Oregon Statutes 419B.035 – Confidentiality of records; when available to others; rules
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS § 192.001 to 192.170, 192.210 to 192.478 and 192.610 to 192.810 relating to confidentiality and accessibility for public inspection of public records and public documents, reports and records compiled under the provisions of ORS § 419B.010 to 419B.050 are confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in this section. The Department of Human Services shall make the records available to:
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 419B.035
- Any other state: includes any state and the District of Columbia. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- City: includes any incorporated village or town. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Gender identity: means an individual's gender-related identity, appearance, expression or behavior, regardless of whether the identity, appearance, expression or behavior differs from that associated with the gender assigned to the individual at birth. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- judicial department: means the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the Oregon Tax Court, the circuit courts and all administrative divisions of those courts, whether denominated as boards, commissions, committees or departments or by any other designation. See Oregon Statutes 174.113
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Sexual orientation: means an individual's actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
(a) Any law enforcement agency or a child abuse registry in any other state for the purpose of subsequent investigation of child abuse;
(b) Any physician, physician assistant licensed under ORS § 677.505 to 677.525 or nurse practitioner licensed under ORS § 678.375 to 678.390, at the request of the physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, regarding any child brought to the physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner or coming before the physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner for examination, care or treatment;
(c) Attorneys of record for the child or child’s parent or guardian in any juvenile court proceeding;
(d) Citizen review boards established by the Judicial Department for the purpose of periodically reviewing the status of children, youths and adjudicated youths under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court under ORS § 419B.100 and 419C.005. Citizen review boards may make such records available to participants in case reviews;
(e) 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;
(f) The Department of Early Learning and Care for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the department, including the certification, registration or regulation of child care facilities and child care providers and the administration of enrollment in the Central Background Registry;
(g) The Office of Children’s Advocate;
(h) The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for investigations conducted under ORS § 339.390 or 342.176 involving any child or any student;
(i) Any person, upon request to the Department of Human Services, if the reports or records requested regard an incident in which a child, as the result of abuse, died or suffered serious physical injury as defined in ORS § 161.015. Reports or records disclosed under this paragraph must be disclosed in accordance with ORS § 192.311 to 192.478;
(j) The Department of Early Learning and Care for purposes of applications described in ORS § 329A.030 (11)(c)(G) to (J);
(k) 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;
(L) The Department of Education for purposes of investigations conducted under ORS § 339.391;
(m) An education provider for the purpose of making determinations under ORS § 339.388; and
(n) A national nonprofit organization designated by the Department of Human Services that provides assistance with locating, recovering or providing services to children or youth determined by the department to be missing.
(2)(a) When disclosing reports and records pursuant to subsection (1)(i) of this section, the Department of Human Services 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.
(b) If the Department of Human Services does not have a report or record of abuse regarding a child who, as the result of abuse, died or suffered serious physical injury as defined in ORS § 161.015, the department may disclose that information.
(3) The Department of Human Services may make reports and records compiled under the provisions of ORS § 419B.010 to 419B.050 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, or that such disclosure is necessary 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. The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules setting forth the procedures by which it will make the disclosures authorized under this subsection or subsection (1) or (2) of this section. The name, address and other identifying information about the person who made the report may not be disclosed pursuant to this subsection and subsection (1) of this section.
(4) A law enforcement agency may make reports and records compiled under the provisions of ORS § 419B.010 to 419B.050 available to 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 or necessary to determine a claim for crime victim compensation under ORS § 147.005 to 147.367.
(5)(a) A law enforcement agency, upon completing an investigation and closing the file in a specific case relating to child abuse or neglect, shall make reports and records in the case available upon request to:
(A) Any law enforcement agency or community corrections agency in this state, to the Department of Corrections, to the Oregon Youth Authority or to the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision for the purpose of managing and supervising offenders in custody or on probation, parole, post-prison supervision or other form of conditional or supervised release; and
(B) The Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for investigations conducted under ORS § 339.390 and 342.176.
(b) A law enforcement agency may make reports and records compiled under the provisions of ORS § 419B.010 to 419B.050 available to the Oregon Youth Authority, the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission for investigations conducted under ORS § 339.390 and 342.176, law enforcement, community corrections, corrections or parole agencies in an open case when the law enforcement agency determines that the disclosure will not interfere with an ongoing investigation in the case.
(c) The name, address and other identifying information about the person who made the report may not be disclosed under this subsection or subsection (6)(b) of this section.
(6)(a) Any record made available to a law enforcement agency or community corrections agency in this state, to the Department of Corrections, the Oregon Youth Authority, the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision or the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission or to a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner in this state, as authorized by subsections (1) to (5) of this section, shall be kept confidential by the agency, department, board, commission, physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Any record or report disclosed by the Department of Human Services to other persons or entities pursuant to subsections (1) and (3) of this section shall be kept confidential.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection:
(A) A law enforcement agency, a community corrections agency, the Department of Corrections, the Oregon Youth Authority and the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision may disclose records made available to them under subsection (5) of this section to each other, to law enforcement, community corrections, corrections and parole agencies of other states and to authorized treatment providers for the purpose of managing and supervising offenders in custody or on probation, parole, post-prison supervision or other form of conditional or supervised release.
(B) The Department of Corrections and the Oregon Youth Authority may disclose records made available to them under subsection (5) of this section regarding a person in the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Oregon Youth Authority to each other, to the court, to the district attorney and to the person’s attorney for the purpose of the person’s hearing under ORS § 420A.200 to 420A.206.
(C) A person may disclose records made available to the person under subsection (1)(i) of this section if the records are disclosed for the purpose of advancing the public interest.
(7) Except as provided by ORS § 339.389, an officer or employee of the Department of Human Services or of a law enforcement agency or any person or entity to whom disclosure is made pursuant to subsections (1) to (6) of this section may not release any information not authorized by subsections (1) to (6) of this section.
(8) A record of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, as defined in ORS § 409.225, is exempt from disclosure under subsection (1) of this section unless:
(a) The department determines, in written findings, that failure to disclose the record is reasonably likely to jeopardize the child’s safety or well-being;
(b) The department determines, in written findings, that disclosure of the record is necessary to provide services to the child or the child’s family; or
(c) The child consents to the disclosure.
(9) As used in this section, ‘law enforcement agency’ has the meaning given that term in ORS § 181A.010.
(10) A person who violates subsection (6)(a) or (7) of this section commits a Class A violation. [1993 c.546 20,20a; 1995 c.278 § 51; 1997 c.328 § 8; 1999 c.1051 § 181; 2003 c.14 § 224; 2003 c.412 § 1; 2003 c.591 § 8; 2005 c.317 § 1; 2005 c.659 § 2; 2009 c.348 3,4; 2009 c.393 § 1; 2012 c.3 § 2; 2013 c.624 § 84; 2014 c.45 § 43; 2017 c.108 § 5; 2017 c.356 § 43; 2017 c.377 § 1; 2017 c.616 § 2; 2019 c.141 § 26; 2019 c.618 § 19; 2021 c.194 § 1; 2021 c.386 § 7; 2021 c.489 § 57; 2022 c.27 § 10; 2022 c.90 § 9; 2023 c.129 § 2; 2023 c.131 § 2; 2023 c.267 § 7; 2023 c.554 § 54]