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2018 Georgia Code 49-5-185 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 49 SOCIAL SERVICES

Section 5. Programs and Protection for Children and Youth, 49-5-1 through 49-5-281.

ARTICLE 8 CENTRAL CHILD ABUSE REGISTRY

49-5-185. Access to information in registry; statistical analysis of substantiated cases and convictions entered into child abuse registry; requests to determine if one's name is included in registry.

  1. Except as otherwise authorized in subsection (c) of this Code section and subsection (b) of Code Section 49-5-186, the only persons or entities that may access or be provided any information from the child abuse registry are:
    1. An abuse investigator who has investigated or any federal, federally recognized tribal, state, or local governmental entity of this or any other state or any agent of such governmental agencies which is investigating or responding to a report of a case of possible child abuse or is investigating a case of possible child abuse and who shall only be provided information relating to such case for purposes of using such information in such investigation;
    2. State or other government agencies of this state or any other state which license entities that have interactions with children or are responsible for providing care for children or licensed entities in this state which interact with children or are responsible for providing care for children and which shall only be provided information for purposes of licensing or employment of a specific individual;
    3. A licensing entity, which may disclose information from the child abuse registry in a written notice to an applicant or licensed entity whose license is denied or revoked as a result of information found in the registry, to the extent that such information is required in such notice by a federal or state law, regulation, or policy or in a proceeding arising from an adverse action taken against a licensed entity or individual as a result of information found in the registry;
    4. The Department of Early Care and Learning, which is authorized to disclose all or a portion of the information from the child abuse registry used to determine that a records check is unsatisfactory or to rescind a determination that a records check is satisfactory to an individual who has submitted a records check application or whose satisfactory records check determination has been rescinded in accordance with Article 2 of Chapter 1A of Title 20;
    5. An affiliate court appointed special advocate program, as such term is defined in Code Section 15-11-2, which information shall be provided and used solely for the purpose of screening and selecting employees and volunteers of such affiliate court appointed special advocate program and screening and selecting individuals to serve as a CASA, as such term is defined in Code Section 15-11-2;
    6. Any federal, federally recognized tribal, state, or local governmental entity of this or any other state or any agent of such governmental entities requesting information concerning any prospective foster or adoptive parent or any adult living in the home of the prospective foster or adoptive parent, which information shall be provided and used solely for the purpose of conducting background checks of prospective foster or adoptive parents;
    7. Any child-placing agency of this state licensed to place children in foster homes or for adoption requesting information concerning any prospective foster or adoptive parent, which information shall be provided and used solely for the purpose of conducting background checks of foster parents or adoptive parents; and
    8. Any entity licensed by any other state to place children for adoption which information shall be provided at the discretion of the division and used solely for the purpose of conducting background checks on adoptive parents or prospective adoptive parents.
  2. The division shall provide the Governor's office, the General Assembly, district attorneys, and law enforcement agencies with a statistical analysis of substantiated cases of child abuse entered into the child abuse registry at the end of each calendar year. This analysis shall not include the names of any children, parents, or persons associated with the child abuse. This analysis shall not be protected by any laws prohibiting the dissemination of confidential information.
  3. An individual may make a written request to the division to find out whether his or her name is included in the child abuse registry. Upon presentation of a passport, military identification card, driver's license, or identification card authorized under Code Sections 40-5-100 through 40-5-104, the office receiving such request shall disclose to such individual whether his or her name is included in the child abuse registry and, if so, the date upon which his or her name was listed in the registry.
  4. The division shall provide persons and entities authorized in subsection (a) of this Code section with access to or information from the child abuse registry sufficient to meet the requirements prescribed by Congress as conditions to federal funding for programs administered by such persons or entities.

(Code 1981, §49-5-185, enacted by Ga. L. 2015, p. 552, § 11/SB 138; Ga. L. 2016, p. 773, § 8/HB 905; Ga. L. 2016, p. 864, § 49/HB 737; Ga. L. 2017, p. 345, § 2/SB 168.)

The 2016 amendments. The first 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, substituted "that may" for "who may" in the introductory paragraph of subsection (a); inserted "and" near the middle of paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2); twice substituted "such" for "that" in paragraph (a)(1); inserted ", which" near the beginning of paragraphs (a)(3) and (a)(4); in paragraph (a)(3), in the middle, added a comma following "regulation", deleted a comma following "or policy", and deleted "and" at the end; substituted "; and" for a period at the end of paragraph (a)(4); added paragraph (a)(5); deleted "and convicted child abusers" following "cases of child abuse" in the first sentence of subsection (b); in subsection (c), in the first sentence, substituted "An individual" for "A person", and substituted "his or her" for "such person's", in the second sentence, substituted "individual" for "person" in the middle, and deleted "and the substantiated case or child abuse crime for which such person was convicted" following "registry" at the end; and substituted "such persons or entities" for "such entities or persons" at the end of subsection (d). The second 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, in paragraph (a)(3), substituted "entity, which may" for "entity may", and substituted "regulation, or policy" for "regulation or policy,"; and, in paragraph (a)(4), substituted "Learning, which is" for "Learning is".

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, inserted "or any federal, federally recognized tribal, state, or local governmental entity of this or any other state or any agent of such governmental agencies which is investigating or responding to a report of a case of possible child abuse" near the beginning of paragraph (a)(1); deleted "and" at the end of paragraph (a)(4); substituted "; and" for the period at the end of paragraph (a)(5); and added paragraphs (a)(6) through (a)(8).

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2017, "and" was deleted at the end of paragraph (a)(5).

Cases Citing Georgia Code 49-5-185 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 2

Ga. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Addison

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2018-09-10

Citation: 819 S.E.2d 20, 304 Ga. 425

Snippet: with children, and "licensing entit[ies]." OCGA § 49-5-185. OCGA § 49-5-183 (a) says: Upon receipt of an

Ga. Dep't of Human Servs. v. Steiner

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2018-06-18

Citation: 815 S.E.2d 883

Snippet: meeting federal funding requirements. See OCGA § 49-5-185. OCGA § 49-5-183 requires that DFCS must notify