Guidelines for record retention in DHS licensed programs

What records are programs required to maintain and how long must they be kept?

Generally, DHS licensing rules require programs to maintain records that fall under three broad categories. These categories include program records, client records, and staff records.

Program records generally include information governing the operation of the licensed program and include required policies and procedures.

Client records include information about the client such as name, gender, birth date, home address, telephone number where parents or legal representative may be reached, emergency numbers. Other types of client records include admission forms; health forms (records on immunizations, physicals, dental exams); assessments; individual service plans; education plans; and abuse prevention plans.

Staff records include information on staff qualifications (education and work experience); employment information (position description, work schedule, payroll information); and background study clearance forms.

Refer to Minnesota Rules and Minnesota Statutes for record retention requirements governing your specific program.

What if the program rule does not establish a specific record retention schedule? What guideline should I use?

If your program rule does not establish a specific record retention schedule, you should consider the following minimum retention guidelines:

Retention of client records. All records on active clients should be maintained for the duration of the current admission. Records on clients who have been discharged from the program or who died while receiving services from the program should be retained for seven years from the date services are terminated or, if the client died, seven years from the date of the death.

Retention of staff records. Records on currently employed staff should be maintained for at least seven years. Records on staff no longer employed by the license holder should be retained for seven years from the employee’s last day of employment.

Retention of program policies and procedures. Program policies and procedures should be maintained until no longer required or until the policy and procedure is replaced by a new policy or procedure. Program incident reports should be retained for seven years from the date of the incident.

The guidelines above should be considered “minimum” standards. If program file and storage space permit, it is a good practice to retain files for three years beyond the suggested retention dates. Also, while license holders are not required to comply with the guidelines described above, DHS strongly recommends adopting these guidelines. However, if the rule you are licensed under sets forth specific record retention requirements, you must comply with those requirements. You must also comply with record retention requirements established by other state and federal agencies that have jurisdiction over specific aspects of your program, e.g., state and federal requirements governing payroll and tax records.