§ 15-22-4 - Personal data – Purposes for which disclosure permitted – Safeguards – Exceptions – Unauthorized inspection or disclosure – Penalties.
SECTION 15-22-4
§ 15-22-4 Personal data – Purposesfor which disclosure permitted – Safeguards – Exceptions –Unauthorized inspection or disclosure – Penalties. – (a) Personal data collected and maintained by the agency created pursuant totitle IV, part D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.,(subsequently referred to as the IV-D agency) shall not be a public record andaccess to this data shall be available only to employees of the IV-D agencyand/or its contractors, and only to the extent reasonably necessary for theperformance of the employees or contractors duties. The IV-D agency maydisclose personal data for purposes connected with establishing paternity,establishing, modifying or enforcing child support and medical obligationspursuant to this chapter and title IV, part D of the Social Security Act. TheIV-D agency may disclose personal data:
(i) To any state or federal public assistance program or tothe IV-D agency of another state for purposes connected with the administrationof the program or of the child support enforcement program, as authorized bytitle IV, part D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., andby the secretary of the federal department of health and human services;
(ii) To persons authorized to receive information from theFederal Parent Locator Service established pursuant to title IV, part D of theSocial Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.;
(iii) To the director of the department of human services orhis or her agent for purposes directly connected with detecting and preventingfraud in any assistance program administered by the department;
(iv) To the department of children, youth and families forpurposes directly connected with an investigation or proceedings related totermination of parental rights, adoption, or foster care parental supportactions;
(v) To a person authorized in writing by the parent or, inthe case of the child, by the custodial parent or legal guardian of the child,to receive personal data;
(vi) For purposes directly connected to obtaining health carecoverage for a child receiving services pursuant to title IV, part D of theSocial Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., to an employer or providerof health care coverage or to the obligor;
(vii) In the case of personal data about an individualparent, to that parent or, in the case of personal data about the child, to thecustodial parent or legal guardian of the child; or
(viii) To any other individual, business or entity for thepurposes of administering the child support enforcement program or otherwiseprovided by federal or state law.
(2) Before disclosing personal data pursuant to this section,the IV-D agency shall require the person or agency requesting the data toverify in writing, in a form provided by child support enforcement that thedata is required for a purpose permitted by this section and that the data willbe used solely for this purpose. The IV-D agency shall limit disclosure to thespecific data required by the person or agency to carry out a purpose permittedby this chapter.
(b) The IV-D agency shall safeguard personal data if the IV-Dagency is provided with reasonable evidence of a history of domestic violence.A state agency, court, IV-D agency of another state, obligor, obligee, and anyother persons or entities that the IV-D agency may specify may provide the IV-Dagency with reasonable evidence of a history of domestic violence in any mannerthat the IV-D agency may require. The IV-D agency shall continue to safeguardpersonal data until the time that the individual contacts this agency inwriting to advise that his or her personal data need not be safeguarded. Forthe purposes of this section, a "history of domestic violence" means that anindividual has been subjected to:
(i) Physical acts that resulted in, or threatened to resultin, physical injury to the individual;
(ii) Sexual abuse;
(iii) Sexual activity involving a dependent child;
(iv) Being forced as the caretaker relative of a dependentchild to engage in nonconsensual sexual acts or activities;
(v) Threats of, or attempts at, physical or sexual abuse;
(vi) Mental abuse; or
(vii) Neglect or deprivation of medical care.
(2) If the IV-D agency is provided with reasonable evidenceof a history of domestic violence, the IV-D agency, its employees, and itscontractors shall indicate this fact to the federal registry and shall notdisclose any personal data that could otherwise be disclosed pursuant tosubsection (a) of this section about the location of a parent or child,including residential address, telephone number, and name, address andtelephone number of employer, and shall not disclose the social security numberof a parent or child. However, the IV-D agency may disclose such personal datato:
(i) The Federal Parent Locator Service;
(ii) A court or agency of a court that is authorized toreceive information pursuant to court order from the Federal Parent LocatorService established pursuant to title IV, part D of the Social Security Act, 42U.S.C. § 651 et seq.;
(iii) The department of human services;
(iv) The department of children, youth and families forpurposes directly connected with an investigation of proceedings related totermination of parental rights, adoption or parental support action; or
(v) A person authorized to receive personal data by theparent or, in the case of the child, by the custodial parent or legal guardianof the child.
