1. Notwithstanding chapter 22, the confidentiality of all child abuse information shall be maintained, except as specifically provided by subsection 2, 3, or 4.
2. Access to child abuse information other than unfounded child abuse information is authorized only to the following persons or entities:
a. Subjects of a report as follows:
(1) To a child named in a report as a victim of abuse or to the child's attorney or guardian ad litem.
(2) To a parent or the attorney for the parent of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse.
(3) To a guardian or legal custodian, or that person's at- torney, of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse.
(4) To a person or the attorney for the person named in a report as having abused a child.
b. Persons involved in an investigation of child abuse as follows:
(1) To a health practitioner or mental health professional who is examining, attending, or treating a child whom such practitioner or professional believes or has reason to believe has been the victim of abuse or to a health practitioner or mental health professional whose consultation with respect to a child believed to have been the victim of abuse is requested by the department.
(2) To an employee or agent of the department of human services responsible for the investigation of a child abuse report.
(3) To a law enforcement officer responsible for assisting in an investigation of a child abuse allegation or for the temporary emergency removal of a child from the child's home.
(4) To a multidisciplinary team, if the department of human services approves the composition of the multidisciplinary team and determines that access to the team is necessary to assist the department in the investigation, diagnosis, assessment, and disposition of a child abuse case.
(5) In an individual case, to the mandatory reporter who reported the child abuse.
c. Individuals, agencies, or facilities providing care to a child as follows:
(1) To a licensing authority for a facility providing care to a child named in a report, if the licensing authority is notified of a relationship between facility policy and the child abuse under section 232.71, subsection 4.
(2) To an authorized person or agency responsible for the care or supervision of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse or a person named in a report as having abused a child, if the juvenile court or registry deems access to child abuse information by such person or agency to be necessary.
(3) To an employee or agent of the department of human services responsible for registering or licensing or approving the registration or licensing of an agency or facility, or to an individual providing care to a child and regulated by the department.
(4) To an employee of the department of human services responsible for an adoptive placement, a certified adoption investigator, or licensed child placing agency responsible for an adoptive placement.
(5) To an administrator of a psychiatric medical institution for children licensed under chapter 135H.
(6) To an administrator of a child foster care facility licensed under chapter 237 if the information concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by the facility.
(7) To an administrator of a child day care facility registered or licensed under chapter 237A if the information concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by or living in the facility.
(8) To the superintendent of the Iowa braille and sight saving school if the information concerns a person employed or being considered for employment or living in the school.
(9) To the superintendent of the school for the deaf if the information concerns a person employed or being considered for employment or living in the school.
(10) To an administrator of a community mental health center accredited under chapter 230A if the information concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by the center.
(11) To an administrator of a facility or program operated by the state, a city, or a county which provides services or care directly to children, if the information concerns a person employed by or being considered for employment by the facility or program.
(12) To an administrator of an agency certified by the department of human services to provide services under a medical assistance home and community-based services waiver, if the information concerns a person employed by or being considered by the agency for employment.
(13) To the administrator of an agency providing mental health, mental retardation, or developmental disability services under a county management plan developed pursuant to section 331.439, if the information concerns a person employed by or being considered by the agency for employment.
d. Relating to judicial and administrative proceedings as follows:
(1) To a juvenile court involved in an adjudication or disposition of a child named in a report.
(2) To a district court upon a finding that information is necessary for the resolution of an issue arising in any phase of a case involving child abuse.
(3) To a court or administrative agency hearing an appeal for correction of child abuse information as provided in section 235A.19.
(4) To an expert witness at any stage of an appeal necessary for correction of child abuse information as provided in section 235A.19.
(5) To a probation or parole officer, juvenile court officer, or adult correctional officer having custody or supervision of, or conducting an investigation for a court or the board of parole regarding, a person named in a report as a victim of child abuse or as having abused a child.
e. Others as follows:
(1) To a person conducting bona fide research on child abuse, but without information identifying individuals named in a child abuse report, unless having that information open to review is essential to the research or evaluation and the authorized registry officials give prior written approval and the child, the child's guardian or guardian ad litem and the person named in a report as having abused a child give permission to release the information.
(2) To registry or department personnel when necessary to the performance of their official duties or to a person or agency under contract with the department to carry out official duties and functions of the registry.
(3) To the department of justice for the sole purpose of the filing of a claim for restitution or compensation pursuant to section 910A.5 and section 912.4, subsections 3 through 5.
