| (a) Except as provided by this section or otherwise
permitted by law, prior to the release of confidential investigation
or case records, the Department of Family and Protective Services
(DFPS) shall redact the records to remove the name, address, and any
other information in the record which tends to reveal the identity
of any individual as a reporter. In the event that an individual who
was a reporter also provided a witness statement or other evidence
during the course of the investigation, that individual's identity
as a witness, as well as the information provided by that individual
in the role of witness, will be released, provided that any information
that would identify that individual as the reporter is redacted from
the record prior to its release.
(b) DFPS shall withhold the release of any records
obtained from another source, if the release of that record to the
requestor is prohibited under state or federal law. Information which
may be withheld under this section includes, but is not limited to,
the following:
(1) "individually identifiable health information,"
as defined by §1171 of the Social Security Act, to the extent
that DFPS is prohibited from releasing such information to the requester
by Chapter 181 of the Health and Safety Code, and related regulations
adopted pursuant to Chapter 181;
(2) HIV information unless release to the requestor
is authorized under Chapter 81 of the Health and Safety Code;
(3) criminal history or arrest records obtained from
a law enforcement entity unless their release to the requestor is
authorized under state or federal law;
(4) adult or juvenile probation records, as well as
juvenile arrest records, unless their release to the requestor is
authorized under state or federal law; and
(5) the results of a polygraph exam, unless their release
to the requestor is authorized under §1703.306 of the Occupations
Code, or other state or federal law.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter,
DFPS may withhold any information in its records if:
(1) in the judgment of DFPS, the release of that information
would endanger the life or safety of any individual, in which event
DFPS shall keep a record of any information so withheld and shall
document the specific factual basis for its belief that the release
of the information would be likely to endanger the life or safety
of an individual; or
(2) DFPS has been notified by a law enforcement official
that release of the information to the requestor would interfere with
an ongoing criminal investigation, in which event DFPS shall document
in its records the name of the law enforcement official who notified
DFPS that release of the information would interfere with an ongoing
criminal investigation.
(d) Information withheld from a requestor under this
section, as well as the documented basis for withholding information
under subsection (c) of this section, may be released only upon a
court order pursuant to the provisions in §261.201(b) of the
Family Code.
(e) DFPS may release reporter information, including
the identity of a reporter, to the following:
(1) a court having family law jurisdiction as necessary
to resolve an issue relating to the custody of, access to, or possession
of a child;
(2) a person or entity with the statutory duty to investigate
or prosecute a report of child abuse or neglect, failure to report
child abuse or neglect, or false reporting of child abuse or neglect;
(3) a person or entity that provides legal representation
to DFPS; or
(4) a social study evaluator, guardian ad litem, or
court-appointed volunteer advocate appointed by the court under Chapter
107 of the Family Code to make recommendations to the court concerning
the best interest of a child.
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