FINAL - IGA BTW OME AND ASU ON INTIMATE PARTNER HOMICIDE.PDF

Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for Data Sharing
Between
Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University
And Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner
This Intergovernmental Agreement (“IGA” or “Agreement”) No. C-29-19-002-M-00 is entered into
as of the last signature date herein (the “Effective Date”), pursuant to A.R.S. §§11-951 et seq.,
between Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner (“MCOME”) and the
Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University (“ASU”), which shall be
collectively referred to as the Parties and each individually as a Party.
1. PURPOSE OF THE AGREEMENT:
This Agreement establishes the basis for the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner
(MCOME) to share with ASU information contained in its records on violent deaths occurring
in Maricopa County, Arizona. The records will be used for the purpose of contributing to
understanding risk factors for intimate partner homicide in Arizona by providing accurate,
comprehensive, and objective information regarding violent deaths.
The sharing of such records data will be in accordance with the terms and conditions stated
in this Agreement and predicated on the mutual assurance that all unique identifiers in these
data will be protected and kept strictly confidential.
2. TERM OF THE AGREEMENT:
The term of this Agreement shall become effective upon approval of the Maricopa County
Board of Supervisors and shall remain in effect for a period of five (5) years unless otherwise
terminated or canceled as provided herein.
This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed
an original but all of which together shall constitute the same instrument. Faxed, copied and
scanned signatures are acceptable as original signatures.
3. TERMINATION OR AMENDMENT:
Each party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement by mailing the other party written
notice of termination by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least thirty (30) days prior
to the termination date. This Agreement may be modified at any time by mutual written
amendment signed by the authorized representative of the respective parties.
4. CONFIDENTIALITY:
A. Any information that may be exchanged through this Agreement shall not be used for
purposes other than those covered in the Section 15 Scope of Work without prior
approval of all parties to this Agreement.
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B. Neither medical information nor personally identifying information that may be
exchanged through this Agreement shall be made available for any political or
commercial purpose, nor shall such information be used as basis for determining
eligibility for care or source of payment for care to any individual.
5. PUBLIC RECORDS:
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Parties acknowledge that they are
subject to A.R.S. 39-121 through 39-128 regarding public records. Any provision regarding
confidentiality is limited to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of Arizona law.
All reports of the medical examiner are subject to additional protections provided for by ARS
§ 11-597.02 and Schoeneweis v Hamner, 223 Ariz. 169, 221 P.3d 48 (App. 2009). ASU shall
not disclose reports originating from the medical examiner. ASU shall direct all individuals
making a request for medical examiner reports in ASU’s possession to the MCOME for such
reports.
6. APPLICABLE LAW:
Arizona Law. The substantive and procedural law of Arizona applies to this Agreement
including, where applicable, the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted by the State of
Arizona. The Parties agree that the venue for any claim arising out of any or in any way related
to this Agreement shall be Maricopa County, Arizona.
7. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAWS:
The parties warrant that they are in compliance with all State and Federal laws.
8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-511, the State, its political subdivisions or any department or agency
of either may, within three (3) years after its execution, cancel any Agreement, without penalty
or further obligation, made by the State, its political subdivisions, or any of the departments or
agencies of either if any person significantly involved in initiating, negotiating, securing,
drafting or creating the Agreement on behalf of the State, its political subdivisions or any of
the departments or agencies of either is, at any time while the Agreement or any extension of
the Agreement is in effect, an employee or agent of any other party to the Agreement in any
capacity or a consultant to any other party of the Agreement with respect to the subject matter
of the Agreement. A cancellation made pursuant to this provision shall be effective when
Arizona State University or Maricopa County through the Office of the Medical Examiner
receives written notice of the cancellation unless the notice specifies a later time.
9. ARBITRATION:
Pursuant to A.R.S. §12-1518, disputes under this Agreement shall be resolved through the
use of arbitration as follows:
a) Cases under the Jurisdictional Limit. In all cases filed in superior court in which the
court finds or the parties agree that the amount in controversy does not exceed the
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jurisdictional limit, arbitration shall be used, unless all parties file a written stipulation
waiving the arbitration requirement, and the court waives the arbitration requirement
on a showing of good cause.
