N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:3-3.4

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 3A:3-3.4 - Information that shall not be disclosed to the media or a member of the public about a child fatality or near fatality

(a) Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.10a.f, the following shall not be disclosed to the media or public in relation to a child fatality or near fatality:

1. Information that would likely endanger the life, health, safety, or physical or emotional well-being of a child or the life or safety of any other person;

2. Information that would compromise the integrity of or interfere with a child protection investigation, a civil or criminal investigation or a judicial proceeding. If a criminal investigation is in progress or pending, the Director of the Division of Child Protection and Permanency or designee shall contact the county prosecutor before releasing any information to the media or a member of the public about the incident, to determine what information can be disclosed, if any, based on the status of the criminal investigation;

3. Information deemed confidential by Federal law or State law, other than N.J.S.A. 9:6-8.10a;

4. The name of, or any identifying information about, the reporter of abuse or neglect that resulted in a fatality or near fatality, even when the reporter gives written consent to disclose his or her identity in accordance with N.J.A.C. 3A:3-2.1(c);

5. The name of any Division representative assigned to the child protection investigation or the management of the case;

6. Information concerning any disciplinary actions taken against a Division representative as a result of or related to the incident or the handling of the case by the Division representative; or

7. Information obtained from another agency or entity that is investigating a child fatality or near fatality on its own or in cooperation with the Division, such as the police, the county prosecutor, or the medial examiner.

(b) Any person denied information as stated in (a) above may petition the Chancery Court for release of the information.

N.J. Admin. Code § 3A:3-3.4

Amended by R.2007 d.157, effective 5/21/2007.
See: 38 N.J.R. 1634(b), 39 N.J.R. 2115(b).
In the introductory paragraph of (a), inserted "neither a representative of", substituted "nor" for the first occurrence of "or" and "a child protective investigator" for "The Division", and deleted "not" preceding "disclose"; in the introductory paragraph of (a)2, substituted "child protection for Division" and a period for a semicolon at the end; in (a)2i, deleted "Office of the" preceding "Director" and inserted "or designee"; rewrote (a)3; in (a)4, substituted "reporter" for "referral source" two times; in (a)5, inserted "child protection"; in (a)6, deleted "Division" preceding "case" and inserted "by the Division representative"; added new (b); recodified former (b) as (c); and in (c), substituted "Neither the Director," for "The Office of the Director or" and "nor a designee shall" for "shall not".
Recodified from N.J.A.C. 10:133G-4.3 and amended by R.2015 d.073, effective 5/4/2015.
See: 46 N.J.R. 1535(a), 47 N.J.R. 896(b).
Rewrote (a); and deleted (c). Former N.J.A.C. 10:133G-3.4, Requests for information, recodified to N.J.A.C. 10:133G-2.8.