A.
Court records. A record of all hearings under this code will be made
and preserved by the Court. All Court records will be confidential
and will not be open to inspection to anyone except:
(1)
A child who has come under the jurisdiction of the Court or the child's
legal representative;
(2)
The parent(s), guardian, or custodian of a child who has come under
the jurisdiction of the Court;
(3)
The prospective adoptive parent(s) of a child who comes within the
jurisdiction of the Court;
(4)
Court personnel directly involved in the handling of the case;
(5)
An adult who, as a child, came within the jurisdiction of the Court;
or
(6)
Any other person by order of the Court, having legitimate interest
in the particular case or the work of the Court.
B.
Law enforcement and SSU records. Law enforcement and SSU records
and files concerning a child will be kept separate from the records
and files of adults. All law enforcement and the SSU records will
be confidential and will not be open to inspection to anyone except:
(1)
The child who is or was the subject of a case opened by law enforcement
or SSU;
(2)
The parent(s), guardian, or custodian of a child who is or was the
subject of a case opened by law enforcement or SSU, so long as parental
rights have not been terminated;
(3)
The child's legal representative;
(4)
Law enforcement and human services personnel, including SSU, the
MDT, prosecutor, presenting officer, and any tribal entity directly
involved in the handling of the case;
(5)
Court personnel directly involved in the handling of the case;
(6)
An adult who was the subject of a case opened by law enforcement
or SSU which came under the jurisdiction of the Court; or
(7)
Any other person by order of the Court, having legitimate interest
in the particular case or the work of the Court.
C.
Access to child protection services records. Upon written request
child protection records will be released under the following procedures:
(1)
Records may be released only to a person identified in Subsection B above. All information in the record will be released, unless mental health records in the file are subject to a statement from the mental health provider that such records contain information which, if released, might be harmful to the mental health clients or others;
(2)
SSU will review the record to determine which sections may be shared
without revealing the identity of the reporting person, or any other
information that would jeopardize the health, safety and well-being
of any person;
(3)
The name and any other identifying information of the reporting person
need not be deleted if the entity requesting record access is a law
enforcement agency, prosecuting attorney, or a child protection agency
of another jurisdiction;
(4)
In the event that compelling reasons exist for the release of the
reporting person's name, that person must authorize release of
his/her identity in writing. If the person does not do so, a Court
order will be requested for release of the name; and
(5)
Any information released from child protection records will be clearly
designated as confidential.
D.
Pursuant to Section 552a of title 5, of the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. § 1232g) agencies of
any Indian tribe, of any state, or of the federal government that
investigate and treat incidents of abuse of children may provide information
and records to those agencies of any Indian tribe, any state, or the
federal government that need to know the information in performance
of their duties. Indian tribal governments will be treated the same
as other federal government entities.
E.
Unauthorized release of confidential information. Any person who
disseminates, or permits or encourages the dissemination of, child
protection records that have been deemed confidential by the Court
will be subject to a civil fine not to exceed $5,000 for each action
or omission. This provision in no way limits a civil cause of action
by any person harmed by the release of such information and the recovery
of damages available from such a suit.
