Law360 (July 24, 2026, 4:39 PM EDT) -- A Massachusetts mental health legal advocacy committee has filed a lawsuit against the state's department of correction, claiming it was denied access to data about health services provided in one state prison by a private contractor.

In a complaint filed on Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court, the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee — an independent state agency in the judicial branch — said the department is obligated by state public records law to make the private contractor's data available.

"Even though the requested public records are directly related to DOC's essential government function as the healthcare provider for state prisoners, DOC has denied access, claiming that the records are not in its 'possession' but rather are held by its contracted healthcare provider, VitalCore Health Services," the MHLAC said. 

The MHLAC was created by the state Legislature in 1973 to protect the rights of people with mental health challenges and consists of a board of 14 lawyers appointed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. 

In December, the MHLAC sought data from DOC about requests for medical and mental healthcare, also known as sick slips, made by prisoners at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center over a certain period of time. The MHLAC also asked the DOC for documents related to policies or protocols for handling sick slip requests and how it tracks the requests.

The department responded that it did not have the information and recommended that the agency contact VitalCore, a private company with a $770 million contract to provide healthcare to prisoners at 10 Massachusetts correctional facilities.

When the MHLAC turned to VitalCore, however, "VitalCore refused to provide the requested records, stating that because it is a private company, it is not obliged to comply with public records law," the committee said.

The department's records access officer promised to "review" the situation but never followed up, according to the complaint.

The DOC partially denied another MHLAC request made in January for information about an after-hours mental health hotline for prisoners that debuted that month, according to the suit. The department provided some records but said VitalCore had custody of information the MHLAC sought about staffing, training and confidentiality of the data gathered by the helpline.

In March, the MHLAC sent a demand letter to the department, saying VitalCore "stands in the shoes of DOC" in providing medical care to prisoners in Massachusetts, according to the suit.

"Given this reality, DOC cannot be permitted to avoid its disclosure obligations by contractually delegating its responsibilities to a private entity," the agency told the DOC at the time.

The agency appealed the matter to the Massachusetts supervisor of records, who ordered the DOC to provide more information about the nature of its relationship with VitalCore and to respond to the MHLAC's records request in accordance with the public records law.

According to the complaint, the DOC has not substantively responded to the demand letter or the supervisor's order. The department reiterated in a letter to the MHLAC this week that it would not provide the records, the agency said.

The MHLAC argued the records are subject to disclosure, even if they are in VitalCore's possession, because they concern the department's performance of its constitutional obligation to care for prisoners.

"Because the DOC delegated an essential governmental function — providing healthcare to prisoners in state custody — to a contracted third party, the requested records are subject to the public records law regardless of where such records may be physically held," the MHLAC said.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the records are public and an order to produce them. The department should also be prohibited from charging the MHLAC fees for fulfilling the records request and should pay punitive damages for acting in bad faith, the committee said.

M. Claire Masinton, a staff attorney for the MHLAC, told Law360 that the agency felt it was necessary to sue the DOC not only to secure the information it has requested, but also to ensure that state agencies cannot hide behind private contractors to keep records out of public view in the future.

"To me, this is a broader issue," Masinton said. "If a state agency can essentially avoid its disclosure requirements by contracting with a third party and physically parking its documents there, then we're going to have a real problem. This is contrary to the intent and goal of the public records law."

The DOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. 

The MHLAC is represented in-house by M. Claire Masinton.

Counsel information for the Massachusetts Department of Correction was not immediately available.

The case is Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee vs. Massachusetts Department of Correction, case number 2684CV02190, in the Suffolk County Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

--Editing by Philip Shea.

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