(3) The IV-D agency may disclose the social security numberof a child receiving IV-D services for purposes directly connected to obtaininghealth care coverage for the child to an employer or provider of health carecoverage.
(4) If the IV-D agency is provided with reasonable evidenceof a history of domestic violence pursuant to this section, the IV-D agencyshall notify the Federal Parent Locator Service established pursuant to titleIV, part D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., that arisk of harm exists. A person or agency seeking disclosure of personal datawhich the IV-D agency is prohibited from disclosing because of reasonableevidence of a history of domestic violence, but which could otherwise bedisclosed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, may file a petition withthe family court pursuant to § 15-22-5 to request disclosure of thepersonal data. Upon written request by a court or agent of a court authorizedto receive information from the Federal Parent Locator Service, the IV-D agencyshall release personal data, which may include location information and socialsecurity numbers, to the court or agent, as required by title IV, part D of theSocial Security Act; provided, that if the IV-D agency has been provided withreasonable evidence of a history of domestic violence, the IV-D agency shallnotify the court or agent that the IV-D agency has received this informationand that, pursuant to section (b) of this section, before the IV-D agency maymake any disclosure of personal data under this section, the court is requiredto determine whether the disclosure to any other person could be harmful to theparent or child and issue a court order to that effect.
(c) The IV-D agency shall have in effect safeguards to ensurethe integrity, accuracy, and completeness of, access to, and use of data,including personal data and data in the automated system which shall include:
(i) Written policies concerning access to data by IV-D agencypersonnel and its contractors, and sharing of data with other individuals,businesses, or entities, which permit access to and use of data only to theextent necessary to carry out the purposes of the child support enforcementprogram and which specify the data which may be used for particular programpurpose, and the personnel permitted access to the data;
(ii) Systems controls to ensure strict adherence to thepolicies;
(iii) Routine monitoring of access to and use of theautomated system, through methods such as audit trails, to guard against andpromptly identify unauthorized access or use;
(iv) Procedures to ensure that all personnel, includingemployees of the IV-D agency and its contractors, who may have or had access toor who may be or were required to use confidential program data and personaldata, are informed of applicable requirements and penalties, including those inthis section, § 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C.§ 6103, and are adequately trained in security procedures;
(v) Penalties, as provided in this section, for willfulinspection or disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, personal data; and
(vi) Any other safeguards that the commissioner of revenueand the secretary of the federal department of health and human services mayspecify in regulations.
(2) The willful inspection or disclosure of personal data,except as authorized by subsection (b) of this section, by any employee of theIV-D agency, its contractors, or any person obtaining unauthorized access tothe data, including data stored in a computer system or computer files, whilethe data is in the custody of the division of taxation, child supportenforcement, or in the custody of any employee of the IV-D agency or itscontractors, is prohibited. Personal data may be inspected and shared by andbetween employees of the IV-D agency in the performance of their officialduties as provided in this chapter. Authorized employees of the division oftaxation, child support enforcement, may disclose personal data to any employeeof a contractor of the IV-D agency to the extent necessary for performance ofthe contracted duties of the employee. Any violation of this section by anemployee of the IV-D agency, its contractors or an officer, director oremployee of its contractors, a person obtaining unauthorized access to personaldata, or any other individual shall be punished by a fine of not more than onethousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months,or both, with respect to each person concerning whom information has beendisclosed or inspected. The determination by child support enforcement that anemployee of the IV-D agency, or the determination of another agency head thatan employee of any other agency, has made a disclosure or willful inspection ofpersonal data that was not authorized by this section and not protected by thegood faith provision of subsection (d) of this section shall be grounds fordismissal of that employee. A violation, as determined by child supportenforcement, of this section by an officer, director, or employee of anycontractor of the state, or any officer, director or employee of the state,shall also be cause for terminating any current contract between thatcontractor and the state and for prohibiting that contractor from entering intoany future contract with the state.
(d) Any unauthorized disclosure or unauthorized inspectionmade in a good faith effort to comply with this section shall not be considereda violation of this section.