Sec. 07.01.07.04. Program Records

A. Except as permitted by other law or regulation, a custodian shall deny a request for disclosure of any information or record concerning an applicant for service or customer under the following programs:

(1) Social Services;

(2) Family Investment;

(3) Purchase of Child Care;

(4) Community Services;

(5) Child Support Enforcement; and

(6) Medical Assistance.

B. Disclosure of Information.

(1) Information described in §A of this regulation may be disclosed as follows:

(a) Under a court order;

(b) To a State, local government, or federal official or employee, for a purpose directly connected with the administration of the programs specified in §A of this regulation including, but not limited to:

(i) Verification of eligibility, and

(ii) Audits or criminal investigation of these programs;

(c) To a volunteer or contractor of a State or federal agency for a purpose directly connected with the administration of a program listed in §A of this regulation if the volunteer or contractor has been informed of, and has executed a written agreement to abide by, State and federal confidentiality laws and regulations.

(2) Medical Assistance records and information may be disclosed only for a purpose directly connected with the administration of the program including assisting the Child Support Administration in locating absent parents.

(3) The custodian shall disclose the current address of a customer to a federal, State, or local law enforcement officer who:

(a) Can be properly identified as a law enforcement officer;

(b) Shows the custodian a signed warrant for the arrest of the customer which establishes that the customer is a fugitive felon; and

(c) Provides the name and Social Security number of the customer.

(4) With regard to a fugitive felon in a food stamp case, the custodian shall disclose the current address, the Social Security number, and, if available, a photograph of a food stamp household member to a federal, State, or local law enforcement officer who:

(a) Can be properly identified as a law enforcement officer engaged in official duties which include locating or arresting the food stamp household member;

(b) Demonstrates that the food stamp household member either:

(i) Is a fugitive felon, or

(ii) Has information concerning a fugitive felon; and

(c) Provides the name of the food stamp household member.

C. Notice of Record Disclosure.

(1) When §B of this regulation does not apply, and disclosure is permitted under State law or regulation, the Department shall:

(a) Notify an applicant or customer described in §A of this regulation, when possible, of the request for a record concerning the applicant or customer; and

(b) Obtain the applicant's or customer's consent to disclose the record.

(2) The Department:

(a) May require the requestor to obtain the applicant or customer's consent pursuant to Regulation .05 of this chapter;

(b) May not provide a requestor with any information regarding whether:

(i) Records exist for an individual, or

(ii) An individual is an applicant or customer; and

(c) In an emergency, may disclose information without prior consent if the Department notifies the applicant or customer of the disclosure:

(i) Orally or in writing, and

(ii) Within 2 working days of the disclosure.

D. Food Stamps.

(1) Upon receipt of a written request from a responsible member of a household receiving food stamp assistance, the Department shall allow the individual to review the food stamp records for the household.

(2) Before review by the household member, the Department shall remove from the record:

(a) Names and identifying information of individuals who have disclosed information to the Department without the household's knowledge; and

(b) Information about any criminal prosecutions.

E. Research. The Department may disclose:

(1) Identifying information to an individual engaged in a research project only if:

(a) An applicant or a customer who is the subject of a record to be disclosed has signed a written consent form for the disclosure, in accordance with Regulation .05 of this chapter, and

(b) The official custodian has given prior written permission for the research project; and

(2) Nonidentifying information for research purposes without the consent of the applicant or customer.