HOUSE COM SUB (2 LINES)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2411
(By Delegates Wills, Caputo, Givens, R. Thompson, Armstead and Schadler
)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[April 2, 2001]

A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article two-c, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia one thousand nine hundred thirty-one as amended; to amend chapter fifteen of said code by adding thereto a new article, designated article two-e; to amend and reenact sections thirteen, seventeen and eighteen, article five, chapter forty-nine of said code; and to amend and reenact sections one and three, article seven of said chapter, all relating to registries and repositories; juvenile records; establishing the juvenile offender criminal record repository; requiring certain information be retained in the repository; limiting the access and use of the information in the repository; providing for the expungement of records from the repository; providing criminal penalties and damages for willful and unlawful disclosure of information contained in the repository; excepting information in the repository from court sealing of juvenile records; and requiring a juvenile whose record is to be disclosed to school officials to report his or her enrollment in any school in West Virginia to the court.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article two-c, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that chapter fifteen of said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article two-e; that sections thirteen, seventeen and eighteen, article five, chapter forty-nine of said code be amended and reenacted; and that sections one and three, article seven of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows;
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2C. CENTRAL ABUSE REGISTRY.
§15-2C-6. Fees.
The criminal identification bureau may charge, and any requester shall pay a user charge of ten dollars for each request for information made by a requester to the central abuse registry. In order to expedite requests by requesters, the criminal identification bureau may establish a procedure permitting service providers to deposit funds with the bureau in anticipation of requests. Fees pursuant to this section shall be paid into a special account in the state treasury to be expended for registry purposes, the juvenile offender criminal record repository and teacher fingerprinting and criminal history checks: Provided, That for and after the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, all expenditures shall be made in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature. Amounts collected which are found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for central abuse registry, juvenile offender criminal record repository and teacher fingerprinting and criminal history checks purposes may be transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the Legislature.
ARTICLE 2E. JUVENILE OFFENDER CRIMINAL RECORD REPOSITORY.
§15-2E-1.
Establishment of the juvenile offender criminal record repository; information to be collected.

(a) The criminal identification bureau of the West Virginia state police shall establish and maintain a juvenile offender criminal record repository.

(b) The juvenile offender criminal record repository is to serve as a central location for information on juvenile offenders. The repository is to contain personally identifying information about the juvenile, including fingerprints and photographs, law enforcement information contained in records of arrests, court information contained in juvenile petitions and orders of adjudication and disposition and current custodial information, including current status and dates of supervision or custody.

(c) Information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository is limited to that information relating either to individual juvenile proceedings concerning a juvenile that has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult or to law enforcement records in which the juvenile offense charged would constitute a felony if the juvenile was an adult. The repository may not contain any information relating to the physical health, mental health, social or educational status of the juvenile.

(d) All state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies
shall provide required information to the criminal identification bureau regarding their investigation of a juvenile: Provided, That the investigation involves an activity that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult; and a judge, magistrate or referee has either determined that there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the offense as charged or has placed the juvenile into an improvement period in accordance with section nine, article five, chapter forty-nine of this code.

(e) All courts having juvenile jurisdiction shall provide required information to the criminal identification bureau contained in the petition or order providing disposition of a juvenile proceeding in which the juvenile has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult. Any court which orders the transfer of a juvenile case to the criminal jurisdiction of the court shall notify the criminal identification bureau of the transfer. Any court which after ordering a transfer of a juvenile case to the criminal jurisdiction of the court disposes of the proceeding by a delinquency disposition authorized by subsection (e), section thirteen, article five, chapter forty-nine of this code shall notify the criminal identification bureau of the disposition.

(f) The division of juvenile services and the department of health and human resources shall provide to the criminal identification bureau required information regarding the status of a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent for an offense which would constitute a felony if committed by an adult and is under their jurisdiction, including the location of the juvenile and the length of time the juvenile is in their custody.

(g) Upon notice that a proceeding against a juvenile is transferred to the court's criminal jurisdiction, the criminal identification bureau shall remove and transfer any information pertaining to or derived from records of that proceeding or law enforcement records contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository, and shall send all further records in the proceeding to a system of records maintained for adult offenders by the criminal identification bureau. Upon notice that a court has disposed of a proceeding transferred to the court's criminal jurisdiction by a delinquency disposition authorized by subsection (e), section thirteen, article five, chapter forty- nine of this code, the criminal identification bureau shall remove and transfer any information pertaining to or derived from records of that proceeding or any law enforcement records from the adult record system to the juvenile offender criminal record repository and may not maintain the records in the adult record system.

