Nevada § 432C.150 - 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

§ 432C.150. 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, 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 is a commercially sexually exploited child; (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 is a commercially

sexually exploited child 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 commercial sexual exploitation

of a child; (e) 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 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; (g) 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; (h) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, 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 commercial

sexual exploitation; (i) 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; (j) A parent or legal guardian of the child and an attorney of a parent or guardian

of the child, if the identity of the person responsible for reporting the commercial

sexual exploitation 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; (k) 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; or (l) 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. 3. 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 that a child is a commercially sexually

exploited child 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 commercial sexual

exploitation of a child or the life or safety of any person. 4. An agency which provides child welfare services shall not provide information maintained

by the agency which provides child welfare services to a juvenile court only to facilitate

a determination by the court related to the adjudication of a child who is accused

of: (a) Sex trafficking a child in violation of NRS 201.300 ; or (b) Facilitating sex trafficking of a child in violation of NRS 201.301 . 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. 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. 7. 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. 8. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, any person who is provided with

information maintained by an agency which provides child welfare services and who

further disseminates the information or makes the information public is guilty of

a gross misdemeanor. This subsection does not apply to a district attorney or other law enforcement officer

who uses the information solely for the purpose of initiating legal proceedings against

any person alleged to be the perpetrator of the commercial sexual exploitation of

a child. 9. 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. 10. An agency which provides child welfare services shall adopt rules, policies or

regulations to carry out the provisions of this section. 11. As used in this section, “ parent ” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 432B.080 .