA. Determining whether
records are responsive or exempt under the CPRA is a legal function and responsibility.
Court orders. A court order is an oral or written mandatory instruction given by a judge.
An individual who wants Ombudsman records can petition the relevant State Superior
Court or federal District Court to get a copy of the records. Records can only be released
with receipt and verification of a court order.
Court or regulatory documents. Lawsuits and other legal proceedings are often
commenced by filing a complaint or similar document. Like a subpoena, a complaint must
be properly served on the intended party. Proper service is important because it sets in
motion a strict timeline of events on how to respond.
This is a non-exhaustive list of common legal matters or inquiries that you may receive. If
you receive any of these, or any other legal documents or inquiries, please contact the
Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman within 24 hours of receiving them.
OSLTCO's legal team will handle these matters and provide you further instructions as
needed.
Duties and Obligations of Local Ombudsman Representatives
A. The local Ombudsman programs and their representatives must inform the
Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman whenever served with legal
matters or inquiries within 24 hours.
The Local Long-Term Care Ombudsman programs (LTCOPs) and their representatives
are extensions of the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman (OSLTCO). CDA’s
Office of Legal Services (OLS) provides legal counsel and advice to the OSLTCO
whenever legal issues arise. Since the local programs and representatives report to and
are extensions of OSLTCO, they must immediately report to OSLTCO whenever they
receive any legal matter or inquiry.
When an LTCOP and/or its representatives receive a document or inquiry of a legal nature,
such as subpoenas, PRA requests, and/or court orders, the LTCOP and/or its
representatives must inform OSLTCO within 24 hours of receiving the document or
inquiry. To contact OSLTCO with legal matters or inquiries, please email
Stateomb@aging.ca.gov and Cc: your OSLTCO Program Analyst. LTCOPs and/or their
representatives must not make any contact with outside entities or third parties and must
await further instruction from OSLTCO.
OSLTCO will refer these legal matters to OLS, and then OLS will work with the LTCOPs
and their representatives to address and resolve these legal issues; when appropriate, OLS
will enlist the Office of the Attorney General to provide further support.
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B. Communications between the local Ombudsman representative are protected
by the attorney-client privilege, but communications with outside entities or
third parties are not protected.
Attorney-client privilege refers to a legal protection that keeps communications of a legal
nature between an attorney and their client private and confidential.
OLS is made up of attorneys that provide legal counsel and advice to the Ombudsman
programs at the State and local levels. In this way, the Ombudsman programs and
representatives are clients of OLS. When Ombudsman representatives communicate with
OLS over Ombudsman-business, these communications become confidential and are
protected by the attorney-client privilege. These communications may not be disclosed to
any third party, including members of the public, a court, or other attorneys. These
communications include referring and discussing any legal papers, such as subpoenas or
CPRA requests, or issues and/or questions that arise in relation to the Ombudsman
representatives’ job duties.
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The attorney-client privilege does not protect communications between Ombudsman
representatives and outside entities or third parties. Outside entities or third parties can
include general members of the public, advocacy groups, or attorneys that serve
subpoenas or CPRA requests upon the Ombudsman representatives. Therefore, local
Ombudsman staff and representatives must not discuss any legal matters with outside
entities or third parties. Furthermore, Ombudsman representatives must not delay in
informing OLS of receiving these legal communications or papers from outside entities or
third parties. Delay in receiving such important information can cause legal problems for
OSLTCO, the local program, and/or the subpoenaed individual.
C. Ombudsman representatives have a special duty to protect the personal,
health, and financial information of residents and complainants.
In the course of their work, certified local Ombudsman representatives have access to
residents’ personal, medical, and financial information. Because of this access and the
sensitive nature of issues handled by Ombudsman representatives, federal and State laws
require the protection from disclosure of complaint information, including the identities of
complainants and residents, through specific confidentiality requirements. More regarding
the legal obligations of Ombudsman representatives as to these records can be found in
Program Manual Chapter 5: Confidentiality, Consent, and Disclosure.
Oftentimes, subpoenas or CPRA requests made by general member of the public,
advocacy groups, or attorneys ask for protected information and records, which reveal the
identities of complainants and residents. Releasing such records without the consent of a
resident or without a court order is against the law. Again, it is of absolute importance that
Ombudsman representatives do not handle these legal requests on their own and that
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We are aware that some local Ombudsman programs may be county-based and retain their own county counsel.
As previously mentioned, communications between clients and their attorneys are protected by the attorney-client
privilege. In effect, county-based Ombudsman programs may have two attorneys (one through the county and one
through CDA). If you wish to Cc: your county counsel in communications to the State office, you may do so. Such
communications will be protected by the common interest doctrine, which is an extension of the attorney-client
privilege. Please be aware that OSLTCO and OLS will still be your primary source of communication regarding legal
matters and inquiries specifically connected to the Ombudsman program.
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they instead refer these legal requests to OSLTCO to avoid any breach of confidentiality.
Contact information
When a legal inquiry or matter arises, LTCOPs and/or their representatives must contact
the State Ombudsman at Stateomb@aging.ca.gov, and Cc: their respective OSLTCO
Program Analyst.
Blanca E. Castro
Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman
