Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Department of Human Services
Chapter 401.1 - VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES
Section 17-401.1-35 - Confidentiality
Universal Citation: HI Admin Rules 17-401.1-35
Current through August, 2024
(a) The division shall inform all applicants or, as appropriate, their representatives about the division's need to collect personal information and the requirements governing its use, including:
(1) The authority under which information is
collected;
(2) The principal
purposes for which the division intends to use or release the
information;
(3) Whether providing
the requested information to the division is mandatory or voluntary and the
effects of not providing the requested information;
(4) Identification of those situations in
which the division requires or does not require informed written consent of the
individual before information may be released; and
(5) Identification of other agencies to which
information is routinely released.
(b) The division shall secure the written and informed consent of the applicant or eligible individual or, as appropriate, individual's representative, as authorization for requesting information about the individual from other agencies or individuals.
(1) The authorization for release of
information shall list the specific types of information being
requested.
(2) Any and all requests
for records and information that indicate that a person has a human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, AIDS related complex (ARC) or acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), necessary to determine an applicant's
eligibility for VR services shall be requested on an authorization for release
of information form, separate from requests for any other records and
information.
(c) All applicants and eligible individuals and, as appropriate, those individual's representatives, service providers, cooperating agencies, and interested persons shall be informed through appropriate modes of communication of the confidentiality of personal information and the conditions for accessing and releasing this information.
(1) An
explanation of the division's policies and procedures affecting personal
information shall be provided to each individual in that individual's native
language, or through the appropriate mode of communication.
(2) Any and all records given or made
available to the division, including all communication which identifies any
applicant or eligible individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection, AIDS related complex (ARC), or acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(AIDS), shall be protected and, as appropriate, kept in a separate part of the
division's record of services for the individual, apart from other confidential
information, and shall not be released or made public upon subpoena or any
other method of discovery except in accordance with chapter 325, part VI,
Hawaii Revised Statutes.
(d) The division shall safeguard the confidentiality of all current or stored personal information including photographs and lists of names of applicants or eligible individuals, given or made available to the division, its representatives, or its employees, in the course of the administration of the VR program.
(1) All records shall be kept in confidential
folders and filed in secured equipment or rooms of the division.
(2) All personal information in the
possession of the division shall be used only for purposes directly connected
with the administration of the VR program. Identifiable personal information
shall not be shared with advisory or other bodies that do not have official
responsibility for administration of the program.
(3) Personal information may be obtained from
service providers and cooperating agencies under assurances that the
information may not be further divulged in the administration of the program,
except as provided under subsections (e) through (h).
(e) Confidential records shall be open to inspection in the division's offices only under the following conditions:
(1) By authorized division employees and
those of the United States government, Federal Department of Education, in
connection with their official duties in the administration of the VR and
related programs;
(2) By personnel
of a rehabilitation agency approved by the division when inspection of the
record is for the sole purpose of providing related rehabilitation services and
the agency and personnel are subject to standards of confidentiality comparable
to those of the division; and
(3)
By an outside source, when a written waiver specifically consenting to have the
record reviewed has been obtained from the applicant or eligible individual or,
as appropriate, the individual's representative.
(f) Confidential information may be released to applicants and eligible individuals under the following conditions:
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and
(3), if requested in writing by an applicant or eligible individual, the
division shall make all requested information in the division's record of
services for that individual, accessible to and shall release a copy of the
requested information to the individual or individual's representative within
ten working days following the date of request. The ten-day period may be
extended for an additional twenty days if the division provides to the
individual, within the initial ten working days, a written explanation of
unusual circumstances causing the delay.
(2) Medical, psychological, or other
information that the division determines may be harmful to the individual may
not be released directly to the individual, but must be provided to the
individual through a third party chosen by the individual, which may include,
among others, an advocate, a family member, or a qualified medical or mental
health professional, unless a representative has been appointed by a court to
represent the individual, in which case the information must be released to the
court-appointed representative.
(3)
If personal information has been obtained from another agency or organization,
copies may be released only by, or under the conditions established by, the
other agency or organization.
(4)
An applicant or eligible individual who believes that information in the
individual's record of services is inaccurate or misleading may request in
writing that the division amend the information. If the information is not
amended, the request for an amendment must be documented in the record of
services.
(A) Within twenty business days
after receipt of a written request from an applicant or eligible individual or,
as appropriate, the individual's representative, to correct or amend any
factual error, misrepresentation, or misleading entry in the division's record
of services for that individual, the division shall acknowledge receipt of the
request and purported evidence in writing and shall promptly:
(i) Make the requested correction or
amendment; or
(ii) Inform the
individual in writing of its refusal to correct or amend the record, the reason
for the refusal, and of the individual's right to request for a review of the
decision in accordance with section 17-400.1-5.
(B) Not later than thirty working days after
the receipt of a request for review of the division's refusal to allow
correction or amendment of information in the division's record of services for
the individual, the division shall make a final determination. If upon final
determination, the division refuses to allow the correction or amendment of the
record, the division shall so state in writing and:
(i) Permit the individual, whenever
appropriate, to file in the record a concise statement setting forth the
reasons for the individual's disagreement with the division's refusal to make
the correction or amendment; and
(ii) Notify the individual or, as
appropriate, the individual's representative of the individual's right to bring
civil action against the division in accordance with section
92F-27,
Hawaii Revised Statutes.
(g) Copies of personal information may be released to an organization, agency, or individual engaged in audit, evaluation, or research only for purposes directly connected with the administration of the VR program, or for purposes that would significantly improve the quality of life for applicants and eligible individuals and only if the organization, agency, or individual assures that the following conditions will be met:
(1) The information will be used
only for the purposes for which it is being provided;
(2) The information will be released only to
persons officially connected with the audit, evaluation, or research;
(3) The information will not be released to
the involved individual;
(4) The
information will be managed in a manner to safeguard confidentiality;
and
(5) The final product will not
reveal any personal identifying information without the informed written
consent of the involved individual or the individual's
representative.
(h) The division may release information to other programs or authorities under the following conditions:
(1) Upon receiving the
informed written consent of the individual or, if appropriate, the individual's
representative, the division may release personal information to another agency
or organization for its program purposes only to the extent that the
information may be released to the involved individual, and only to the extent
that the other agency or organization demonstrates that the information
requested is necessary for its program.
(2) Medical or psychological information that
the division determines may be harmful to the individual may be released if the
other agency or organization assures the division in writing that the
information will be used only for the purposes for which it is being provided
and will not be further released to the individual.
(3) The division shall release personal
information if required by Federal law or regulations.
(4) The division must release personal
information in response to investigations in connection with law enforcement,
fraud, or abuse, unless expressly prohibited by Federal or State laws or
regulations, and in response to an order issued by a judge, magistrate, or
other authorized judicial officer.
(5) The division also may release personal
information in order to protect the individual or others if the individual
poses a threat to the individual's own safety or to the safety of
others.
(6) Information from, or
the contents of the division's record of services for the individual may be
released upon the direct order of a judge as part of a judicial proceeding
after the State attorney general's office has been notified and
consulted.
(7) A fee shall be
charged for reproducing any information or record furnished to any individual,
agency, or organization under this section, in accordance with section
92-21,
Hawaii Revised Statutes. All such fees shall be paid in to the State director
of finance.
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