Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, March 26, 2025
(a) At the time of
application for mandated or nonmandated preventive services, before individual
identifiable information is collected and recorded, the local social services
district or other authorized agency providing services shall notify the
applicant for preventive services in writing of:
(1) the funding of preventive services
through public revenues;
(2) the
applicable statutes and regulations regarding the collection and disclosure of
individual identifiable preventive services records; and
(3) the service provider's procedures and
practices in regard to record maintenance and access to client specific
records.
(b) All records
established and maintained pursuant to titles 4 and 4-a of article 6 of the
Social Services Law of applicants for and recipients of preventive services
shall be confidential and shall be open to the inspection of only:
(1) the New York State Department of Social
Services;
(2) the social services
district;
(3) a preventive service
agency, as defined in section
423.2(a) of this
Part, or an authorized agency, as defined in subdivision (a) of section 371.10
of the Social Services Law, providing services to the child or other family
members;
(4) any person or entity
upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(5) any other person or entity providing or
agreeing to provide services to the child or the child's family upon the
execution of a written consent by the child or the child's parent in accordance
with subdivision (e) of this section.
(c) In addition to those granted access
pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, records relating to the provision
of preventive services pursuant to title 4 of article 6 of the Social Services
Law, other than those established and maintained pursuant to section
409-f of
the Social Services Law, shall be available at any reasonable time to an
employee or official of a Federal, State or local agency for the purpose of
conducting a fiscal audit where said records are necessary for the conducting
of the fiscal audit.
(d) An agency
or person given access pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section to
the names or other information identifying the applicants for and recipients of
preventive services shall not divulge or make public such information except
where authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction or upon the execution of
a written consent by a parent or a child in accordance with the provisions of
subdivision (e) of this section.
(e)
(1) A
child with the capacity to consent or such child's parent may authorize the
disclosure of client identifiable preventive services information to a person
or entity providing or agreeing to provide services to the child or such child'
s family by executing a written consent.
(2) A parent may consent to the release of
client identifiable preventive services information concerning the parent and
the parent's family, including any children in the family. A child may consent
to the release of client identifiable preventive services information about
himself or herself where the child's parent is unavailable or lacks the
capacity to consent and the child is determined to have the capacity to
consent.
(3) A consent authorizing
disclosure of client identifiable preventive services information in accordance
with this subdivision must satisfy the following procedural requirements:
(i) The consent must be in writing and
voluntarily executed.
(ii) The
consent must be dated any specify the person or entity to which disclosure is
authorized, and whether or not redisclosure of the information by such person
or entity is permitted. If redisclosure is permitted, any limitations on
redisclosure must be specified.
(iii) The consent must specify what
information may be disclosed.
(iv)
The consent must identify the purpose of the disclosure and any limitations on
the use of the information by the person or entity.
(v) The consent must specify a time period
during which the consent is to be effective or a date or event certain upon
which the consent will expire.
(vi)
The consent must state that the person executing the consent may terminate his
or her authorization at any time.
(vii) A copy of the consent must be given to
the person who executed it.
(4) For the purpose of this subdivision, the
capacity to consent means an individual's ability, determined without regard to
such individual's age, to understand and appreciate the nature and consequence
of a proposed action, treatment or procedure and to make an informed decision
concerning such action, treatment or procedure.
(5) For the purpose of this subdivision, a
parent includes a natural parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, guardian, or
caretaker with whom a child resides.
