Disclosure of Confidential Child Abuse and Neglect Records - Oregon

Confidentiality of Records

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.035

Reports and records compiled under the reporting laws are confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in this section.

Persons or Entities Allowed Access to Records

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.035

The department shall make records available to the following persons and entities:

• Any law enforcement agency or a child abuse registry in any other State for the purpose of subsequent investigation of child abuse
• Any physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner regarding any child brought to the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner for examination, care, or treatment
• Attorneys of record for the child or child's parent or guardian in any juvenile court proceeding
• Citizen review boards
• A court-appointed special advocate in any juvenile court proceeding in which it is alleged that a child has been subjected to child abuse or neglect
• The Office of Children's Advocate
• The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for investigations involving any child or any student
• With respect to a report of abuse occurring at a school or in an educational setting that involves a child with a disability, Disability Rights Oregon
• The Department of Education for purposes of investigations conducted under § 339.391 of suspected sexual conduct that may have been committed by a school employee, contractor, agent, or volunteer that is not licensed
• An education provider for the purpose of making determinations regarding abuse or sexual conduct under § 339.388

The department may make reports and records available to any person, administrative hearings officer, court, agency, organization, or other entity when the department determines that such disclosure is necessary to administer its child welfare services and is in the best interests of the affected child; to investigate, prevent, or treat child abuse and neglect; to protect children from abuse and neglect; or for research when the director of human services gives prior written approval.

A law enforcement agency may make reports and records it has compiled available to the following:

• Other law enforcement agencies
• District attorneys, city attorneys with criminal prosecutorial functions, and the attorney general when the law enforcement agency determines that disclosure is necessary for the investigation or enforcement of laws relating to child abuse and neglect
• The community corrections agency in this State
• The Department of Corrections, the Oregon Youth Authority, or the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision

When Public Disclosure of Records is Allowed

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.035(1)(h), (2)

The department shall make records available to any person, upon request to the department, if the reports or records requested regard an incident in which a child, as the result of abuse, died or suffered serious physical injury. Reports or records disclosed under this paragraph must be disclosed in accordance with §§ 192.410 to 192.505.

When disclosing reports and records pursuant to this section, the department may exempt from disclosure the names, addresses, and other identifying information about other children, witnesses, victims, or other persons named in the report or record if the department determines, in written findings, that the safety or well-being of a person named in the report or record may be jeopardized by disclosure of the names, addresses or other identifying information and if that concern outweighs the public's interest in the disclosure of that information.

If the department does not have a report or record of abuse regarding a child who, as the result of abuse, died or suffered serious physical injury, the department may disclose that information.

Use of Records for Employment Screening

Citation: Rev. Stat. § 419B.035

The department shall make records available to the Office of Child Care for the following purposes:

• Certifying, registering, or otherwise regulating child care facilities
• Conducting background checks of contractors, employees, or volunteers of a metropolitan service district who may have unsupervised contact with children and who are required to be enrolled in the Central Background Registry maintained by the office, as required by § 329A.030(8)(g)