The Florida Senate

415.51  Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of child abuse or neglect.--

(1)

(a)  In order to protect the rights of the child and the child's parents or other persons responsible for the child's welfare, all records concerning reports of child abuse or neglect, including reports made to the central abuse hotline and all records generated as a result of such reports, shall be confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall not be disclosed except as specifically authorized by ss. 415.502-415.514. Such exemption from s. 119.07(1) applies to information in the possession of those entities granted access as set forth in this section.

(b)  Except for information identifying individuals, all records involving the death of a child determined to be a result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect shall be released to the public within 10 days after completion of the investigation.

(2)  Access to such records, excluding the name of the reporter which shall be released only as provided in ¹subsection (9), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials, and agencies:

(a)  Employees or agents of the department responsible for carrying out child or adult protective investigations, ongoing child or adult protective services, or licensure or approval of adoptive homes, foster homes, or other homes used to provide for the care and welfare of children. Also, employees or agents of the Department of Juvenile Justice responsible for the provision of services to children, pursuant to ²parts II and IV of chapter 39.

(b)  Criminal justice agencies of appropriate jurisdiction.

(c)  The state attorney of the judicial circuit in which the child resides or in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred.

(d)  The parent or custodian of any child who is alleged to have been abused, neglected, or abandoned. This access shall be made available no later than 30 days after the department receives the initial report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. However, any information otherwise made confidential or exempt by law shall not be released pursuant to this paragraph.

(e)  Any person alleged in the report as having caused the abuse, neglect, or abandonment of a child. This access shall be made available no later than 30 days after the department receives the initial report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. However, any information otherwise made confidential or exempt by law shall not be released pursuant to this paragraph.

(f)  A court upon its finding that access to such records may be necessary for the determination of an issue before the court; however, such access shall be limited to inspection in camera, unless the court determines that public disclosure of the information contained therein is necessary for the resolution of an issue then pending before it.

(g)  A grand jury, by subpoena, upon its determination that access to such records is necessary in the conduct of its official business.

(h)  Any appropriate official of the department responsible for:

1.  Administration or supervision of the department's program for the prevention, investigation, or treatment of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect when carrying out his or her official function; or

2.  Taking appropriate administrative action concerning an employee of the department alleged to have perpetrated institutional child abuse or neglect.

(i)  Any person engaged in bona fide research or audit purposes. However, no information identifying the subjects of the report shall be made available to the researcher.

(j)  The Division of Administrative Hearings for purposes of any administrative challenge.

(k)  Any appropriate official of the human rights advocacy committee investigating a report of known or suspected child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, the Auditor General for the purpose of conducting preliminary or compliance reviews pursuant to s. 11.45, or the guardian ad litem for the child as defined in s. 415.503.

(l)  Employees or agents of an agency of another state that has comparable jurisdiction to the jurisdiction described in paragraph (a).

(m)  The Public Employees Relations Commission for the sole purpose of obtaining evidence for appeals filed pursuant to s. 447.207. Records may be released only after deletion of all information which specifically identifies persons other than the employee.

(3)  The department may release to professional persons such information as is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of the child or the person perpetrating the abuse.

(4)  The name of any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect may not be released to any person other than employees of the department responsible for child protective services or the central abuse hotline, or the appropriate state attorney or law enforcement agency, without the written consent of the person reporting. This does not prohibit the subpoenaing of a person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or neglect when deemed necessary by the court, the state attorney, or the department, provided the fact that such person made the report is not disclosed. Any person who reports a case of child abuse or neglect may, at the time he or she makes the report, request that the department notify him or her that a child protective investigation occurred as a result of the report. The department shall mail such a notice to the reporter within 10 days after completing the child protective investigation.

(5)  All records and reports of the child protection team are confidential and exempt from the provisions of ss. 119.07(1) and ³455.241, and shall not be disclosed, except, upon request, to the state attorney, law enforcement, the department, and necessary professionals, in furtherance of the treatment or additional evaluative needs of the child or by order of the court.

(6)  A person who knowingly or willfully makes public or discloses to any unauthorized person any confidential information contained in the central abuse hotline is subject to the penalty provisions of s. 415.513. This notice shall be prominently displayed on the first sheet of any documents released pursuant to this section.

History.--ss. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ch. 63-24; s. 941, ch. 71-136; ss. 1, 1A, ch. 71-97; s. 32, ch. 73-334; s. 65, ch. 74-383; s. 1, ch. 75-101; s. 1, ch. 75-185; s. 4, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 3, ch. 77-429; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-322; s. 3, ch. 78-326; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 181, ch. 79-164; s. 1, ch. 79-203; s. 488, ch. 81-259; s. 11, ch. 84-226; s. 39, ch. 85-54; s. 14, ch. 85-224; s. 36, ch. 87-238; s. 2, ch. 88-80; s. 8, ch. 88-219; s. 26, ch. 88-337; s. 5, ch. 89-170; s. 5, ch. 89-278; s. 36, ch. 89-294; s. 2, ch. 89-535; s. 8, ch. 90-50; s. 7, ch. 90-208; s. 54, ch. 90-306; s. 9, ch. 91-57; s. 20, ch. 91-71; ss. 43, 48, ch. 92-58; s. 32, ch. 93-39; s. 16, ch. 93-214; s. 58, ch. 94-218; ss. 25, 46, ch. 95-228; s. 28, ch. 95-267; s. 15, ch. 96-402; s. 275, ch. 96-406; s. 1044, ch. 97-103; s. 15, ch. 97-276; s. 3, ch. 97-299.

¹Note.--Redesignated as subsection (4) by s. 46, ch. 95-228.

²Note.--Sections constituting former parts II and IV of ch. 39 were repealed or transferred to chapter 985 by ch. 97-238.

³Note.--Transferred to s. 455.667 by s. 82, ch. 97-261.

Note.--Former ss. 828.041, 827.07(15).