Vermont § 4921 - Department’s records of abuse and neglect

§ 4921. Department’s records of abuse and neglect

• (a) Record maintenance and disclosure generally. The Commissioner shall maintain all records of all investigations, assessments, reviews,
  and responses initiated under this subchapter. The Department may use and disclose
  information from such records in the usual course of its business, including to assess
  future risk to children, to provide appropriate services to the child or members of
  the child’s family, or for other legal purposes. (b) Duty to inform parents or guardians. The Commissioner shall promptly inform the parents, if known, or guardian of the
  child that a report has been accepted as a valid allegation pursuant to subsection 4915(b) of this title and the Department’s response to the report. The Department shall inform the parent
  or guardian of the parent’s or guardian’s ability to request records pursuant to subsection
  (c) of this section. This section shall not apply if the parent or guardian is the
  subject of the investigation. (c) Disclosure of redacted investigation files. Upon request, the redacted investigation file shall be disclosed to: (1) the child’s parents, foster parent, or guardian, absent good cause shown by the Department,
  provided that the child’s parent, foster parent, or guardian is not the subject of
  the investigation; (2) the person alleged to have abused or neglected the child, as provided for in subsection 4916a(d) of this title; and (3) the attorney representing the child in a child custody proceeding in the Family Division
  of the Superior Court. (d) Disclosure of records created by the Department. Upon request, Department records created under this subchapter shall be disclosed
  to: (1) the court, parties to the juvenile proceeding, and the child’s guardian ad litem if
  there is a pending juvenile proceeding or if the child is in the custody of the Commissioner; (2) the Commissioner or person designated by the Commissioner to receive such records; (3) persons assigned by the Commissioner to conduct investigations; (4) law enforcement officers engaged in a joint investigation with the Department, an
  Assistant Attorney General, or a State’s Attorney; (5) other State agencies conducting related inquiries or proceedings; and (6) the Office of the Child, Youth, and Family Advocate for the purpose of carrying out
  the provisions in chapter 32 of this title. (e) Disclosure of relevant Department records or information. (1) Upon request, relevant Department records or information created under this subchapter
  shall be disclosed to: (A) a person, agency, or organization, including a multidisciplinary team empaneled under
  section 4917 of this title, authorized to diagnose, care for, treat, or supervise a child or family who is the
  subject of a report or record created under this subchapter, or who is responsible
  for the child’s health or welfare; (B) health and mental health care providers working directly with the child or family
  who is the subject of the report or record; (C) educators working directly with the child or family who is the subject of the report
  or record; (D) licensed or approved foster caregivers for the child; (E) mandated reporters as defined by section 4913 of this subchapter, making a report
  in accordance with the provisions of section 4914 of this subchapter and engaging
  in an ongoing working relationship with the child or family who is the subject of
  the report; (F) a Family Division of the Superior Court involved in any proceeding in which: (i) custody of a child or parent-child contact is at issue pursuant to 15 V.S.A. chapter 11, subchapter 3A; (ii) a parent of a child challenges a presumption of parentage under 15C V.S.A. § 402(b)(3); or (iii) a parent of a child contests an allegation that he or she fostered or supported a
  bonded and dependent relationship between the child and a person seeking to be adjudicated
  a de facto parent under 15C V.S.A. § 501(a)(2); (G) a Probate Division of the Superior Court involved in guardianship proceedings; and (H) other governmental entities for purposes of child protection. (2) Determinations of relevancy shall be made by the Department. (3) In providing records or information under this subsection, the Department may withhold: (A) information that could compromise the safety of the reporter or the child or family
  who is the subject of the report; or (B) specific details that could cause the child to experience significant mental or emotional
  stress. (4) In providing records or information under this section, the Department may also provide
  other records related to its child protection activities for the child. (5) Any persons or agencies authorized to receive confidential information under this
  section may share such information with other persons or agencies authorized to receive
  confidential information under this section for the purposes of providing services
  and benefits to the children and families those persons or agencies mutually serve. (f) Disclosure to prevent harm. Upon request, relevant Department information created under this subchapter may be
  disclosed to a parent with a reasonable concern that an individual who is residing
  at least part time with the parent requestor’s child presents a risk of abuse or neglect
  to the requestor’s child. As it is used in this subsection, “relevant Department information”
  shall mean information regarding the individual that the Department determines could
  avert the risk of harm presented by the individual to the requestor’s child. If the
  Department denies the request for information, the requestor may petition the Family
  Division of the Superior Court, which may, after weighing the privacy concerns of
  the individuals involved with the parent’s right to protect his or her child, order
  the release of the information. (g) Disclosure to adults that were subject to foster care placement. (1) It is the intent of the General Assembly that it be the policy of the State that: (A) adults who were subject to placement in State foster care, institutions, and other
  systemic placements have a statutory right to access their own records in order to
  more fully understand their own personal stories, including their health, education,
  family, and other histories; access healing in their chosen way; and be recognized
  and trusted as legitimate custodians of their own information; (B) the Department make good faith efforts to disclose such records in the broadest form
  permitted under applicable federal or State law in order to assist with the administration
  of Vermont’s state plan for foster care and establishing eligibility for programs
  or services; and (C) any disclosures made by the Department that are prohibited by applicable federal or
  State law be construed as good faith efforts of the Department to comply with the
  State’s policy and statutory scheme. (2) Upon request, Department records created under this subchapter shall be disclosed,
  at no cost, to an individual who meets the following criteria, to the extent permitted
  by federal or State law: (A) the individual is the subject of the records requested; (B) the individual is 18 years of age or older; and (C) as a minor, the individual was in foster care or subject to any juvenile judicial
  proceeding under this title. (3) In providing records or information pursuant to this subsection, the Department may
  withhold or redact the following: (A) identifying information about any person, other than the subject, in which there is
  a substantial likelihood that a person’s safety would be compromised if disclosed; (B) information that creates a substantial likelihood that would compromise an active
  law enforcement investigation; or (C) reports or investigatory records about the subject of the record request in which
  there is a formal allegation that the subject committed an act of abuse or neglect. (h) Penalty. Any records or information disclosed under this section and information relating
  to the contents of those records or reports shall not be disseminated by the receiving
  persons or agencies to any persons or agencies, other than to those persons or agencies
  authorized to receive information pursuant to this section. A person who intentionally
  violates the confidentiality provisions of this section shall be fined not more than
  $2,000.00. (Added 2007, No. 168 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011; 2015, No. 60, § 5; 2017, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 613, eff. July 1, 2022; 2021, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. January 1, 2023; 2023, No. 173 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 12, 2024.)