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H.B. 341

             1     

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES RECORDS

             2     
2005 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Sponsor: Steven R. Mascaro

             5     
             6      LONG TITLE
             7      General Description:
             8          This bill adds specific items to what can be redacted from Child and Family Services
             9      records.
             10      Highlighted Provisions:
             11          This bill:
             12          .    adds the following information to the list of what can be redacted from requested
             13      records:
             14              .    information received from BCI or NCIC;
             15              .    psychological or psychiatric records; and
             16              .    discussions between a division employee and attorney.
             17      Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
             18          None
             19      Other Special Clauses:
             20          None
             21      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             22      AMENDS:
             23          62A-4a-412, as last amended by Chapters 122 and 356, Laws of Utah 2004
             24     
             25      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             26          Section 1. Section 62A-4a-412 is amended to read:
             27           62A-4a-412. Reports and information confidential.



             28          (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, reports made pursuant to this part, as
             29      well as any other information in the possession of the division obtained as the result of a report
             30      are private, protected, or controlled records under Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records
             31      Access and Management Act, and may only be made available to:
             32          (a) a police or law enforcement agency investigating a report of known or suspected
             33      child abuse or neglect;
             34          (b) a physician who reasonably believes that a child may be the subject of abuse or
             35      neglect;
             36          (c) an agency that has responsibility or authority to care for, treat, or supervise a child
             37      who is the subject of a report;
             38          (d) a contract provider that has a written contract with the division to render services to
             39      a child who is the subject of a report;
             40          (e) any subject of the report, the natural parents of the minor, and the guardian ad
             41      litem;
             42          (f) a court, upon a finding that access to the records may be necessary for the
             43      determination of an issue before the court, provided that in a divorce, custody, or related
             44      proceeding between private parties, the record alone is:
             45          (i) limited to objective or undisputed facts that were verified at the time of the
             46      investigation; and
             47          (ii) devoid of conclusions drawn by the division or any of the division's workers on the
             48      ultimate issue of whether or not a person's acts or omissions constituted any level of abuse or
             49      neglect of another person;
             50          (g) an office of the public prosecutor or its deputies in performing an official duty;
             51          (h) a person authorized by a Children's Justice Center, for the purposes described in
             52      Section 67-5b-102 ;
             53          (i) a person engaged in bona fide research, when approved by the director of the
             54      division, if the information does not include names and addresses;
             55          (j) the State Office of Education, acting on behalf of itself or on behalf of a school
             56      district, for the purpose of evaluating whether an individual should be permitted to obtain or
             57      retain a license as an educator or serve as an employee or volunteer in a school, limited to
             58      information with substantiated findings involving an alleged sexual offense, an alleged felony


             59      or class A misdemeanor drug offense, or any alleged offense against the person under Title 76,
             60      Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person, and with the understanding that the office must
             61      provide the subject of a report received under Subsection (1)(k) with an opportunity to respond
             62      to the report before making a decision concerning licensure or employment;
             63          (k) any person identified in the report as a perpetrator or possible perpetrator of child
             64      abuse or neglect, after being advised of the screening prohibition in Subsection (2);
             65          (l) a person filing a petition for a child protective order on behalf of a minor who is the
             66      subject of the report; and
             67          (m) a licensed child-placing agency or person who is performing a preplacement
             68      adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirements of Section 78-30-3.5 .
             69          (2) (a) A person, unless listed in Subsection (1), may not request another person to
             70      obtain or release a report or any other information in the possession of the division obtained as
             71      a result of the report that is available under Subsection (1)(k) to screen for potential
             72      perpetrators of child abuse or neglect.
             73          (b) A person who requests information knowing that it is a violation of Subsection
             74      (2)(a) to do so is subject to the criminal penalty in Subsection (4).
             75          (3) (a) Except as provided in Section 62A-4a-116.3 and Subsection (3)(b), the division
             76      and law enforcement officials shall ensure the anonymity of the person or persons making the
             77      initial report and any others involved in its subsequent investigation.
             78          (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, excluding Section 78-3a-314 , but
             79      including this chapter and Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management
             80      Act, when the division makes a report or other information in its possession available under
             81      Subsection (1)(e) to a subject of the report or a parent of a minor, the division shall remove
             82      from the report or other information only the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
             83      individuals or specific information [that could]:
             84          (i) that could identify the referent;
             85          (ii) that could impede a criminal investigation; [or]
             86          (iii) that could endanger a person's safety[.];
             87          (iv) received from the Bureau of Criminal Identification or the National Crime
             88      Information Center;
             89          (v) related to psychological or psychiatric diagnosis or treatment; or


             90          (vi) detailing discussions between a division employee and their attorney.
             91          (4) Any person who wilfully permits, or aides and abets the release of data or
             92      information obtained as a result of this part, in the possession of the division or contained on
             93      any part of the Management Information System, in violation of this part or Sections
             94      62A-4a-116 through 62A-4a-116.3 , is guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
             95          (5) The physician-patient privilege is not a ground for excluding evidence regarding a
             96      child's injuries or the cause of those injuries, in any proceeding resulting from a report made in
             97      good faith pursuant to this part.
             98          (6) A child-placing agency or person who receives a report in connection with a
             99      preplacement adoptive evaluation pursuant to Section 78-30-3.5 :
             100          (a) may provide this report to the person who is the subject of the report; and
             101          (b) may provide this report to a person who is performing a preplacement adoptive
             102      evaluation in accordance with the requirement of Section 78-30-3.5 , or to a licensed
             103      child-placing agency or to an attorney seeking to facilitate an adoption.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-11-05 9:45 AM


Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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