(h) The criminal identification bureau shall adopt rules prescribing the form, general content, time and manner of submission of information to be contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository.
§15-2E-2.
Access to repository; use of information contained in the repository.

(a) All state, county and municipal law-enforcement agencies may have access to information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository regarding a specific juvenile for use in the investigation of a crime in which the juvenile is a suspect.

(b) The division of juvenile services and the department of health and human resources may have access to information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository regarding a juvenile placed in their custody for use in determining the rehabilitation needs of the juvenile.

(c) A court having jurisdiction in a case involving a juvenile may have access to information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository regarding that juvenile for use in determining the rehabilitation needs of the juvenile. The information in the repository may not be made available to the court until after the adjudicatory hearing. Unless waived, copies of the juvenile's record received by the court are to be provided to counsel for the petitioner and counsel for the juvenile no later than seventy-two hours prior to the dispositional hearing.

(d) A court having jurisdiction in a criminal case may have access to information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository regarding the defendant in that case.

(e) The governor's committee on crime, delinquency and corrections may have access to information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository for research purposes only. Research based on information obtained from the repository may be released to the public only if the identification of individual juveniles is excluded.

(f) Information contained in the repository is not subject to the West Virginia freedom of information act, as set forth in chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.
§15-2E-3.
Expungement of juvenile offender criminal record; procedure and effect.

(a) A juvenile who is the subject of a delinquency proceeding in which the charge has been dismissed with no findings of delinquency may make a motion to the court that dismissed the charges to have all information relating to the matter for which the charge was dismissed expunged from the juvenile offender criminal record repository. If the court finds that there are no charges or proceedings pending relating to the matter for which the expungement is sought, the court may grant the motion.

(b) Any information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository relating to a juvenile petition, proceeding or charge in which the charge was dismissed or in which there was no finding of delinquency is to be expunged from the repository not later than two years after the juvenile's eighteenth birthday.

(c) Any information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository relating to a person who as a juvenile was adjudicated delinquent is to be expunged from the repository not later than four years after his or her eighteenth birthday: Provided, That he or she has not been convicted of a criminal offense as an adult.

(d) The criminal identification bureau shall adopt rules determining the manner of expungement of information contained in the repository.

(e) Information that has been expunged may not be used in any manner against the individual named.
§15-2E-4.
Willful and unlawful disclosure of information in the juvenile offender criminal record repository; penalty.

Any person who willfully and unlawfully discloses any information contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository other than as provided in this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months, or both. A person convicted pursuant to this section is also liable for damages in the amount of three hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater. CHAPTER 49. CHILD WELFARE.
ARTICLE 5. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.
§49-5-13. Disposition of juvenile delinquents; appeal.

(a) In aid of disposition of juvenile delinquents, the juvenile probation officer assigned to the court shall, upon request of the court, make an investigation of the environment of the juvenile and the alternative dispositions possible. The court, upon its own motion, or upon request of counsel, may order a psychological examination of the juvenile. The report of ~~such~~ the examination and other investigative and social reports ~~shall~~ are not to be made available to the court until after the adjudicatory hearing. Unless waived, copies of the report ~~shall~~ are to be provided to counsel for the petitioner and counsel for the juvenile no later than seventy-two hours prior to the dispositional hearing. The court may also access information concerning the juvenile from the juvenile offender criminal record repository pursuant to section two, article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code.

(b) Following the adjudication, the court shall conduct the dispositional proceeding, giving all parties an opportunity to be heard. ~~In disposition~~ ~~the court shall~~ ~~not~~ ~~limited to the relief sought in the petition and shall, in electing from the following alternatives, consider the best interests of the juvenile and the welfare of the public~~ In determining the disposition of a juvenile case, the court shall consider the best interests of the juvenile and the welfare of the public. The court is not limited to the relief sought in the petition and may elect from the following alternatives:

(1) Dismiss the petition;

(2) Refer the juvenile and the juvenile's parent or custodian to a community agency for needed assistance and dismiss the petition;

