Confidentiality of records; related matters

§ 444. Confidentiality of records; related matters. 1. The department in consultation with the advisory committee shall make regulations;

(a) protecting the confidentiality of individual identifying information submitted to or provided by the service, and preventing access thereto, by, or the distribution thereof to, persons not authorized by law;

(b) setting forth procedures for informing any child or his representative of the nature of the system and its uses;

(c) allowing any child or his representative or any member of his family, an opportunity to review any information pertaining to such child or family and to request that any part of such information be amended or expunged; and

(d) providing that the service shall remove from its records and expunge the individual identifying information, excluding non-identifying child or family data to be used for historical purposes, concerning any child who has been discharged from care.

2. Prior to final promulgation of any regulations as described in subdivision one of this section, the department shall, in addition to complying with all other advance notice requirements make proposed regulations available to all state agencies charged with the administration or supervision of child care programs and to local government agencies and persons that have expressed an interest in safeguarding information maintained by the service, and shall provide such agencies with an opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations. In promulgating final regulations the department shall consider any comments received.

3. Any persons wilfully violating or failing to comply with the provisions of subdivision one of this section or wilfully violating or failing to comply with any regulation which the department is authorized under such subdivision to make, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

4. The regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this section, shall provide that the information compiled and maintained by the service pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision ten of section four hundred forty-two of this title shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of title six of this article.