NRS432B.290. Maintenance of information by agency which provides child welfare services; authorized release of such information; penalty; fee for release of information; rules, policies or regulations.

      1.  Information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services must be maintained by the agency which provides child welfare services as required by federal law as a condition of the allocation of federal money to this State.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in this section and NRS 432B.165, 432B.175 and 432B.513, information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services may, at the discretion of the agency which provides child welfare services, be made available only to:

      (a) A physician, if the physician has before him or her a child who the physician has reasonable cause to believe has been abused or neglected;

      (b) A person authorized to place a child in protective custody, if the person has before him or her a child who the person has reasonable cause to believe has been abused or neglected and the person requires the information to determine whether to place the child in protective custody;

      (c) An agency, including, without limitation, an agency in another jurisdiction, responsible for or authorized to undertake the care, treatment or supervision of:

             (1) The child; or

             (2) The person responsible for the welfare of the child;

      (d) A district attorney or other law enforcement officer who requires the information in connection with an investigation or prosecution of the abuse or neglect of a child;

      (e) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f), a court other than a juvenile court, for in camera inspection only, unless the court determines that public disclosure of the information is necessary for the determination of an issue before it;

      (f) A court as defined in NRS 159.015 to determine whether a guardian or successor guardian of a child should be appointed pursuant to chapter 159 of NRS or NRS 432B.466 to 432B.468, inclusive;

      (g) A person engaged in bona fide research or an audit, but information identifying the subjects of a report must not be made available to the person;

      (h) The attorney and the guardian ad litem of the child, if the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child;

      (i) A person who files or intends to file a petition for the appointment of a guardian or successor guardian of a child pursuant to chapter 159 of NRS or NRS 432B.466 to 432B.468, inclusive, if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the abuse or neglect of the child to a public agency is kept confidential and the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child;

      (j) The proposed guardian or proposed successor guardian of a child over whom a guardianship is sought pursuant to chapter 159 of NRS or NRS 432B.466 to 432B.468, inclusive, if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the abuse or neglect of the child to a public agency is kept confidential and the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child;

      (k) A grand jury upon its determination that access to these records and the information is necessary in the conduct of its official business;

      (l) A federal, state or local governmental entity, or an agency of such an entity, or a juvenile court, that needs access to the information to carry out its legal responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect;

      (m) A person or an organization that has entered into a written agreement with an agency which provides child welfare services to provide assessments or services and that has been trained to make such assessments or provide such services;

      (n) A team organized pursuant to NRS 432B.350 for the protection of a child;

      (o) A team organized pursuant to NRS 432B.405 to review the death of a child;

      (p) A parent or legal guardian of the child and an attorney of a parent or guardian of the child, including, without limitation, the parent or guardian of a child over whom a guardianship is sought pursuant to chapter 159 of NRS or NRS 432B.466 to 432B.468, inclusive, if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the abuse or neglect of the child to a public agency is kept confidential and the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child and is limited to information concerning that parent or guardian;

      (q) The child over whom a guardianship is sought pursuant to chapter 159 of NRS or NRS 432B.466 to 432B.468, inclusive, if:

             (1) The child is 14 years of age or older; and

             (2) The identity of the person responsible for reporting the abuse or neglect of the child to a public agency is kept confidential and the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child;

      (r) The persons or agent of the persons who are the subject of a report, if the information is reasonably necessary to promote the safety, permanency and well-being of the child and is limited to information concerning those persons;

      (s) An agency that is authorized by law to license foster homes or facilities for children or to investigate persons applying for approval to adopt a child, if the agency has before it an application for that license or is investigating an applicant to adopt a child;

      (t) Upon written consent of the parent, any officer of this State or a city or county thereof or Legislator authorized by the agency or department having jurisdiction or by the Legislature, acting within its jurisdiction, to investigate the activities or programs of an agency which provides child welfare services if:

             (1) The identity of the person making the report is kept confidential; and

             (2) The officer, Legislator or a member of the family of the officer or Legislator is not the person alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect;

      (u) The Division of Parole and Probation of the Department of Public Safety for use pursuant to NRS 176.135 in making a presentence investigation and report to the district court or pursuant to NRS 176.151 in making a general investigation and report;

