Records Retention

Records Retention Schedules for State Agencies

Records Retention Schedules for State Agencies

Please note, Iron Mountain and the UCHC Warehouse, will not accept any records that do not have the State Retention Schedule Code (see examples at S1 - Administrative Records) and the destruction date box filled in on the Records Transmittal forms.   John Winberg and Mike Stephens will review with requesting departments this information to ensure compliance.   John and Mike will also spot check all box transfers going to Iron Mountain or the UCHC Warehouse as will Iron Mountain staff.   Any boxes that are found to be non-complaint as the records forms are being entered at Iron Mountain or UCHC Warehouse, will be rejected and returned to the owning department at the published rate. 

Thanks

Jack Ferraro
University Director & Operations Manager
State of Connecticut RMLO

Office of Property and Materials Management
Tel: (860) 679-1927    Fax: 679-1993

The schedules listed below can be also located at: www.cslib.org/publicrecords/retstate.htm

• S1 - Administrative Records

• S2 - Personnel Records

• S3 - Fiscal Records

• S4 - Health Information Management Records
  and Case Files
  Health Information Management
  Records and Case Files Cover Letter
  Records Retention Policy for Hospital Closures, Mergers, and Consolidations

• S5 - Student Records Maintained by Connecticut State Institutions of Higher Education

• S6 - Electronic Data Processing Records

• S7-Full-Time Post Secondary Programs in Vocational-Technical School Systems

• S8 - Correctional Facilities Records

• S9 - Libraries, Archives and Museums

• S10 - Public Safety and Emergency Services

   

The above schedules are provided in Portable Document Format (PDF) and require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing. If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, click on the Acrobat Reader icon below to install this software free from Adobe then return here to view these files.

Records Retention Forms

UCHC Records Storage Request Form: 
UCHC Records Transmittal Form Sample  
(Sample)
Used for Iron Mountain or Internal Storage

The forms listed below can be located at:
http://www.cslib.org/publicrecords/retstate.htm

Forms, Guidelines and Publications: 
http://www.cslib.org/publicrecords/opraforms.htm

The following documents will open in MS Word 97. You may fill in the information and follow the instructions on the form. The forms must be mailed to the UCHC Records Officer at MC 6170 for further processing.

• Form - Records Disposal Authorization - RC-108
• Record Retention Form Worksheet   (Form RC-50W)
• Records Management Liaison Officer Designation (Form RC-078 rev.)
• Reference Request Form (Form RC-200rev.) 
• Records Storage List (Form RC-100rev.)
• Certificate of Compliance

  • Data Processing

  • Imaging

  • Microfilm

• Records Certification           

  • Microfilm

RECORDS INFORMATION

Information contained on these pages are from the State Records Management Manual.

Public Records Administrator: http://www.cslib.org/publicrecords/

Definition of a Record:

Section 1-18(b) of the General Statutes, as revised, states:

Public records or files means any recorded data or information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, received or retained by a public agency, whether such data or information be handwritten, typed, tape-recorded, printed, Photostatted, photographed or recorded by any other method.

Definition of Non-Record Materials:

There are some easy guidelines that can be used to distinguish records from non-record items. The physical characteristics of non-record materials are the same as record materials. The differences between a non-record and a record are the reasons for keeping the information and the uses to which the information is put.

The Following are examples of non-record material:

1. Extra copies kept only for convenience, reading files, follow-up or suspense.

2. Information copies of correspondence and other papers on which no documented administrative action is taken.

3. Duplicate copies of documents maintained in the same file.

4. Inquiries and requests from the public and answers thereto not required by law to be preserved or not required as evidence of a public or private legal right or liability.

5. Transmittal letters that do not add information to that contained in the transmitted material.

6. Reproduced or published material received from other offices which require no action and are not required for documentary purposes (originating agency is required to maintain record copy).

7. Catalogues, trade journals, other publications or papers received which require no action and are not part of a case upon which action is being taken or will be taken.

8. Library or museum material collected for informational or exhibition purposes.

9. Stocks of publications, forms or related printed documents which become obsolete or outdated due to revision. Originating agency should maintain a record copy.

10. Working papers, preliminary drafts or other material summarized in final or other form and which have no value once action has been taken.

The disposition of all non-record material is left to the agency’s judgment and discretion. If an agency cannot determine whether or not material is a record or non-record, that agency should consult with the Office of Public Records Administrator.

Definition of a Record Series:

A record series consists of any documents, volumes or folders arranged under a single filing system, or kept together as a unit because they relate to a particular subject, result from the same activity, or have a particular form.

Determining the Retention Schedule:

There are five primary values to consider when establishing a retention schedule:

1. Administrative: These are records which pertain to the origin, development, activities and accomplishments of the agency. The fall generally into two categories: policy records and operational records.

2. Legal: Records of legal value include those with evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations of the State.

3. Fiscal: Records that have fiscal value are those which relate to the financial transactions of the agency, such as budgets, payrolls, vouchers, and accounting records. After records have served their primary administrative purpose, it may be necessary to preserve them to document the expenditure of public moneys and to account for them for audit purposes. Here again, in some instances the audit requirements of the Federal Government as well as those of the State
   must be taken into consideration. Some records, obviously, have more than one value and all values must be considered in appraising the records. A check, for example, is created to make a payment to a person or business to whom the State owes money; its administrative value ends as soon as the payment has been made and the check is returned to the Treasurer. The same check, however, has fiscal value because it documents an expenditure of public funds; it may also have legal value, depending on the purpose for which it was issued.

4. Historical: Historical records include those which are worthy of permanent preservation for reference and research purposes and which have been selected for deposit in the State Archives. These records are retained for many uses, but public officials use archival records to protect the government, give consistency and continuity to its action, prevent duplication of effort, find successful ways for meeting recurrent problems, and avoid past mistakes. Records are also kept to protect the legal rights of our citizens and for research
   in both scientific and historical fields to advance general knowledge and understanding.

5. Research: Research records are those that are used in scholarly studies and investigations designed to extend the area of human knowledge or as basic historical evidence which embodies important information on persons, corporate bodies’ problems, conditions, and the like. They may also include case files and correspondence of a regulative and quasi-judicial nature, statistical and other data on economic development, population changes, and major movements in our society. It should be pointed out that many of these records have informational, administrative, and archival values.

Agency Responsibilities:

In order for the State’s records management program to function effectively and efficiently, state agencies are requested to assist the State Librarian in the performance of his/her duties as outlined in the State Records Management Manual.

Responsibilities:

1. The designated Records Management Liaison Officer(s), RMLO, will be responsible for the overall coordination of the agency records management program and who will act as liaison to the Office of the Public Records Administrator in the performance of records management duties.
    

2. The Records Administrator will identify the duties of the agency RMLO, which may include the following and provide for:
    

   • Guidelines for the maintenance and use of records in the conduct of agency business.

   • Inventory of agency records and recommendation of retention periods for the various types of records in cooperation with agency program supervisors.

   • Disposition of records in accordance with the retention/disposition schedules and approvals required by the Office of the Public Records Administrator.

   • Transfer inactive or non-current records to agency records center or other state approved private storage facilities.

   • Maintain a control file of all agency retention schedules, destruction authorities, and transmittal of records to record centers or to the State Library Archives.

   • Disseminate informational or general letters received from the Office of  the Public Administrator.

   • Designate certain unit supervisors or other personnel to serve as Records Liaison Officers to assist the RMLO. This is necessary for larger agencies only.

Approved Records Retention Schedules are On-Line at:

Connecticut State Library Public Records Administrator

 

 

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