§ 62A-4a-412. Reports and information confidential.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, reports made pursuant to this part, as well as any other information in the possession of the division obtained as the result of a report are private, protected, or controlled records under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and may only be made available to:

(a) a police or law enforcement agency investigating a report of known or suspected abuse or neglect;

(b) a physician who reasonably believes that a child may be the subject of abuse or neglect;

(c) an agency that has responsibility or authority to care for, treat, or supervise a minor who is the subject of a report;

(d) a contract provider that has a written contract with the division to render services to a minor who is the subject of a report;

(e) except as provided in Subsection 63G-2-202(10), a subject of the report, the natural parents of the child, and the guardian ad litem;

(f) a court, upon a finding that access to the records may be necessary for the determination of an issue before the court, provided that in a divorce, custody, or related proceeding between private parties, the record alone is:

(i) limited to objective or undisputed facts that were verified at the time of the investigation; and

(ii) devoid of conclusions drawn by the division or any of the division's workers on the ultimate issue of whether or not a person's acts or omissions constituted any level of abuse or neglect of another person;

(g) an office of the public prosecutor or its deputies in performing an official duty;

(h) a person authorized by a Children's Justice Center, for the purposes described in Section 67-5b-102;

(i) a person engaged in bona fide research, when approved by the director of the division, if the information does not include names and addresses;

(j) the State Office of Education, acting on behalf of itself or on behalf of a school district, for the purpose of evaluating whether an individual should be permitted to obtain or retain a license as an educator or serve as an employee or volunteer in a school, limited to information with substantiated findings involving an alleged sexual offense, an alleged felony or class A misdemeanor drug offense, or any alleged offense against the person under Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person, and with the understanding that the office must provide the subject of a report received under Subsection (1)(k) with an opportunity to respond to the report before making a decision concerning licensure or employment;

(k) any person identified in the report as a perpetrator or possible perpetrator of abuse or neglect, after being advised of the screening prohibition in Subsection (2);

(l) except as provided in Subsection 63G-2-202(10), a person filing a petition for a child protective order on behalf of a child who is the subject of the report; and

(m) a licensed child-placing agency or person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirements of Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130.

(2)

(a) A person, unless listed in Subsection (1), may not request another person to obtain or release a report or any other information in the possession of the division obtained as a result of the report that is available under Subsection (1)(k) to screen for potential perpetrators of abuse or neglect.

(b) A person who requests information knowing that it is a violation of Subsection (2)(a) to do so is subject to the criminal penalty in Subsection (4).

(3)

(a) Except as provided in Section 62A-4a-1007 and Subsection (3)(b), the division and law enforcement officials shall ensure the anonymity of the person or persons making the initial report and any others involved in its subsequent investigation.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, excluding Section 78A-6-317, but including this chapter and Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, when the division makes a report or other information in its possession available under Subsection (1)(e) to a subject of the report or a parent of a child, the division shall remove from the report or other information only the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of individuals or specific information that could:

(i) identify the referent;

(ii) impede a criminal investigation; or

(iii) endanger a person's safety.

(4) Any person who wilfully permits, or aides and abets the release of data or information obtained as a result of this part, in the possession of the division or contained on any part of the Management Information System, in violation of this part or Sections 62A-4a-1003 through 62A-4a-1007, is guilty of a class C misdemeanor.

(5) The physician-patient privilege is not a ground for excluding evidence regarding a child's injuries or the cause of those injuries, in any proceeding resulting from a report made in good faith pursuant to this part.

(6) A child-placing agency or person who receives a report in connection with a preplacement adoptive evaluation pursuant to Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130:

(a) may provide this report to the person who is the subject of the report; and

(b) may provide this report to a person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirement of Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130, or to a licensed child-placing agency or to an attorney seeking to facilitate an adoption.

Amended by Chapter 3, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 87, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 299, 2008 General Session
Amended by Chapter 382, 2008 General Session