      (v) Any person who is required pursuant to NRS 432B.220 to make a report to an agency which provides child welfare services or to a law enforcement agency;

      (w) The Rural Advisory Board to Expedite Proceedings for the Placement of Children created pursuant to NRS 432B.602 or a local advisory board to expedite proceedings for the placement of children created pursuant to NRS 432B.604;

      (x) The panel established pursuant to NRS 432B.396 to evaluate agencies which provide child welfare services;

      (y) An employer in accordance with subsection 3 of NRS 432.100;

      (z) A team organized or sponsored pursuant to NRS 217.475 or 228.495 to review the death of the victim of a crime that constitutes domestic violence; or

      (aa) The Committee to Review Suicide Fatalities created by NRS 439.5104.

      3.  An agency investigating a report of the abuse or neglect of a child shall, upon request, provide to a person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child:

      (a) A copy of:

             (1) Any statement made in writing to an investigator for the agency by the person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child; or

             (2) Any recording made by the agency of any statement made orally to an investigator for the agency by the person named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child; or

      (b) A written summary of the allegations made against the person who is named in the report as allegedly causing the abuse or neglect of the child. The summary must not identify the person responsible for reporting the alleged abuse or neglect or any collateral sources and reporting parties.

      4.  Except as otherwise provided by subsection 6, before releasing any information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services pursuant to this section, an agency which provides child welfare services shall take whatever precautions it determines are reasonably necessary to protect the identity and safety of any person who reports child abuse or neglect and to protect any other person if the agency which provides child welfare services reasonably believes that disclosure of the information would cause a specific and material harm to an investigation of the alleged abuse or neglect of a child or the life or safety of any person.

      5.  The provisions of this section must not be construed to require an agency which provides child welfare services to disclose information maintained by the agency which provides child welfare services if, after consultation with the attorney who represents the agency, the agency determines that such disclosure would cause a specific and material harm to a criminal investigation.

      6.  A person who is the subject of an unsubstantiated report of child abuse or neglect made pursuant to this chapter and who believes that the report was made in bad faith or with malicious intent may petition a district court to order the agency which provides child welfare services to release information maintained by the agency which provides child welfare services. The petition must specifically set forth the reasons supporting the belief that the report was made in bad faith or with malicious intent. The petitioner shall provide notice to the agency which provides child welfare services so that the agency may participate in the action through its counsel. The district court shall review the information which the petitioner requests to be released and the petitioner shall be allowed to present evidence in support of the petition. If the court determines that there is a reasonable question of fact as to whether the report was made in bad faith or with malicious intent and that the disclosure of the identity of the person who made the report would not be likely to endanger the life or safety of the person who made the report, the court shall provide a copy of the information to the petitioner and the original information is subject to discovery in a subsequent civil action regarding the making of the report.

      7.  If an agency which provides child welfare services receives any information that is deemed confidential by law, the agency which provides child welfare services shall maintain the confidentiality of the information as prescribed by applicable law.

      8.  Pursuant to this section, a person may authorize the release of information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services about himself or herself, but may not waive the confidentiality of such information concerning any other person.

      9.  An agency which provides child welfare services may provide a summary of the outcome of an investigation of the alleged abuse or neglect of a child to the person who reported the suspected abuse or neglect.

      10.  Any person, except for:

      (a) A district attorney or other law enforcement officer initiating legal proceedings; or

      (b) An employee of the Division of Parole and Probation of the Department of Public Safety making a presentence investigation and report to the district court pursuant to NRS 176.135 or making a general investigation and report pursuant to NRS 176.151,

Ê who is provided with information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services and further disseminates this information, or who makes this information public, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

      11.  An agency which provides child welfare services may charge a fee for processing costs reasonably necessary to prepare information maintained by the agency which provides child welfare services for release pursuant to this section.

      12.  An agency which provides child welfare services shall adopt rules, policies or regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.

      (Added to NRS by 1985, 1374; A 1993, 2706; 1997, 835, 849, 2473, 2476; 1999, 559, 561, 1193, 2033, 2035, 2043, 3529, 3531; 2001, 269, 1701, 1841, 2612; 2001 Special Session, 40; 2003, 236, 251; 2005, 2035; 2007, 195; 2011, 737, 861; 2013, 369, 525)