La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § III-103

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 12, December 20, 2024

Section III-103 - Confidential Information

A. Applications for assistance and information contained in case records of clients of the Division of Family Services of the Louisiana Health and Human Resources Administration shall be confidential and it shall be unlawful for any person to solicit, disclose, receive, make use of, or to authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of applications or client case records or the information contained therein for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the Family Services Program.

B. Publication of lists of names of clients or applicants is prohibited.

C. The following information shall not be subject to waiver, and shall not be released to applicants, recipients, or outside sources, except those outside sources engaged in the administration of the Family Services Program:

1. records pertaining to foster care of children, investigations of abuse or neglect of children, and other child welfare services;

2. information furnished to the Division of Family Services by persons, governmental agencies, or other legal entities when such furnisher of information is subject to a confidentiality statute or regulation which prohibits release of such information to an outside source. For this provision to be applicable the limitations of the furnisher's confidentiality statute should be indicated on the material;

3. information in case records pertaining to the Food Stamp Program except that state agencies may make available upon request to any federal, state or local law enforcement officer, the address, Social Security number, and (if available) photograph of a food stamp recipient if the officer furnishes the recipient's name and notifies the agency that the individual is fleeing to avoid prosecution, custody, or confinement for a felony, is violating a condition of parole or probation, or has information necessary for the officer to conduct an official duty related to a felony/parole violation;

4. information contained in applications for assistance and case records that is furnished to all enforcement agencies or courts to aid in the prosecution of criminal offenses related to any family services program;

5. information pertaining to adoption of children shall be strictly confidential and shall only be released to courts of competent jurisdiction in accordance with existing laws;

6. information pertaining to foster care of children, reports and investigations on abuse or neglect of children, and records of other child welfare services, shall not be subject to subpoena in any judicial proceeding for legal separation, for divorce, or for custody of children incidental to a proceeding for legal separation or divorce, and in the event of the issuance of a subpoena for such information, or for any representative or employee of the Louisiana Health and Human Resources Administration to testify concerning an applicant or client in any such proceeding, the court's attention shall be called to this.

D. Confidential information may be released to an outside source, not directly connected with the administration of family services programs, only upon written request of the outside source and only after written waiver by the applicant, client, or his legal representative, governmental authorities, the courts, and law enforcement agencies shall be considered the same as any other outside source. Confidential information may be released to an applicant, client, or his legal representative, provided that the applicant, client, or legal representative will be required to complete and sign a written waiver.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § III-103

Promulgated by the Health and Human Resources Administration, Division of Family Services, LR 2:36 (January 1976), amended by the Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support, LR 23:79 (January 1997).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 46:65, 7 CFR 273.2; P.L. 104-193.