AWF Denied Request for Financial Disclosure by KS Department Caught Aiding SEIU

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After AWF requested that the Kansas Department on Aging (KDOA) disclose receipts and financial statements regarding its attempt to collect healthcare workers' personal information on behalf of the SEIU, KDOA wrote back, in a letter, “The KDOA does not have any documents that are responsive to this request.” AWF responded to the KDOA with the following letter:

Click here to View AWF's letter as a PDF file

Joann E, Corpstein, Chief Counsel
Department on Aging
New England Building, 503 S Kansas Avenue
Topeka, KS 66603

RE: Your September 25, 2009 Response

Dear Joanne E. Corpstein,

Responding to my September 17, 2009 request for information regarding your department’s use of taxpayer money and state resources to collect healthcare workers contact information for the Service Employee International Union (SEIU), you wrote, “The KDOA (Kansas Department on Aging) does not have any documents that are responsive to this request.”

However, your department sent out an unknown number of letters, an example of which is attached, on behalf of SEUI. It costs money to mail letters, printing and postage expenses, for example. Thus, the Kansas Department on Aging spent taxpayer’s money collecting information for the SEIU.

Like KDOA, the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (KDOSRS) also collected Kansas’ healthcare workers information at the request of the SEIU. In an email obtained from KDOSRS, a copy of which is attached, KDOSRS estimates that mailing expenses could cost as much as $4,500. This is no trivial amount of money.

I am asking you to clarify your response to us and please provide an estimate as to the cost of your Department’s activities regarding this situation. Again we are requesting the amount of money spent in both staff time and resources used to comply with the SEIU’s request.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
 
Brian M. Johnson, MPA
Executive Director

Enclosures

cc:     Gov. Parkinson
    Patrick J. Hurley