Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) This rule and its supplemental rules
describe the requirements for authorized access to, use, disclosure, and
safeguarding of information contained in a person's case record.
(B) A reference guide for this rule and its
supplemental rules are contained in the JFS 01709, "Confidentiality of
Information Reference Guide" (effective or revised effective date as identified
in rule
5101:12-1-99 of the
Administrative Code.)
(C) The
following definitions apply to this rule and its supplemental rules:
(1) "Agent of a court" means a person
authorized to act for and under the direction of a court with the authority to
issue an order for the support and maintenance of child, or to serve as the
initiating court in an action to seek a child support order.
(2) "Alleged father" means a man who is
believed to be or believes himself to be the natural father (also known as
putative father).
(3) "Attorney of
a child" means a licensed lawyer who has entered into an attorney-client
relationship with either the child or the child's resident parent to provide
legal representation to the child or resident parent related to the
establishment of paternity, or the establishment, modification, or enforcement
of child support. An attorney-client relationship imposes an ethical and
fiduciary duty upon the attorney to represent the client's best interests under
applicable rules of professional responsibility.
(4) "Case record" has the same meaning as in
rule 5101:12-10-05 of the
Administrative Code.
(5) "Case
participant" means any person who is identified by a participant number in the
support enforcement tracking system (SETS).
(6) "Confidential information" means any
personal information, as defined in this rule, relating to a specified person
or a person who can be identified by reference to one or more factors specific
to him or her, including but not limited to the person's social security
number, residential and mailing addresses, employment information, and
financial information.
(7)
"Custodial parent" means a parent of a minor child who lives in the same
household as the child.
(8)
"Federal parent locator service (federal PLS)" means the parent locator service
established and operated by the federal office of child support
enforcement.
(9) "Independent
verification" or "independently verified" means the process of acquiring and
confirming confidential information through the use of a second
source.
(10) "IV-D case" has the
same meaning as in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code.
(11)
"Non-custodial parent (NCP)" means a parent of a minor child who does not live
in the same household as the child.
(12) "Non-IV-D case" has the same meaning as
in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code
(13) "Person"
means an applicant or recipient of IV-D services or an individual or entity who
is a case participant in a IV-D or non-IV-D case.
(14) "Personal information" means any
information that describes anything about a person, or indicates action done by
or to a person, or indicates that a person possesses certain personal
characteristics, and that contains, and can be retrieved from a system by a
name, identifying number, symbol, or other identifier assigned to a
person.
(15) "Representative of a
child" means a custodial parent, legal guardian, attorney of a child, guardian
ad litem, or a caretaker relative having custody of, or responsibility for the
child.
(16) "Requestor" means any
individual or entity who has requested information.
(17) "State parent locator service (state
PLS)" means the parent locator service established and operated by the office
of child support (OCS) within the Ohio department of job and family services
(ODJFS).
(18) "Support enforcement
program services" has the same meaning as in rule
5101:12-1-10 of the
Administrative Code.
(D)
Use of the term "information" throughout this rule and its supplemental rules
refers to confidential and personal information as defined in this rule, unless
indicated otherwise.
(E) A request
for information from a case participant may be made in person with proper
identification. The child support enforcement agency (CSEA) at its discretion
may require that the case participant complete the JFS 04001 "Request for Case
Information" (effective or revised effective date as identified in rule
5101:12-1-99 of the
Administrative Code) to affirm that the information being released is utilized
for a valid purpose in accordance with this rule and its supplemental
rules.
(F) A request for
information from an individual or entity other than the case participant shall
be made in writing via the JFS 04001.
(G)
The following individuals or entities have the responsibility to maintain the
confidentiality of and to safeguard all information contained in a person's
case record, whether the information is contained on paper, film, computer, or
any other electronic medium:
(1) Any
individual with authorized access to the information contained in SETS or any
other information contained in a person's case record, including a requestor
who has been provided information in accordance with this chapter;
(2) A court or agent of a court who has the
authority to issue an order against an NCP for the support and maintenance of
child, or to serve as the initiating court in an action to seek a child support
order; or
(3) An agent or attorney
of the United States.
(H) No individual or entity described in
paragraph (G) of this rule shall disclose any information concerning a person
except for an authorized purpose in accordance with this rule and its
supplemental rules.
(I) Information
requests related to parental kidnapping, child custody, or visitation purposes
shall be handled in accordance with rule
5101:12-20-10 of the
Administrative Code.
(J) In
accordance with section
3125.99 of the Revised Code,
anyone who discloses information to any person or for any purpose not
specifically permitted by this rule or its supplemental rules is subject to a
fine of up to five hundred dollars or a prison term of up to six months or
both.
(K) A CSEA, OCS, or
contractor may disclose information about a person subject to the provisions
and limitations described in this rule and its supplemental rules in the
following manner:
(1) Disclosure of
information that the CSEA, OCS, or contractor obtains from the state or federal
parent locator service (PLS).
The CSEA, OCS, or contractor may use and disclose the following
information about a non-custodial parent, alleged father, custodial parent, or
child when the CSEA, OCS, or contractor obtains the information from the state
or federal PLS in order to perform the functions necessary to carry out the
child support program:
(a)
Name;
(b) Social security
number;
(c) Address;
(d) Employer's name;
(e) Employer's address;
(f) Employer identification number;
(g) Wages;
(h) Income;
(i) Employment-related benefits, including
health care coverage; and
(j) Type,
status, location, and amount of assets or debts owed by or to the
person.
(2) The CSEA,
OCS, or contractor may disclose any information obtained from a source other
than the state or federal PLS in order to perform the functions necessary to
carry out the child support program.
