(a)        Upon receipt of a request from a county department of social services pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 108A-26.1, the Department of Public Safety shall, to the extent allowed by federal law, provide to the county department of social services the criminal history from the State or National Repositories of Criminal Histories of an applicant for, or recipient of, program assistance under Part 2 or Part 5 of Article 2 of Chapter 108A of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(b)        The county department of social services shall provide to the Department of Public Safety, along with the request, any information required by the Department of Public Safety and a form signed by the individual to be checked consenting to the check of the criminal record and to the use of any necessary identifying information required by the State or National Repositories. The county department of social services shall keep all information pursuant to this section confidential and privileged, except as provided in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 108A-26.1

(c)        The Department of Public Safety may charge a reasonable fee only for conducting the checks of the criminal history records authorized by this section. ?(2013-417, s. 3; 2014-100, ss. 17.1(m), (o).)