(3) Upon a finding that the juvenile is in need of extra-parental supervision: (A) Place the juvenile under the supervision of a probation officer of the court or of the court of the county where the juvenile has his or her usual place of abode or other person while leaving the juvenile in custody of his or her parent or custodian; and (B) prescribe a program of treatment or therapy or limit the juvenile's activities under terms which are reasonable and within the child's ability to perform, including participation in the litter control program established pursuant to section twenty-five, article seven, chapter twenty of this code, or other appropriate programs of community service;

(4) Upon a finding that a parent or custodian is not willing or able to take custody of the juvenile, that a juvenile is not willing to reside in the custody of his or her parent or custodian, or that a parent or custodian cannot provide the necessary supervision and care of the juvenile, ~~the court may~~ place the juvenile in temporary foster care or temporarily commit the juvenile to the department or a child welfare agency. The court order ~~shall~~ is to state that continuation in the home is contrary to the best interest of the juvenile and why; and whether or not the department made a reasonable effort to prevent the placement or that ~~the~~ an emergency situation made ~~such~~ efforts to prevent the placement unreasonable or impossible. Whenever the court transfers custody of a youth to the department, the court shall enter an appropriate order of financial support by the parents or guardians ~~shall be entered~~ in accordance with section five, article seven of this chapter and guidelines promulgated by the supreme court of appeals;

(5) Upon a finding that the best interests of the juvenile or the welfare of the public require it, and upon an adjudication of delinquency ~~pursuant to subdivision (1), section four, article one of this chapter~~, ~~the court may~~ commit the juvenile to the custody of the director of the division of juvenile services for placement in a juvenile correctional facility for the treatment, instruction and rehabilitation of juveniles: Provided, That the court maintains discretion to consider alternative sentencing arrangements. Commitments ~~shall~~ may not exceed the maximum term for which an adult could have been sentenced for the same offense and any ~~such~~ maximum allowable sentence to be served in a juvenile correctional facility may take into account any time served by the juvenile in a detention center pending adjudication, disposition or transfer. The order ~~shall~~ must state that continuation in the home is contrary to the best interests of the juvenile and why; and whether or not the state department made a reasonable effort to prevent the placement or that ~~the~~ an emergency situation made ~~such~~ efforts to prevent the placement unreasonable or impossible; or

(6) After a hearing conducted under the procedures set out in subsections (c) and (d), section four, article five, chapter twenty-seven of this code, commit the juvenile to a mental health facility in accordance with the juvenile's treatment plan; the director of the mental health facility may release a the juvenile and return him or her to the court for further disposition. The order ~~shall~~ must state that continuation in the home is contrary to the best interests of the juvenile and why; and whether or not the state department made a reasonable effort to prevent the placement or that ~~the~~ an emergency situation made ~~such~~ efforts to prevent the placement unreasonable or impossible.

(c) The disposition of the juvenile ~~shall~~ may not be affected by the fact that the juvenile demanded a trial by jury or made a plea of denial. Any dispositional order is subject to appeal to the supreme court of appeals.

(d) Following disposition, the court shall inquire whether the juvenile wishes to appeal and the response ~~shall~~ must be transcribed; a negative response ~~shall~~ may not be construed as a waiver. The evidence ~~shall~~ is to be transcribed as soon as practicable and made available to the juvenile or his or her counsel, if ~~the same~~ it is requested for purposes of further proceedings. A judge may grant a stay of execution pending further proceedings.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, if a juvenile charged with delinquency under this chapter is transferred to adult jurisdiction and there tried and convicted, the court may make its disposition in accordance with this section in lieu of sentencing ~~such person~~ the juvenile as an adult.
§49-5-17. Confidentiality of juvenile records.

(a) Records of a juvenile proceeding conducted under this chapter are not public records and ~~shall~~ are not to be disclosed to anyone unless disclosure is otherwise authorized by this section or by article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a copy of a juvenile's records ~~shall~~ is to be automatically be disclosed to certain school officials, subject to the following terms and conditions:

(1) Only certain types of juvenile records ~~shall~~ are to be disclosed. These include and are limited to cases in which:

(A) The juvenile has been charged with an offense which would be a felony if the juvenile ~~were~~ was an adult; and

(i) The offense involves violence against another person;

(ii) The offense involves possession of a dangerous or deadly weapon; or

(iii) The offense involves possession or delivery of a controlled substance as that term is defined in section one hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this code; and

(B) The juvenile case has proceeded to a point where one or more of the following has occurred:

(i) A judge, magistrate or referee has determined that there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the offense as charged;

(ii) A judge, magistrate or referee has placed the juvenile on probation for the offense;

(iii) A judge, magistrate or referee has placed the juvenile into an improvement period in accordance with section nine, article five, chapter forty-nine of this code; or

(iv) Some other type of disposition has been made of the case other than dismissal.

