Complaining that its investigation of Child Protective Services is being stonewalled, the Sacramento County grand jury has warned all CPS employees and its leaders that they must cooperate with the panel's probe.

In a strongly worded two-page letter issued to all CPS workers this week, the grand jury said it has "been met with staff resistance and staff improperly refusing to answer general program questions."

"Any further refusals to answer general program questions or the citing of confidentiality statutes when none apply will be considered a direct attempt to interfere with the Grand Jury's investigations," said the letter from grand jury foreman Donald Prange Sr.

Grand jury proceedings are confidential. A copy of the letter, obtained by The Bee, indicates that Prange sent the warning Wednesday to Penelope Clarke, the county administrator who oversees CPS and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. It was forwarded to all CPS employees, instructing them to cooperate with the probe, sources said.

CPS Director Laura Coulthard told The Bee on Friday via e-mail, "Since the beginning, Sacramento County and CPS have fully cooperated with the Grand Jury in its investigation and will continue to."

The investigation was sparked by stories in The Bee about a string of child deaths and about the agency's altering of documents in one case.

Prange indicated in the letter that CPS staff members have resisted answering the panel's questions and have improperly cited the confidentiality statutes in doing so.

"So that the Grand Jury can continue these investigations without further delay, please direct DHHS management and staff to fully cooperate with our investigations," he wrote.

Prange said that one of the areas being examined includes "policies regarding altering documents," and he warned CPS administrators that they cannot retaliate against employees who cooperate with the investigation.

"There should be no intimidation/harassment of interviewees by management and no questioning regarding testimony taken by the Grand Jury," the letter said, in a section typed in boldface.

The grand jury's letter appears in part to be a response to a memo that Coulthard issued to her staff on Sept. 25.

That memo, obtained by The Bee, had the subject line "DISCLOSURES TO THE GRAND JURY." It warned CPS staffers against violating confidentiality laws and instructed workers to inform an agency manager if they were contacted by the grand jury.

Coulthard also told workers that the law requires a court order before individual case information can be released and that "the Grand Jury and its individual members are considered part of the general public and therefore they too need a court order."

Responding to The Bee's questions about her memo, Coulthard wrote Friday:

"There was some initial confusion when employees began receiving unexpected phone calls and questions from a person claiming to be a Grand Jury member. ...(Y)ou want some way of confirming that the person at the other end of the phone is in fact who they say they are. CPS staff is trained and expected to closely guard confidential case information in order to protect children and families."

The letter the grand jury sent to CPS notes that the panel is not seeking individual case information, yet has met with resistance from staffers who appear to be "consistently confused and mistaken about when it is proper to cite these confidentiality statutes."

It is not the first time CPS has been accused of impeding a grand jury investigation. The 1998-99 grand jury report said the panel "was hindered by the slow responses and recalcitrance of CPS administrators."

Last year's grand jury registered similar concerns about its probe of the Sacramento Public Library system, which is overseen by a 14-person board of elected officials, including the five members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors.

That panel issued a letter in June noting that it "met not only indifference, but also active resistance and determined efforts to thwart the investigation."

The county grand jury consists of 19 volunteer citizens with broad subpoena power in their secret investigations of public agencies or officials. Grand jury findings can result in criminal charges, recommendations for new laws or reports identifying problems.

Call The Bee's Marjie Lundstrom, (916) 321-1055.