HB 1147 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to public records; amending s. 39.202,
3	F.S.; revising confidentiality provisions pertaining to
4	reports and records in cases of child abuse or neglect, to
5	provide that staff members of a child advocacy center who
6	are providing services to a child may have access to the
7	records; providing an effective date.
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9	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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11	Section 1. Present paragraph (o) of subsection (2) of
12	section 39.202, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph
13	(p), a new paragraph (o) is added to said subsection, and
14	subsection (1) of said section is republished, to read:
15	39.202 Confidentiality of reports and records in cases of
16	child abuse or neglect. --
17	(1) In order to protect the rights of the child and the
18	child's parents or other persons responsible for the child's
19	welfare, all records held by the department concerning reports
20	of child abandonment, abuse, or neglect, including reports made
21	to the central abuse hotline and all records generated as a
22	result of such reports, shall be confidential and exempt from
23	the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and shall not be disclosed except
24	as specifically authorized by this chapter. Such exemption from
25	s. 119.07(1) applies to information in the possession of those
26	entities granted access as set forth in this section.
27	(2) Access to such records, excluding the name of the
28	reporter which shall be released only as provided in subsection
29	(4), shall be granted only to the following persons, officials,
30	and agencies:
31	(o) Staff of a child advocacy center that has met the
32	standards set forth in s. 39.3035, who are actively involved in
33	providing services to the child.
34	Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.
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