(2) The circuit court for each judicial circuit in West Virginia shall designate one person to supervise the disclosure of juvenile records to certain school officials.

(3) If the juvenile attends a West Virginia public school, the person designated by the circuit court shall automatically disclose all records of a juvenile case to the county superintendent of schools in the county in which the juvenile attends school. The person designated by the circuit court shall also automatically disclose all records of a juvenile case to the principal of the school which the juvenile attends.

(4) If the juvenile attends a private school in West Virginia, the person designated by the circuit court shall determine the identity of the highest ranking person at that school, and shall automatically disclose all records of a juvenile's case to that person.

(5) If the juvenile does not attend school at the time the juvenile's case is pending, the person designated by the circuit court ~~shall~~ may not transmit the juvenile's records to any school. However, the person designated by the circuit court shall transmit the juvenile's records to any school in West Virginia which the juvenile subsequently attends. Any juvenile whose records are subject to disclosure to school officials pursuant to this section shall report his or her enrollment in any school in West Virginia to the person designated by the circuit court.

(6) The person designated by the circuit court ~~shall~~ may not automatically transmit juvenile records to a school which is not located in West Virginia. Instead, the person designated by the circuit court shall contact the out-of-state school, inform it that juvenile records exist, and make an inquiry regarding whether the laws of that state permit the disclosure of juvenile records. If so, the person designated by the circuit court shall consult with the circuit judge who presided over the case to determine whether the juvenile records should be disclosed to the out-of-state school. The circuit judge ~~shall have~~ has discretion in determining whether to disclose the juvenile records, and shall consider whether the other state's law regarding disclosure provides for sufficient confidentiality of juvenile records, using this section as a guide. If the circuit judge orders the juvenile records to be disclosed, they ~~shall~~ are to be disclosed in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (7) of this subsection.

(7) The person designated by the circuit court shall transmit the juvenile's records to the appropriate school official under cover of a letter emphasizing the confidentiality of ~~such~~ the records and directing the official to consult this section of the code. A copy of this section of the code ~~shall~~ is to be transmitted with the juvenile's records and cover letter.

(8) Juvenile records must be treated as absolutely confidential by the school official to whom they are transmitted, and nothing contained within the juvenile's records ~~shall~~ may be noted on the juvenile's permanent educational record. The juvenile records are to be maintained in a secure location and are not to be copied under any circumstances. However, the principal of a school to whom the records are transmitted ~~shall have~~ has the duty to disclose the contents of those records to any teacher who teaches a class in which the ~~subject~~ juvenile is enrolled and to the regular driver of a school bus in which the ~~subject~~ juvenile is regularly transported to or from school. Furthermore, any school official to whom the juvenile's records are transmitted may disclose the contents of ~~such~~ the records to any adult within the school system who, in the discretion of the school official, has the need to be aware of the contents of those records.

(9) If for any reason a juvenile ceases to attend a school which possesses that juvenile's records, the appropriate official at that school shall seal the records and return them to the circuit court which sent them to that school. If the juvenile has changed schools for any reason, the former school shall inform the circuit court of the name and location of the new school which the juvenile attends or will be attending. If the new school is located within West Virginia, the person designated by the circuit court shall forward the juvenile's records to the juvenile's new school in the same manner as provided in subdivision (7) of this subsection. If the new school is not located within West Virginia, the person designated by the circuit court shall handle the juvenile records in accordance with subdivision (6) of this subsection. If the juvenile has been found not guilty of an offense for which records were previously forwarded to the juvenile's school on the basis of a finding of probable cause, the circuit court ~~shall~~ may not forward those records to the juvenile's new school. However, this ~~shall~~ does not affect records related to other prior or future offenses. If the juvenile has graduated or quit school, or will otherwise not be attending another school, the circuit court shall retain the juvenile's records and handle them as otherwise provided in this article.

(10) Under no circumstances ~~shall~~ may one school transmit a juvenile's records to another school.

(11) Under no circumstances ~~shall~~ may juvenile records be automatically transmitted to a college, university or other post- secondary school.

