Bill Text: VA SB1206 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Confidentiality of juvenile court records; exceptions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-02-08 - Continued to Special Session 1 in Courts of Justice by voice vote [SB1206 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2021-SB1206-Comm_Sub.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §16.1-300 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§16.1-300. Confidentiality of Department records.
A. The social, medical, psychiatric, and psychological
reports and records of children who are or have been (i) before the court, (ii)
under supervision, or (iii) referred to a court service unit, or (iv)
receiving services from a court service unit or who are committed to the
Department of Juvenile Justice shall be confidential and shall be open for
inspection only to the following:
1. The judge, prosecuting attorney, probation officers and professional staff assigned to serve a court having the child currently before it in any proceeding;
2. Any public agency, child welfare agency, private organization, facility or person who is treating or providing services to the child pursuant to a contract with the Department or pursuant to the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act as set out in Article 12.1 (§16.1-309.2 et seq.);
3. The child's parent, guardian, legal custodian or other person standing in loco parentis and the child's attorney;
4. Any person who has reached the age of majority and requests access to his own records or reports;
5. Any state agency providing funds to the Department of Juvenile Justice and required by the federal government to monitor or audit the effectiveness of programs for the benefit of juveniles which are financed in whole or in part by federal funds;
6. The Department of Social Services or any local department of social services that is providing services or care for, or has accepted a referral for family assessment or investigation and the provision of services in accordance with subsection A of §16.1-277.02 regarding, a juvenile who is the subject of the record and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services or any local community services board that is providing treatment, services, or care for a juvenile who is the subject of the record for a purpose relevant to the provision of the treatment, services, or care when these local agencies have entered into a formal agreement with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide coordinated services to juveniles who are the subject of the records. Any local department of social services or local community services board that inspects any social, medical, psychiatric, and psychological reports and records of juveniles in accordance with this subdivision shall not disseminate any information received from such inspection unless such dissemination is expressly required by law;
6. 7. Any other person, agency or institution,
including any law-enforcement agency, school administration, or probation
office by order of the court, having a legitimate interest in the case, the
juvenile, or in the work of the court;
7. 8. Any person, agency, or institution, in any
state, having a legitimate interest (i) when release of the confidential
information is for the provision of treatment or rehabilitation services for
the juvenile who is the subject of the information, (ii) when the requesting
party has custody or is providing supervision for a juvenile and the release of
the confidential information is in the interest of maintaining security in a
secure facility, as defined by §16.1-228 if the facility is located in
Virginia, or as similarly defined by the law of the state in which such
facility is located if it is not located in Virginia, or (iii) when release of
the confidential information is for consideration of admission to any group
home, residential facility, or postdispositional facility, and copies of the
records in the custody of such home or facility shall be destroyed if the child
is not admitted to the home or facility;
8. 9. Any attorney for the Commonwealth, any
pretrial services officer, local community-based probation officer and adult
probation and parole officer for the purpose of preparing pretrial
investigation, including risk assessment instruments, presentence reports, including
those provided in §19.2-299, discretionary sentencing guidelines worksheets,
including related risk assessment instruments, as directed by the court
pursuant to subsection C of §19.2-298.01 or any court-ordered post-sentence
investigation report;
9. 10. Any person, agency, organization or
institution outside the Department that, at the Department's request, is
conducting research or evaluation on the work of the Department or any of its
divisions; or any state criminal justice agency that is conducting research,
provided that the agency agrees that all information received shall be kept
confidential, or released or published only in aggregate form;
10. 11. With the exception of medical,
psychiatric, and psychological records and reports, any full-time or part-time
employee of the Department of State Police or of a police department or
sheriff's office that is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any
political subdivision thereof, and who is responsible for the enforcement of
the penal, traffic, or motor vehicle laws of the Commonwealth, is entitled to
any information related to a criminal street gang, including that a person is a
member of a criminal street gang as defined in §18.2-46.1. Information shall
be provided by the Department to law enforcement without their request to aid
in initiating an investigation or assist in an ongoing investigation of a
criminal street gang as defined in §18.2-46.1. This information may also be
disclosed, at the Department's discretion, to a gang task force, provided that
the membership (i) consists of only representatives of state or local
government or (ii) includes a law-enforcement officer who is present at the
time of the disclosure of the information. The Department shall not release the
identifying information of a juvenile not affiliated with or involved in a
criminal street gang unless that information relates to a specific criminal
act. No person who obtains information pursuant to this subdivision shall
divulge such information except in connection with gang-activity intervention
and prevention, a criminal investigation regarding a criminal street gang as
defined in §18.2-46.1 that is authorized by the Attorney General or by the
attorney for the Commonwealth, or in connection with a prosecution or
proceeding in court;
11. 12. The Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services
Council and any attorney for the Commonwealth, as permitted under subsection B
of §66-3.2;
12. 13. Any state or local correctional facility
as defined in §53.1-1 when such facility has custody of or is providing
supervision for a person convicted as an adult who is the subject of the
reports and records. The reports and records shall remain confidential and
shall be open for inspection only in accordance with this section; and
13. 14. The Office of the Attorney General, for
all criminal justice activities otherwise permitted and for purposes of
performing duties required by Chapter 9 (§37.2-900 et seq.) of Title 37.2.
A designated individual treating or responsible for the treatment of a person may inspect such reports and records as are kept by the Department on such person or receive copies thereof, when the person who is the subject of the reports and records or his parent, guardian, legal custodian or other person standing in loco parentis if the person is under the age of 18, provides written authorization to the Department prior to the release of such reports and records for inspection or copying to the designated individual.
B. The Department may withhold from inspection by a child's parent, guardian, legal custodian or other person standing in loco parentis that portion of the records referred to in subsection A, when the staff of the Department determines, in its discretion, that disclosure of such information would be detrimental to the child or to a third party, provided that the juvenile and domestic relations district court (i) having jurisdiction over the facility where the child is currently placed or (ii) that last had jurisdiction over the child if such child is no longer in the custody or under the supervision of the Department shall concur in such determination.
If any person authorized under subsection A to inspect
Department records requests to inspect the reports and records and if the
Department withholds from inspection any portion of such record or report
pursuant to the preceding provisions, the Department shall (i) (a)
inform the individual making the request of the action taken to withhold any
information and the reasons for such action; (ii) (b) provide
such individual with as much information as is deemed appropriate under the
circumstances; and (iii) (c) notify the individual in writing at
the time of the request of his right to request judicial review of the
Department's decision. The circuit court (a) (1) having
jurisdiction over the facility where the child is currently placed or (b)
(2) that had jurisdiction over the original proceeding or over an appeal of
the juvenile and domestic relations district court final order of disposition
concerning the child if such child is no longer in the custody or under the
supervision of the Department shall have jurisdiction over petitions filed for
review of the Department's decision to withhold reports or records as provided
herein.
2. That the Virginia Commission on Youth shall convene a work group to include representatives from the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Social Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of Education, youth and families with lived experience in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, representatives of Virginia juvenile justice advocacy groups, representatives of local public defender offices, and representatives from other relevant state or local entities. The work group shall make recommendations on how to conduct an efficient and comprehensive review of current data and record sharing provisions with regard to youth served by the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The work group shall report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee for Courts of Justice by November 1, 2021.
