37.51.601    YOUTH FOSTER HOMES: CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION

(1) All information in records maintained in a youth foster home and all personal information made available to a foster parent pertaining to an individual child and the child's family must be kept confidential unless a written court order authorizes the release of the information. The confidentiality requirement continues after the child is no longer in the home. The confidentiality requirement also applies to information a foster parent receives about foster children placed with other foster parents, whether the information is received in a support group setting or otherwise.

(2) All requests for records or information maintained by a youth foster home which pertain to an individual child or the child's family must be referred to the department or, if applicable, to the agency that placed the child. The department may authorize the release of information from the foster home; the foster home may not.

(3) All records pertaining to individual children placed by the department are available at any time to the department or its representatives.

(4) Records pertaining to individual children residing in the home but not placed by or in the custody of the department are available to the department for the purposes of licensing or relicensing the youth foster home.

History: 52-1-103, 52-2-111, 52-2-601, 52-2-621, 52-2-622, MCA; IMP, 41-3-205, 52-1-103, 52-2-111, 52-2-601, 52-2-621, 52-2-622, MCA; NEW, 2006 MAR p. 1395, Eff. 6/2/06.