(12) No one ~~shall~~ may suffer any penalty, civil or criminal, for accidentally or negligently attributing certain juvenile records to the wrong person. However, ~~such~~ a person ~~shall have~~ has the affirmative duty to promptly correct any mistake that he or she has made in disclosing juvenile records when the mistake is brought to his or her attention. A person who intentionally attributes false information to a certain person shall be subjected to both criminal and civil penalties in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.

(13) If a judge, magistrate or referee has determined that there is probable cause to believe that a juvenile has committed an offense but there has been no final adjudication of the charge, the records which are transmitted by the circuit court ~~shall~~ are to be accompanied by a notice which clearly states in bold print that there has been no determination of delinquency and that our legal system requires a presumption of innocence.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, juvenile records may be disclosed, subject to the following terms and conditions:

(1) If a juvenile case is transferred to the criminal jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to the provisions of subsection (c) or (d), section ten of this article, the juvenile records ~~shall~~ are to be open to public inspection.

(2) If a juvenile case is transferred to the criminal jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to the provisions of subsection (e), (f) or (g), section ten of this article, the juvenile records ~~shall~~ are to be open to public inspection only if the juvenile fails to file a timely appeal of the transfer order, or the supreme court of appeals refuses to hear or denies an appeal which has been timely filed.

(3) If a juvenile is fourteen years of age or older and a court has determined there is a probable cause to believe the juvenile committed an offense set forth in subsection (g), section ten of this article, but the case is not transferred to criminal jurisdiction, the juvenile records ~~shall~~ are to be open to public inspection pending trial only if the juvenile is released on bond and no longer detained or adjudicated delinquent of the offense.

(4) If a juvenile is younger than fourteen years of age and a court has determined there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the crime of murder under section one, two or three, article two, chapter sixty-one of this code, or the crime of sexual assault in the first degree under section three, article eight-b of said chapter, but the case is not transferred to criminal jurisdiction, the juvenile records ~~shall~~ are to be open to public inspection pending trial only if the juvenile is released on bond and no longer detained or adjudicated delinquent of the offense.

(5) Upon a written petition and pursuant to a written order, the circuit court may permit disclosure of juvenile records to:

(A) A court which has juvenile jurisdiction and has the juvenile before it in a juvenile proceeding;

(B) A court exercising criminal jurisdiction over the juvenile which requests ~~such~~ the records for the purpose of a presentence report or disposition proceeding;

(D) The officials of a public institution to which the juvenile is committed if they require ~~such~~ the records for transfer, parole or discharge; or

(E) A person who is conducting research. However, juvenile records may be disclosed for research purposes only upon the condition that information which would identify the ~~subject~~ juvenile or the juvenile's family ~~shall~~ may not be disclosed.

(d) Any records open to public inspection pursuant to the provisions of this section are subject to the same requirements governing the disclosure of adult criminal records.

(e) Any person who willfully violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months, or both so fined and confined, and shall be liable for damages in the amount of three hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater.
§49-5-18. Sealing of juvenile records.

(a) ~~One~~ Except for records maintained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository pursuant to article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code, one year after the juvenile's eighteenth birthday, or one year after personal or juvenile jurisdiction has terminated, whichever is later, the records of a juvenile proceeding conducted under this chapter, including, but not limited to, law-enforcement files and records, ~~shall~~ are to be sealed by operation of law.

(b) ~~The~~ Except for records maintained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository pursuant to article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code, the records of a juvenile proceeding in which a juvenile was transferred to criminal jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of section ten of this article ~~shall~~ are to be sealed by operation of law if the juvenile is subsequently acquitted or found guilty only of an offense other than an offense upon which the waiver or order of transfer was based, or if the offense upon which the waiver or order of transfer was based is subsequently dismissed.

(c) To seal juvenile records, ~~they shall~~ the records to be sealed are to be returned to the circuit court in which the case was pending and be kept in a separate confidential file. The records ~~shall~~ are to be physically marked to show that they have been sealed and ~~shall be~~ securely sealed and filed in ~~such~~ a manner that no one can determine the identity of the juvenile.

(d) Sealed records may not be opened except upon order of the circuit court.

(e) ~~Sealing~~ Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, sealing of juvenile records under the provisions of this section has the legal effect of extinguishing the offense as if it never occurred.

(f) The records of a juvenile convicted under the criminal jurisdiction of the circuit court pursuant to subdivision (1), subsection (d), section ten of this article may not be sealed.

(g) Any person who willfully violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months, or both so fined and confined, and shall be liable for damages in the amount of three hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater.

