Personal information on approximately 1,175 people who have open cases with the state's Department of Child Support Services was accidentally released Jan. 4 in a fax to an unnamed financial institution that promptly returned the information to the state.

Information on the incident was made public Tuesday, although state officials Friday began contacting people who might be affected.

That information in-cluded individuals' Social Security numbers, dates of birth and child support record numbers, according to department spokeswoman Maria Caudill. She did not have a geographic breakdown available but said the information belonged to both custodial and noncustodial parents throughout California and other states.

"We don't believe there was any unauthorized use of the information," Caudill said.

The state began contacting affected individuals by mail Friday, informing them of the potential release of their personal information as a precaution. And as of Tuesday morning, the department had received six phone calls to its hot line from people seeking assistance or more information.

Caudill described the release of the fax as "an inadvertent action" and noted that procedures have been put into place to ensure there are no similar occurrences. Among those procedures is reinforcing how to handle sensitive information and requiring more cross-checking to keep that information from being released.

Department of Child Support Services Director Greta Wallace issued a statement Tuesday regretting the incident. "The department is investigating and is taking necessary actions to prevent future errors," she said.

The state employee who sent the fax has been counseled and the department said it has taken steps to inform all staff that security issues be elevated immediately and resolved.