Section 29-2-106

State Case Registry of Children in State Care.

(a) The Department of Human Resources, the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and the Department of Youth Services shall create a joint project team to develop a requirements analysis and conceptual design for maintaining a central repository of case information within 12 months of May 6, 1998, which shall be known as the State Case Registry of Children in State Care and shall contain records with respect to the following:

(1) The number of children in state care.

(2) The amount of funds expended by federal, state, and local governments for maintenance payments on behalf of children in state care.

(3) The amount of funds expended by federal, state, and local governments for payments on behalf of each child in state care and their natural parents or guardians.

(4) The types of services being offered to parents and their children in order to keep the family together.

(5) The number of children in foster care eligible for adoption, the number of such children adopted, and the number of foster children determined not to be adoptable and the reasons therefor.

(6) The number of children in state care placed in permanent or long-term state care or guardianship.

(7) The size of caseloads of probation officers and social workers, the effect the caseloads have on the services offered to parents or their children, and the effectiveness of such services.

(8) The movement of children in state care from placement to placement and the shifting or sharing of responsibility, or both, from agency to agency.

(9) The agency related qualifications, education, and in-service training of workers providing services to children.

(10) Any other matter relating to children in state care which the departments, in consultation with the council, deem appropriate to be included in the registry.

(b) Information in the registry shall be used to carry out the responsibilities of the council or any agency with jurisdiction over children in state care.

(c) All information and records obtained pursuant to this section shall be confidential and may not be disclosed in a way which may identify any individual, adult, or child.

(d) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class C felony.

(Act 98–612, §7.)