(h) This section does not apply to records contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository pursuant to article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code. Records maintained in the repository are to be accessed and expunged as provided in article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code.

ARTICLE 7. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

§49-7-1. Confidentiality of records.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code or by order of the court, all records and information concerning a child or juvenile which are maintained by the division of juvenile services, the department of health and human resources, a child agency or facility, court or law-enforcement agency ~~shall~~ are to be kept confidential and ~~shall~~ may not be released or disclosed to anyone, including any federal or state agency.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section or any other provision of this code to the contrary, records concerning a child or juvenile, except adoption records, juvenile court records, records contained in the juvenile offender criminal record repository and records disclosing the identity of a person making a complaint of child abuse or neglect ~~shall~~ are to be made available:

(1) Where otherwise authorized by this chapter;

(2) To:

(A) The child;

(B) A parent whose parental rights have not been terminated; or

(3) With the written consent of the child or of someone authorized to act on the child's behalf; or

(4) Pursuant to an order of a court of record: Provided, That the court shall review ~~such~~ the record or records for relevancy and materiality to the issues in the proceeding, and may issue an order to limit the examination and use of the records or any part ~~thereof~~ of the records.

(c) In addition to those persons or entities to whom information may be disclosed under subsection (b) of this section, information related to child abuse or neglect proceedings, except information relating to the identity of the person reporting or making a complaint of child abuse or neglect, ~~shall~~ is to be made available, upon request, to:

(1) Federal, state or local government entities, or any agent of ~~such entities~~ any federal, state or local government entities, including law-enforcement agencies and prosecuting attorneys, having a need for ~~such~~ information in order to carry out its responsibilities under law to protect children from abuse and neglect;

(2) The child fatality review team;

(3) Child abuse citizen review panels;

(4) Multidisciplinary investigative and treatment teams; or

(5) A grand jury, circuit court or family law master, upon a finding that information in the records is necessary for the determination of an issue before the grand jury, circuit court or family law master.

(d) In the event of a child fatality or near fatality due to child abuse and neglect, information relating to ~~such~~ the fatality or near fatality ~~shall~~ is to be made public by the department of health and human resources and to the entities described in subsection (c) of this section, all under the circumstances described in that subsection: Provided, That information released by the department of health and human resources pursuant to this subsection ~~shall~~ is not to include the identity of a person reporting or making a complaint of child abuse or neglect. For purposes of this subsection, "near fatality" means any medical condition of the child which is certified by the attending physician to be life-threatening.

(e) Except in juvenile proceedings which are transferred to criminal proceedings, law-enforcement records and files concerning a child or juvenile ~~shall~~ are to be kept separate from the records and files of adults and not included within the court files. Law-enforcement records and files concerning a child or juvenile ~~shall~~ are to only be open to inspection pursuant to the provisions of sections seventeen and eighteen, article five of this chapter and article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code.

(f) Any person who willfully violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail for not more than six months, or be both fined and confined. A person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall also be liable for damages in the amount of three hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or any other provision of this code to the contrary, the name and identity of any juvenile adjudicated or convicted of a violent or felonious crime ~~shall~~ are to be made available to the public.
§49-7-3. Proceedings under chapter not to be evidence against
child, or be published; adjudication not deemed conviction and not bar to civil service eligibility.

~~Any~~ (a) Except as provided in article two-e, chapter fifteen of this code, any evidence given in any cause or proceeding under this chapter, or any order, judgment or finding therein, or any adjudication upon the status of juvenile delinquent ~~heretofore~~ made or rendered, ~~shall~~ may not in any civil, criminal or other cause or proceeding ~~whatever~~ in any court, be lawful or proper evidence against ~~such~~ the child for any purpose whatsoever except in subsequent cases under this chapter involving the same child~~; nor shall the~~.

(b) The name of any child, in connection with any proceedings under this chapter, may not be published in any newspaper without a written order of the court~~; nor shall any such~~.

(c) The adjudication upon the status of any child by a juvenile court does not operate to impose any of the civil disabilities ordinarily imposed by a conviction~~, nor shall any~~.

(d) No child may be deemed a criminal by reason of ~~such~~ any adjudication~~, nor shall such~~.

(e) No adjudication may be deemed a conviction~~, nor shall any such~~.

(f) No adjudication may operate to disqualify a child in any future civil service examination, appointment, or application.