Sensitive Information Regarding D.C. Vulnerable Compromised

Sensitive information of some of the District's must vulnerable residents, including abused and neglected elderly and disabled citizens, was left in a haphazard and unsecured mess at a city office, the D.C. inspector general has found.

The District's Adult Protective Services division is tasked with "investigating reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of frail, elderly and disabled adults," according to the inspector general's report.

But the APS's case files -- which include clients' statements, Social Security numbers, health records, and the names of those who reported abuse -- were left "unorganized lying on unattended desks, in open boxes, and in carts waiting to filed" in a storage room," the IG found.

And the storage room was often left open and unlocked because it was used by city employees "as a thoroughfare" to reach exits and restrooms. City employees from a different department and who weren't authorized to look at the records had easy access to the files, according to the IG.

The report is the third the inspector general has issued in little more than a year that details how a city agency has failed to safeguard city records.

Full Article and Source:
Records of D.C.'s Abused,Elderly and Disabled Found at Risk