Closed case records and rejected applications, whether at the CAO or on the eCIS data base, will follow the six-year record retention guidelines.
NOTE: Data pertaining to TANF budgets in cases opened March 3, 1997, or later, will be retained indefinitely in eCIS.
Case records should be purged annually and/or at renewal and at closing. Purged material should be disposed of as “confidential” material and shredded according to DHS guidelines.
Closed case records and rejected applications may be retained in the following ways:
Stored in the CAO for the entire six-year retention period and then disposed, following DHS guidelines, or
Stored in the CAO for a period of three years and then sent to the State Records Center (SRC) for the additional three years required before disposal, or
Sent to the SRC for the entire six-year retention period.
NOTE: Individual storage limitations and geographical location will determine the method used by each CAO. All CAOs in the vicinity of Harrisburg are encouraged to utilize the SRC. The Philadelphia CAO Administrative Supports Office has contracted with a central record repository.
Revised July 31, 2024, replacing September 19, 2012