(4) To a legally constituted child protection agency of another state which is investigating or treating a child named in a report as having been abused or which is investigating or treating a person named as having abused a child.
(5) To a public or licensed child placing agency of another state responsible for an adoptive or foster care preplacement or placement evaluation.
(6) To the attorney for the department of human services who is responsible for representing the department.
(7) To the state and local citizen foster care review boards created pursuant to sections 237.16 and 237.19.
(8) To an employee or agent of the department of human services regarding a person who is providing child day care if the person is not registered or licensed to operate a child day care facility.
(9) To the board of educational examiners created under chapter 272 for purposes of determining whether a practitioner's license should be denied or revoked.
(10) To a legally constituted child protection agency in another state if the agency is conducting a records check of a person who is providing care or has applied to provide care to a child in the other state.
(11) To the legally authorized protection and advocacy agency recognized in section 135C.2, if a person identified in the information as a victim or a perpetrator of abuse resides in or receives services from a facility or agency because the person is diagnosed as having a developmental disability or a mental illness.
(12) To the department of human services for a record check relating to employment or residence pursuant to section 218.13.
(13) To an administrator of a child day care resource and referral agency which has entered into an agreement authorized by the department to provide child day care resource and referral services. Access is authorized if the information concerns a person providing child day care services or a person employed by a provider of such services and the agency includes the provider as a referral or the provider has requested to be included as a referral.
(14) To the Iowa board for the treatment of sexual abusers for purposes of certifying sex offender treatment providers.
(15) To a person who submits written authorization from an individual allowing the person access to information pursuant to this subsection on behalf of the individual in order to verify whether the individual is named in a founded child abuse report as having abused a child.
3. Access to unfounded child abuse information is authorized only to those persons identified in subsection 2, paragraph "a", paragraph "b", subparagraphs (2) and (5), and paragraph "e", subparagraph (2), and to the department of justice for purposes of the crime victim compensation program in accordance with section 912.10.
4. Access to founded child abuse information is authorized to the department of personnel or to the personnel office of a public employer, as defined in section 20.3, as necessary for presentation in grievance or arbitration procedures provided for in sections 19A.14 and 20.18. Child abuse information introduced into a grievance or arbitration proceeding shall not be considered a part of the public record of a case.
If a child who is a legal resident of another state is present in this state and a report of child abuse is made concerning the child, the department shall act to ensure the safety of the child. The department shall contact the child's state of legal residency to coordinate the investigation of the report. If the child's state of residency refuses to conduct an investigation, the department shall commence an appropriate investigation.
If a report of child abuse is made concerning an alleged perpetrator who resides in this state and a child who resides in another state, the department shall assist the child's state of residency in conducting an investigation of the report. The assistance shall include but is not limited to an offer to interview the alleged perpetrator and any other relevant source. If the child's state of residency refuses to conduct an investigation of the report, the department shall commence an appropriate investigation. The department shall seek to develop protocols with states contiguous to this state for coordination in the investigation of a report of child abuse when a person involved with the report is a resident of another state.
[C75, 77, 79, 81, § 235A.15; 82 Acts, ch 1066, § 2]
83 Acts, ch 96, § 157, 159; 85 Acts, ch 173, § 16; 85 Acts, ch 174, § 1; 86 Acts, ch 1177, § 2; 87 Acts, ch 153, § 10, 11; 88 Acts, ch 1158, § 53; 89 Acts, ch 65, § 1; 89 Acts, ch 283, § 25; 90 Acts, ch 1221, § 3, 4; 90 Acts, ch 1248, § 1; 90 Acts, ch 1249, § 1; 91 Acts, ch 97, § 30; 91 Acts, ch 138, § 5, 6; 92 Acts, ch 1141, § 4; 92 Acts, ch 1143, § 3, 4; 93 Acts, ch 76, §3, 4; 94 Acts, ch 1023, §43; 94 Acts, ch 1156, §1; 95 Acts, ch 93, § 1--;3; 95 Acts, ch 182, § 15, 16; 96 Acts, ch 1175, § 4; 96 Acts, ch 1183, § 28
Referred to in § 216A.136, 232.68, 232.71, 232.71A, 235A.12, 235A.13, 235A.16, 235A.17, 235A.19, 235A.21, 237.21
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Last update: Mon Jan 27 16:05:08 CST 1997
URL: /DOCS/IACODE/1997/235A/15.html
jhf