§576D-12  Protection of records; divulging
confidential information prohibited; penalties.  (a)  The agency and its agents
shall keep records that may be necessary or proper in accordance with this
chapter.  All applications and records concerning any individual or case shall
be confidential.  The use or disclosure of information concerning any
individual or case shall be limited to:



(1)  Persons duly authorized by the State or the
United States in connection with their official duties, when their official
duties are directly concerned with the administration and implementation of any
child support enforcement plan or of a program approved by Title IV-A through
E, or under Title II, X, XIV, XVI, XIX, or XX of the Social Security Act,
including but not limited to any legal counsel working on behalf of the agency;



(2)  Disclosure to the extent necessary to provide
information to family support payors or payees or their authorized
representatives regarding payments received by the agency and the status of
their support accounts; provided that the information shall be disclosed to an
authorized representative only if the request is accompanied by a written
waiver of the payor or payee concerned;



(3)  Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies as
provided in section 576D-6(a)(6);



(4)  Other agencies or persons connected with the
administration of any other federal or federally assisted program that provides
assistance, in cash or in kind, or services, directly to individuals on the
basis of need;



(5)  Employees acting within the scope and course of
their employment with the department as may be approved by the agency;



(6)  Purposes directly connected with any
investigation, enforcement, prosecution, or criminal, civil, or administrative
proceeding conducted in connection with the administration of any plan or
program in paragraph (1); and



(7)  Disclosure to the family court as may be
deemed necessary by the family court for any case pending before a court or for
purposes of implementation of section 571-51.5.



(b)  Disclosure to any committee or legislative
body (federal, state, or county) of any information that identifies by name and
address any applicant or recipient shall be prohibited.



(c)  The agency shall not disclose information
relating to the location of one party or the child to another party if the
agency knows a protective order has been entered with respect to the other
party.  The agency shall not disclose information related to the location of
one party or the child to another person if the agency has reason to believe
that disclosure of the information to that person may result in physical or
emotional harm to the party or the child.



(d)  When the Secretary of Health and Human
Services or the Secretary's agent discloses information about a parent or child
to a family court or hearings officer and advises that court or hearings
officer that the Secretary has been notified that there is reasonable evidence
of domestic violence or child abuse, the court or hearings officer shall
determine whether disclosure to any other person of information received from
the Secretary could be harmful to the parent or child and, if the court or
hearings officer determines that disclosure to any other person could be
harmful, the court or hearings officer shall not make any such disclosure.



(e)  The agency shall adopt and enforce such
rules as may be necessary to prevent improper acquisition or use of
confidential information.  Any information obtained pursuant to this section by
officials, employees, or legal counsel working on behalf of the agency may be
used in connection with their official duties or within the scope and course of
their employment but not otherwise, and shall be kept in confidential records
or files, which shall not be subject to any other law permitting inspection of
government records.  The agency and its agents shall determine whether the
inspection is in connection with the official duties or within the scope and
course of employment.



(f)  The use of the records, and other
communications of the agency or its agents by any other agency or department of
the government to which they may be furnished, shall be limited to the purposes
for which they are furnished.



(g)  Any person, including any person who is
authorized by this section to obtain information, who, knowing the information
obtained is from confidential records or files of the agency, intentionally
discloses the information other than as authorized by law, or who intentionally
or knowingly aids or abets in the inspection or disclosure of the applications
or records by any person not authorized by this section to inspect such
applications or records, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless a greater
penalty is otherwise provided by law.



(h)  Nothing in this section shall require the
sealing of family court records or preclude the disclosure of information by
the family court relating to any case pending before a court or for purposes of
implementation of section 571-51.5. [L 1989,c 133, §1; am L 1991, c 145, §2; am
L 1992, c 246, §4; am L 1997, c 293, §31; am L 1998, c 153, §6; am L 2002, c
84, §2; am L 2005, c 26, §2; am L 2006, c 42, §1]