CEO 84-99 -- October 18, 1984

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

D.H.R.S. EMPLOYEE WORKING FOR ORGANIZATION DOING BUSINESS WITH DEPARTMENT

To: Mr. James Fred Rhoden, Detention Care Worker Supervisor, Polk Regional Juvenile Detention Center, Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services

SUMMARY:

No prohibited conflict of interest would be created were a D.H.R.S. employee with a regional juvenile detention center to be employed part-time by an organization which provides an alcohol and drug treatment program for juveniles and which has contracted with the Department. The employee played no role in the contracting process between the Department and the organization and his public duties are unrelated to the organization and its contract with the Department. CEO's 83-85, 84-20 and 84-24 are referenced.

QUESTION:

Would a prohibited conflict of interest be created were you, a Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services employee with a regional juvenile detention center, to be employed part-time by an organization which provides an alcohol and drug treatment program for juveniles and which has contracted with the Department?

Your question is answered in the negative.

In your letter of inquiry and in a telephone conversation with our staff, you advise that you are employed by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services as a Detention Care Worker Supervisor at a regional juvenile detention center. In that position, you serve as the training and staff development coordinator and manage the records necessary for accreditation of the center. You also work as a supervisor dealing with client problems and counseling with clients.

You question whether you may work as a part-time staff member with an organization funded by three counties to provide an alcohol and drug treatment program for juveniles. Your responsibilities there would include counseling adolescents with alcohol-related problems. You advise that the organization has contracted with the Department to receive Department funds when it refers a client to the organization through counselors at the juvenile court. You also advise that as a Department employee you had absolutely no responsibility for or involvement with the contract and that you are not in a position to refer Department clients to the organization's programs.

In similar situations, we have found that Department employees who play no role in the contracting process between the Department and their private employers and whose public duties are unrelated to the employer and its contract with the Department may retain their outside employment without violating the Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees. See, for examples, CEO 83-85, CEO 84-20, and CEO 84-24.

Accordingly, we find that no prohibited conflict of interest would be created were you to be employed part-time by the organization which provides an alcohol and drug treatment program for juveniles.