Section 340. Confidentiality

The child caring institution shall share only that information relative to the needs of others working with the child or to those having a legal right to that information in conformity with the following:

1. Confidential records. The records of all child welfare agencies and representatives of the commissioner regarding licensing and persons received or placed out by them and the facts learned by them concerning such persons and their parents or relatives shall be confidential information, provided that the commissioner, the board, and their agents shall have access to such information, that it shall be disclosed upon proper order of any court, and that it may be disclosed to any person having a legitimate interest in the placement of any such person. It shall be unlawful for any officer, agent, or employee of any child welfare agency, for the commissioner, the board, or their agents or employees, and for any person who has held any such position, and for any other person to whom any such information is disclosed as herein provided, to disclose, directly or indirectly, any such confidential information, except as herein provided. Every violation of this section shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable as such.

2. Any person who has attained his majority, and who has not been legally adopted in accordance with the provisions of former Chapter 11 (§ 63.1-220 et seq.) of Title 63.1 of the Code of Virginia, and who believes that he has been placed out by a child placing agency, shall have the right to demand and receive from the commissioner, the board, or any such agency, such information as any of them may have concerning his own parents or relatives.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR615-24-01 §VID, eff. November 22, 1972; amended, eff. July 1, 1981, eff. February 1, 1984, eff. May 1, 1984, eff. July 1, 1984; Volume 32, Issue 7, eff. January 15, 2016.

Statutory Authority

§§ 63.2-217 and 63.2-1734 of the Code of Virginia.