Bill Text: FL S7036 | 2024 | Regular Session | Prefiled
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: OGSR/Identifying Information of Persons Reporting Child Abuse, Abandonment, or Neglect
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-15 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 7001 [S7036 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S7036-Prefiled.html
Bill Title: OGSR/Identifying Information of Persons Reporting Child Abuse, Abandonment, or Neglect
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-15 - Laid on Table, refer to HB 7001 [S7036 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S7036-Prefiled.html
Florida Senate - 2024 (PROPOSED BILL) SPB 7036 FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs 586-01951-24 20247036pb 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to a review under the Open Government 3 Sunset Review Act; amending s. 39.202, F.S., which 4 provides a public records exemption for identifying 5 information of persons reporting child abuse, 6 abandonment, or neglect; abrogating the scheduled 7 repeal of the exemption and the reversion of specified 8 statutory text; providing an effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1. Section 39.202, Florida Statutes, is amended to 13 read: 14 39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of 15 child abuse or neglect; exception.— 16 (1) In order to protect the rights of the child and the 17 child’s parents or other persons responsible for the child’s 18 welfare, all records held by the department concerning reports 19 of child abandonment, abuse, or neglect, including reports made 20 to the central abuse hotline and all records generated as a 21 result of such reports, shall be confidential and exempt from 22 the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall not be disclosed except 23 as specifically authorized by this chapter. Such exemption from 24 s. 119.07(1) applies to information in the possession of those 25 entities granted access as set forth in this section. 26 (2) Except as provided in subsection (4), access to such 27 records, excluding the name of, or other identifying information 28 with respect to, the reporter which shall be released only as 29 provided in subsection (5), shall be granted only to the 30 following persons, officials, and agencies: 31 (a) Employees, authorized agents, or contract providers of 32 the department, the Department of Health, the Agency for Persons 33 with Disabilities, the Agency for Health Care Administration, 34 the Department of Education, or county agencies responsible for 35 carrying out: 36 1. Child or adult protective investigations; 37 2. Ongoing child or adult protective services; 38 3. Early intervention and prevention services; 39 4. Healthy Start services; 40 5. Licensure or approval of adoptive homes, foster homes, 41 child care facilities, facilities licensed under chapters 393 42 and 394, family day care homes, providers who receive school 43 readiness funding under part VI of chapter 1002, or other homes 44 used to provide for the care and welfare of children; 45 6. Employment screening for caregivers in residential group 46 homes and facilities licensed under chapters 393, 394, and 409; 47 or 48 7. Services for victims of domestic violence when provided 49 by certified domestic violence centers working at the 50 department’s request as case consultants or with shared clients. 51 52 Also, employees or agents of the Department of Juvenile Justice 53 responsible for the provision of services to children, pursuant 54 to chapters 984 and 985. 55 (b) Criminal justice agencies of appropriate jurisdiction. 56 (c) The state attorney of the judicial circuit in which the 57 child resides or in which the alleged abuse or neglect occurred. 58 (d) The parent or legal custodian of any child who is 59 alleged to have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, and the 60 child, and their attorneys, including any attorney representing 61 a child in civil or criminal proceedings. This access shall be 62 made available no later than 60 days after the department 63 receives the initial report of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. 64 However, any information otherwise made confidential or exempt 65 by law shall not be released pursuant to this paragraph. 66 (e) Any person alleged in the report as having caused the 67 abuse, abandonment, or neglect of a child. This access shall be 68 made available no later than 60 days after the department 69 receives the initial report of abuse, abandonment, or neglect 70 and, when the alleged perpetrator is not a parent, shall be 71 limited to information involving the protective investigation 72 only and shall not include any information relating to 73 subsequent dependency proceedings. However, any information 74 otherwise made confidential or exempt by law shall not be 75 released pursuant to this paragraph. 76 (f) A court upon its finding that access to such records 77 may be necessary for the determination of an issue before the 78 court; however, such access shall be limited to inspection in 79 camera, unless the court determines that public disclosure of 80 the information contained therein is necessary for the 81 resolution of an issue then pending before it. 82 (g) A grand jury, by subpoena, upon its determination that 83 access to such records is necessary in the conduct of its 84 official business. 