10. FUNDING:
This Agreement is not an obligation of or a commitment of funds, or a basis for a transfer of
funds, but rather a statement of agreement between the Parties concerning the sharing and
use of information related to the purposes of this Agreement. Expenditures by each party are
subject to that party's budgetary processes and to the availability of funds and resources
pursuant to applicable laws, regulations, and policies of the respective parties.
11. RELATIONSHIP:
Nothing in this Agreement shall make any ASU employee or MCOME employee an agent or
employee of the other party to this Agreement.
12. INSURANCE:
The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner and Arizona State University are self-
insured for liability per A.R.S. § 41-621.
13. INDEMNIFICATION:
Each Party (as "indemnitor") agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the other Party
(as "indemnitee") from and against any and all claims, losses, liability, costs, or expenses
(including reasonable attorney's fees) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "claims") arising
out of bodily injury of any person (including death) or property damage, but only to the extent
that such claims which result in vicarious/derivative liability to the indemnitee are caused by
the act, omission, negligence, misconduct, or other fault of the indemnitor, its officers, officials,
agents, employees, or volunteers.
14. BACKGROUND:
ASU is conducting a research study entitled “An examination of risk factors for intimate partner
homicide in Arizona” (“research project”) under the direction of Jill Messing, MSW, PhD,
Associate Professor (“ASU Researcher”). The purpose of this study is to gather data on risk
factors for intimate partner homicide in Arizona, replicating and expanding upon previous
research and providing needed information about the prevalence and risk factors for intimate
partner homicide in Arizona. This project will accomplish the following goals: (1) Develop an
accurate count of intimate partner homicides in Arizona; (2) Better understand the risk factors
for homicide, particularly those that are novel and/or specific to Arizona; and (3) Examine
homicides among marginalized populations (e.g., immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, those living
in rural areas, Native Americans).
15. SCOPE OF WORK:
A. MCOME agrees to provide ASU with the following records (Data records):
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i. Preliminary Investigative Reports (PIR), Autopsy Reports, and Toxicology
Reports for closed cases with a “homicide” manner of death. Certain cases
with an “undetermined” manner of death may also be provided.
a) These reports will be made available to ASU from January 1, 2016 and
forward.
b) These reports will be made available to ASU in an initial transfer of all
available records from January 1, 2016, provided electronically on CD.
Following the transfer of these records, closed homicide and/or
undetermined records will be forwarded to ASU electronically, via email
or CD, regularly until such time as ASU indicates they have received a
sufficient number of records for this research
c) ASU understands and agrees that MCOME reserves the right to restrict
and/or withhold access to any and all such reports and records which,
in MCOME's sole discretion, is necessary and otherwise appropriate in
order to comply with the Arizona Court of Appeals’ most recent decision
in Schoeneweis v Hamner, 223 Ariz. 169, 221 P.3d 48 (App. 2009) and
ARS § 11-597.02.
d) ASU understands and agrees that MCOME shall not provide ASU with
access to any preliminary investigative reports, autopsy reports, and
toxicology reports for any death investigation that has not been formally
closed by MCOME, but that remains open and pending for any reason
in the sole discretion of MCOME. In addition, photos, images, x-rays
and/or video depicting human remains shall not be provided, unless
permitted under A.R.S. § 11-597.02. Moreover, ASU understands that
release of OME records may be subject to approval by law
enforcement, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and Victim
Services.
ii. For the sole purpose of executing this Agreement, it is understood that at least
95% of these reports are available within 180 days of death and are then ready
to be shared with ASU. ASU understands and agrees that the noted 95% within
180 days is subject to caseload and availability of pathologists to complete
these cases within the timeframe stated and is subject to change in the sole
discretion of the MCOME.
B. ASU agrees to provide or continue to provide the MCOME with:
i. A description of the security measures that are in place to maintain the
confidentiality of the Data records being received. These measures at a
minimum should follow the recommendations for the "Security Considerations
for Applicants" prepared by the Human Subjects Review Board of the Arizona
Department of Health Services.
ii. Analytical support for matters related to data collected as part of this research
project. This support will be agreed to on an ad hoc basis between the parties.
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iii. OME case numbers which ASU indicates involve intimate partner homicide.
iv. A template letter with language agreed to by both parties, that will be sent to
next of kin asking for their assistance in providing information for this research.
v. Supplies for mailing the letters, including paper and postage.
