CSHB 343(JUD): "An Act relating to disclosure of records of the Department of Health and Social Services pertaining to children in certain circumstances; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 343(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to disclosure of records of the Department of Health and Social 02 Services pertaining to children in certain circumstances; and providing for an effective 03 date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 47.10.093(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose appropriate 07 confidential information regarding a case to 08 (1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 09 (2) a person or an agency requested by the department or the child's 10 legal custodian to provide consultation or services for a child who is subject to the 11 jurisdiction of the court under AS 47.10.010 as necessary to enable the provision of 12 the consultation or services; 13 (3) an out-of-home care provider as necessary to enable the out-of- 14 home care provider to provide appropriate care to the child, to protect the safety of the
01 child, and to protect the safety and property of family members and visitors of the out- 02 of-home care provider; 03 (4) a school official as necessary to enable the school to provide 04 appropriate counseling and support services to a child who is the subject of the case, to 05 protect the safety of the child, and to protect the safety of school students and staff; 06 (5) a governmental agency as necessary to obtain that agency's 07 assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 08 child; 09 (6) a law enforcement agency of this state or another jurisdiction as 10 necessary for the protection of any child or for actions by that agency to protect the 11 public safety; 12 (7) a member of a multidisciplinary child protection team created 13 under AS 47.14.300 as necessary for the performance of the member's duties; 14 (8) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 as necessary for the 15 performance of the duties of the state medical examiner; 16 (9) a person who has made a report of harm as required by 17 AS 47.17.020 to inform the person that the investigation was completed and of action 18 taken to protect the child who was the subject of the report; 19 (10) the child support services agency established in AS 25.27.010 as 20 necessary to establish and collect child support for a child who is a child in need of aid 21 under this chapter; 22 (11) a parent, guardian, or caregiver of a child or an entity responsible 23 for ensuring the safety of children as necessary to protect the safety of a child; 24 (12) a review panel established by the department for the purpose of 25 reviewing the actions taken by the department in a specific case; [AND] 26 (13) the University of Alaska under the Alaska higher education 27 savings program for children established under AS 47.14.400, but only to the extent 28 that the information is necessary to support the program and only if the information 29 released is maintained as a confidential record by the University of Alaska; 30 (14) a child placement agency licensed under AS 47.32 as 31 necessary to provide services for a child who is the subject of the case; and
01 (15) a state or municipal agency of this state or another 02 jurisdiction that is responsible for delinquent minors, as may be necessary for the 03 administration of services, protection, rehabilitation, or supervision of a child or 04 for actions by the agency to protect the public safety. 05 * Sec. 2. AS 47.12.310(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose 07 (1) information regarding a case to a federal, state, or municipal law 08 enforcement agency for a specific investigation being conducted by that agency; 09 (2) appropriate information regarding a case to 10 (A) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 11 (B) a person or an agency requested by the department or the 12 minor's legal custodian to provide consultation or services for a minor who is 13 subject to the jurisdiction of the court under this chapter as necessary to enable 14 the provision of the consultation or services; 15 (C) school officials as may be necessary to protect the safety of 16 the minor who is the subject of the case and the safety of school students and 17 staff or to enable the school to provide appropriate counseling and supportive 18 services to meet the needs of a minor about whom information is disclosed; 19 (D) a governmental agency as may be necessary to obtain that 20 agency's assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical 21 custody of a minor; 22 (E) a law enforcement agency of this state or another 23 jurisdiction as may be necessary for the protection, rehabilitation, or 24 supervision of any minor or for actions by that agency to protect the public 25 safety; 26 (F) a victim or to the victim's insurance company as may be 27 necessary to inform the victim or the insurance company about the arrest of the 28 minor, including the minor's name and the names of the minor's parents, copies 29 of reports, or the disposition or resolution of a case involving a minor; 30 (G) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 as may be 31 necessary to perform the duties of the state medical examiner;