85 (h) Any appropriate official of the department, the Agency 86 for Health Care Administration, or the Agency for Persons with 87 Disabilities who is responsible for: 88 1. Administration or supervision of the department’s 89 program for the prevention, investigation, or treatment of child 90 abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or abuse, neglect, or 91 exploitation of a vulnerable adult, when carrying out his or her 92 official function; 93 2. Taking appropriate administrative action concerning an 94 employee of the department or the agency who is alleged to have 95 perpetrated child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, or abuse, 96 neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult; or 97 3. Employing and continuing employment of personnel of the 98 department or the agency. 99 (i) Any person authorized by the department who is engaged 100 in the use of such records or information for bona fide 101 research, statistical, or audit purposes. Such individual or 102 entity shall enter into a privacy and security agreement with 103 the department and shall comply with all laws and rules 104 governing the use of such records and information for research 105 and statistical purposes. Information identifying the subjects 106 of such records or information shall be treated as confidential 107 by the researcher and shall not be released in any form. 108 (j) The Division of Administrative Hearings for purposes of 109 any administrative challenge. 110 (k) Any appropriate official of a Florida advocacy council 111 investigating a report of known or suspected child abuse, 112 abandonment, or neglect; the Auditor General or the Office of 113 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability for the 114 purpose of conducting audits or examinations pursuant to law; or 115 the guardian ad litem for the child. 116 (l) Employees or agents of an agency of another state that 117 has comparable jurisdiction to the jurisdiction described in 118 paragraph (a). 119 (m) The Public Employees Relations Commission for the sole 120 purpose of obtaining evidence for appeals filed pursuant to s. 121 447.207. Records may be released only after deletion of all 122 information which specifically identifies persons other than the 123 employee. 124 (n) Employees or agents of the Department of Revenue 125 responsible for child support enforcement activities. 126 (o) Any person in the event of the death of a child 127 determined to be a result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. 128 Information identifying the person reporting abuse, abandonment, 129 or neglect shall not be released. Any information otherwise made 130 confidential or exempt by law shall not be released pursuant to 131 this paragraph. 132 (p) An employee of the local school district who is 133 designated as a liaison between the school district and the 134 department pursuant to an interagency agreement required under 135 s. 39.0016 and the principal of a public school, private school, 136 or charter school where the child is a student. Information 137 contained in the records which the liaison or the principal 138 determines are necessary for a school employee to effectively 139 provide a student with educational services may be released to 140 that employee. 141 (q) An employee or agent of the Department of Education who 142 is responsible for the investigation or prosecution of 143 misconduct by a certified educator. 144 (r) Staff of a children’s advocacy center that is 145 established and operated under s. 39.3035. 146 (s) A physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, 147 a psychologist licensed under chapter 490, or a mental health 148 professional licensed under chapter 491 engaged in the care or 149 treatment of the child. 150 (t) Persons with whom the department is seeking to place 151 the child or to whom placement has been granted, including 152 foster parents for whom an approved home study has been 153 conducted, the designee of a licensed child-caring agency as 154 defined in s. 39.01(41), an approved relative or nonrelative 155 with whom a child is placed pursuant to s. 39.402, preadoptive 156 parents for whom a favorable preliminary adoptive home study has 157 been conducted, adoptive parents, or an adoption entity acting 158 on behalf of preadoptive or adoptive parents. 159 (3) The department may release to professional persons such 160 information as is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of 161 the child or the person perpetrating the abuse or neglect. 162 (4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a 163 child under investigation or supervision of the department or 164 its contracted service providers is determined to be missing, 165 the following shall apply: 166 (a) The department may release the following information to 167 the public when it believes the release of the information is 168 likely to assist efforts in locating the child or to promote the 169 safety or well-being of the child: 170 1. The name of the child and the child’s date of birth; 171 2. A physical description of the child, including at a 172 minimum the height, weight, hair color, eye color, gender, and 173 any identifying physical characteristics of the child; and 174 3. A photograph of the child. 