C. Confidential Information:
i. The parties agree to provide information following a mutually agreeable format.
All confidential information in the Data records furnished shall be marked
confidential if disclosed in written or other tangible form, or if disclosed orally
or visually, identified as confidential at the time of disclosure and reduced to
writing and marked confidential and transmitted to the receiving party within
thirty (30) days of the initial disclosure.
ii. Without MCOME prior written approval, ASU will not use, or disclose to any
third party, confidential information contained in the Data records of MCOME
in any manner whatsoever except for the "Purpose" stated in Section 1 and will
require that its employees and agents, and third parties, who have access to
such confidential information maintain the same in strict confidence after the
termination of this Agreement; provided that ASU's obligations hereunder shall
not apply to information that was already known to the receiving party prior to
the time of first disclosure, as demonstrated by contemporaneous, written
documentation; or
a) At the time of disclosure is in the public domain, or after the date of the
disclosure, lawfully becomes a part of the public domain other than
through breach of this Agreement by the receiving party; or
b) Is received without any obligation of confidentiality from a third party
having a legal right to disclose the same; or
c) Is independently developed by the receiving party by individuals without
access to such information, as demonstrated by contemporaneous,
written documentation; or
d) Is required to be disclosed by the receiving party pursuant to a legally
enforceable order, subpoena, or other regulation ("ORDER"), provided,
however, that the receiving party promptly notifies the disclosing party
in advance of such disclosure and discloses only that INFORMATION
necessary to comply with said ORDER.
D. Data Rights and Protection:
i. ASU agrees to carefully restrict use and access of information to those
persons designated by ASU and agrees that MCOME retains ownership of
its Data. Data provided by MCOME for review by ASU are for the use of the
research project only and no copies may be made of such records to provide
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to other individuals or entities, or for any other purposes. ASU may not
release, store, save, disseminate or otherwise use Data in any manner or
form that is not authorized in this Agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing,
ASU shall be permitted to freely publish, without prior MCOME written
approval, Data in aggregate form with no identifiers.
ii. ASU agrees that it is responsible for safely maintaining the integrity and
confidentiality of MCOME’s data received or under its control as a result of
the Agreement. ASU will immediately notify MCOME upon discovery of a
breach of the Data, and will work cooperatively with MCOME to terminate,
minimize, and resolve the breach.
iii. ASU shall prohibit identifying information about a person that was supplied
under the terms of this Agreement from being released to anyone not
working on the research project.
iv. ASU shall require all officers, agents and employees to keep all such shared
confidential information strictly confidential as set forth in Section 15C. To
communicate the requirements for this section to all officers, agents and
employees, to discipline all persons who may violate the requirements of this
section and to notify the originating party in writing within forty-eight (48)
hours of any violation and corrective actions to be taken.
16. AUTHORITY:
A. This Agreement does not imply authority to perform any tasks, or acceptance
responsibility, not expressly stated in this Agreement.
B. This Agreement does not create a duty or responsibility unless the intention to do so
is clearly and unambiguously stated in the Agreement.
17. SECTION HEADINGS:
Sections and other headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and
shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
18. NOTICES, CORRESPONDENCE, AND REPORTS:
Notices, correspondence, and reports shall be sent to:
COUNTY ASU
Administrative Director Office for Research & Sponsored Projects
Maricopa County Office of the Arizona State University
Medical Examiner PO Box 876011
701 W Jefferson Street Tempe AZ 85287-6011
Phoenix AZ 85007 Email: asu.awards@asu.edu
Phone: 602-506-3322 Phone: 480-965-1427
Copy: Jill Messing
School of Social Work
Arizona State University
411 N Central Ave, Suite 800
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Phoenix AZ 85004
Phone: 602-496-1193
Email: Jill.Messing@asu.edu
SIGNATURE APPROVALS:
COUNTY
By:___________________________________
Chairman, Board of Supervisors (DATE)
APPROVED AS TO FORM ATTEST
By:__________________________________ By:_______________________________
Attorney for the Board of Supervisors (DATE) Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (DATE)
ARIZONA BOARD OF REGENTS APPROVED AS TO FORM
FOR AND ON BEHALF OF ARIZONA
STATE UNIVERSITY
By:_________________________________ By:________________________________
(DATE) (DATE)
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