01 (H) foster parents or relatives with whom the child is placed by 02 the department as may be necessary to enable the foster parents or relatives to 03 provide appropriate care for the child who is the subject of the case, to protect 04 the safety of the child who is the subject of the case, and to protect the safety 05 and property of family members and visitors of the foster parents or relatives; 06 (I) the Department of Law or its agent for use and subsequent 07 release if necessary for collection of an order of restitution on behalf of the 08 recipient; 09 (J) the Violent Crimes Compensation Board established in 10 AS 18.67.020 for use in awarding compensation under AS 18.67.080; [AND] 11 (K) a state, municipal, or federal agency of this state or another 12 jurisdiction that has the authority to license adult or children's facilities and 13 services; 14 (L) a child placement agency licensed under AS 47.32 as 15 necessary to provide services for a minor who is subject to the jurisdiction 16 of the court under this chapter; and 17 (M) a state or municipal agency of this state or another 18 jurisdiction that is responsible for child protection services, as may be 19 necessary for the administration of services, protection, rehabilitation, or 20 supervision of a minor or for actions by the agency to protect the public 21 safety; and 22 (3) to the University of Alaska under the Alaska higher education 23 savings program for children established under AS 47.14.400 information that is 24 necessary to support the program, but only if the information released is maintained as 25 a confidential record by the University of Alaska. 26 * Sec. 3. AS 47.12.310(f) is amended to read: 27 (f) The department may release to a person with a legitimate interest 28 information relating to a minor [MINORS NOT] subject to the jurisdiction of the 29 department [COURT] under this chapter. The department shall adopt regulations 30 under AS 44.62 to implement this subsection, including regulations governing the 31 release of information and standards for identifying a [SUFFICIENT] legitimate
01 interest in the information. 02 * Sec. 4. AS 47.12.315 is repealed and reenacted to read: 03 Sec. 47.12.315. Public disclosure of information in department records 04 relating to certain minors. (a) Notwithstanding AS 47.12.310 and except as 05 otherwise provided in this section, the department shall disclose information to the 06 public, on request, concerning a minor subject to this chapter who was at least 13 07 years of age at the time of commission of 08 (1) a felony offense against a person under AS 11.41; 09 (2) arson in the first or second degree; 10 (3) burglary in the first degree; 11 (4) distribution of child pornography; 12 (5) promoting prostitution in the first degree; 13 (6) misconduct involving a controlled substance in the first, second, or 14 third degrees involving distribution or possession with intent to deliver; or 15 (7) misconduct involving weapons in the first through fourth degrees. 16 (b) The department may disclose the information authorized in (a) of this 17 section only if a court has adjudicated the minor as delinquent. 18 (c) When required by this section to disclose information, the department may 19 disclose only the name of the minor, the name of each legal parent or guardian, the 20 specific offense alleged to have been committed in the petition, and the final outcome 21 of the court proceedings relating to the offense. Before the disclosure, the department 22 shall delete the information that identifies the victim of the offense. 23 (d) The department may not disclose the name of an out-of-home care 24 provider with whom the minor was living at the time the minor was alleged to have 25 committed the offense. 26 (e) If the department or other state or municipal agency maintains the 27 information to be disclosed by electronic means that can be recovered from a 28 computer database, the department or agency may disclose the information in that 29 medium. 30 (f) The department may not release information under this section after five 31 years from the date the department or other agency is first required or authorized to
01 make the disclosure under this section. 02 (g) When disclosure is required under this section, the department may 03 petition the court for an order prohibiting the disclosure. The court may grant the 04 petition if, based on information presented in the petition or at an in camera hearing 05 held on the petition, the court finds that 06 (1) the crime was an isolated incident and the minor does not present 07 any further danger to the public; or 08 (2) the victim agrees that disclosure is inappropriate. 09 (h) In this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "out-of-home care 10 provider" means a person, other than the child's legal parents, with whom a child who 11 is in the custody of the state under AS 47.10, AS 47.12, or AS 47.14 is currently 12 placed, including a foster parent, a relative other than a parent, and a person who has 13 petitioned for adoption or guardianship of the child. 14 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 15 read: 16 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Health and Social Services may 17 adopt regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take 18 effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of 19 secs. 1 - 4 of this Act. 20 * Sec. 6. Section 5 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 21 * Sec. 7. Except as provided in sec. 6 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2012.