175 (b) With the concurrence of the law enforcement agency 176 primarily responsible for investigating the incident, the 177 department may release any additional information it believes 178 likely to assist efforts in locating the child or to promote the 179 safety or well-being of the child. 180 (c) The law enforcement agency primarily responsible for 181 investigating the incident may release any information received 182 from the department regarding the investigation, if it believes 183 the release of the information is likely to assist efforts in 184 locating the child or to promote the safety or well-being of the 185 child. 186 187 The good faith publication or release of this information by the 188 department, a law enforcement agency, or any recipient of the 189 information as specifically authorized by this subsection shall 190 not subject the person, agency or entity releasing the 191 information to any civil or criminal penalty. This subsection 192 does not authorize the release of the name of the reporter, 193 which may be released only as provided in subsection (5). 194 (5) The department may not release the name of, or other 195 identifying information with respect to, any person reporting 196 child abuse, abandonment, or neglect to any person other than 197 employees of the department responsible for child protective 198 services, the central abuse hotline, law enforcement, the Child 199 Protection Team, or the appropriate state attorney, without the 200 written consent of the person reporting. This does not prohibit 201 the subpoenaing of a person reporting child abuse, abandonment, 202 or neglect when deemed necessary by the court, the state 203 attorney, or the department, provided the fact that such person 204 made the report is not disclosed. Any person who reports a case 205 of child abuse or neglect may, at the time he or she makes the 206 report, request that the department notify him or her that a 207 child protective investigation occurred as a result of the 208 report. Any person specifically listed in s. 39.201(1) who makes 209 a report in his or her official capacity may also request a 210 written summary of the outcome of the investigation. The 211 department shall mail such a notice to the reporter within 10 212 days after completing the child protective investigation. 213 (6) All records and reports of the Child Protection Team of 214 the Department of Health are confidential and exempt from the 215 provisions of ss. 119.07(1) and 456.057, and shall not be 216 disclosed, except, upon request, to the state attorney, law 217 enforcement, the department, and necessary professionals, in 218 furtherance of the treatment or additional evaluative needs of 219 the child, by order of the court, or to health plan payors, 220 limited to that information used for insurance reimbursement 221 purposes. 222 (7) Custodians of records made confidential and exempt 223 under this section must grant access to such records within 7 224 business days after such records are requested by a legislative 225 committee under s. 11.143, if requested within that timeframe. 226 (8) The department shall make and keep reports and records 227 of all cases under this chapter and shall preserve the records 228 pertaining to a child and family until the child who is the 229 subject of the record is 30 years of age, and may then destroy 230 the records. Within 90 days after the child leaves the 231 department’s custody, the department shall give a notice to the 232 person having legal custody of the child, or to the young adult 233 who was in the department’s custody, which specifies how the 234 records may be obtained. 235 (9) A person who knowingly or willfully makes public or 236 discloses to any unauthorized person any confidential 237 information contained in the central abuse hotline is subject to 238 the penalty provisions of s. 39.205. This notice shall be 239 prominently displayed on the first sheet of any documents 240 released pursuant to this section. 241(10) The expansion of the public records exemption under242this section to include other identifying information with243respect to any person reporting child abuse, abandonment, or244neglect is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in245accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2,2462024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment247by the Legislature. If the expansion of the exemption is not248saved from repeal, this section shall revert to that in249existence on June 30, 2019, except that any other amendments250made to this section, other than by this act, are preserved and251continue to operate to the extent that such amendments are not252dependent upon the portions of text that expire under this253subsection.254 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.