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California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 4514

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Welfare and Institutions Code > California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 4514

4514.  All information and records obtained in the course of
providing intake, assessment, and services under Division 4.1
(commencing with Section 4400), Division 4.5 (commencing with Section
4500), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7
(commencing with Section 7100) to persons with developmental
disabilities shall be confidential. Information and records obtained
in the course of providing similar services to either voluntary or
involuntary recipients prior to 1969 shall also be confidential.
Information and records shall be disclosed only in any of the
following cases:
   (a) In communications between qualified professional persons,
whether employed by a regional center or state developmental center,
or not, in the provision of intake, assessment, and services or
appropriate referrals. The consent of the person with a developmental
disability, or his or her guardian or conservator, shall be obtained
before information or records may be disclosed by regional center or
state developmental center personnel to a professional not employed
by the regional center or state developmental center, or a program
not vendored by a regional center or state developmental center.
   (b) When the person with a developmental disability, who has the
capacity to give informed consent, designates individuals to whom
information or records may be released, except that nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to compel a physician and surgeon,
psychologist, social worker, marriage and family therapist,
professional clinical counselor, nurse, attorney, or other
professional to reveal information that has been given to him or her
in confidence by a family member of the person unless a valid release
has been executed by that family member.
   (c) To the extent necessary for a claim, or for a claim or
application to be made on behalf of a person with a developmental
disability for aid, insurance, government benefit, or medical
assistance to which he or she may be entitled.
   (d) If the person with a developmental disability is a minor,
dependent ward, or conservatee, and his or her parent, guardian,
conservator, limited conservator with access to confidential records,
or authorized representative, designates, in writing, persons to
whom records or information may be disclosed, except that nothing in
this chapter shall be construed to compel a physician and surgeon,
psychologist, social worker, marriage and family therapist,
professional clinical counselor, nurse, attorney, or other
professional to reveal information that has been given to him or her
in confidence by a family member of the person unless a valid release
has been executed by that family member.
   (e) For research, provided that the Director of Developmental
Services designates by regulation rules for the conduct of research
and requires the research to be first reviewed by the appropriate
institutional review board or boards. These rules shall include, but
need not be limited to, the requirement that all researchers shall
sign an oath of confidentiality as follows:

                     " _____________________________
                                   Date

   As a condition of doing research concerning persons with
developmental disabilities who have received services from ____ (fill
in the facility, agency or person), I, ____, agree to obtain the
prior informed consent of persons who have received services to the
maximum degree possible as determined by the appropriate
institutional review board or boards for protection of human subjects
reviewing my research, or the person's parent, guardian, or
conservator, and I further agree not to divulge any information
obtained in the course of the research to unauthorized persons, and
not to publish or otherwise make public any information regarding
persons who have received services so those persons who received
services are identifiable.
   I recognize that the unauthorized release of confidential
information may make me subject to a civil action under provisions of
the Welfare and Institutions Code.

                         _________________________"
                                   Signed

   (f) To the courts, as necessary to the administration of justice.
   (g) To governmental law enforcement agencies as needed for the
protection of federal and state elective constitutional officers and
their families.
   (h) To the Senate Committee on Rules or the Assembly Committee on
Rules for the purposes of legislative investigation authorized by the
committee.
   (i) To the courts and designated parties as part of a regional
center report or assessment in compliance with a statutory or
regulatory requirement, including, but not limited to, Section 1827.5
of the Probate Code, Sections 1001.22 and 1370.1 of the Penal Code,
and Section 6502 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (j) To the attorney for the person with a developmental disability
in any and all proceedings upon presentation of a release of
information signed by the person, except that when the person lacks
the capacity to give informed consent, the regional center or state
developmental center director or designee, upon satisfying himself or
herself of the identity of the attorney, and of the fact that the
attorney represents the person, shall release all information and
records relating to the person except that nothing in this article
shall be construed to compel a physician and surgeon, psychologist,
social worker, marriage and family therapist, professional clinical
counselor, nurse, attorney, or other professional to reveal
information that has been given to him or her in confidence by a
family member of the person unless a valid release has been executed
by that family member.
   (k) Upon written consent by a person with a developmental
disability previously or presently receiving services from a regional
center or state developmental center, the director of the regional
center or state developmental center, or his or her designee, may
release any information, except information that has been given in
confidence by members of the family of the person with developmental
disabilities, requested by a probation officer charged with the
evaluation of the person after his or her conviction of a crime if
the regional center or state developmental center director or
designee determines that the information is relevant to the
evaluation. The consent shall only be operative until sentence is
passed on the crime of which the person was convicted. The
confidential information released pursuant to this subdivision shall
be transmitted to the court separately from the probation report and
shall not be placed in the probation report. The confidential
information shall remain confidential except for purposes of
sentencing. After sentencing, the confidential information shall be
sealed.
   (l) Between persons who are trained and qualified to serve on
"multidisciplinary personnel" teams pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 18951. The information and records sought to be disclosed
shall be relevant to the prevention, identification, management, or
treatment of an abused child and his or her parents pursuant to
Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 18950) of Part 6 of Division 9.
   (m) When a person with a developmental disability dies from any
cause, natural or otherwise, while hospitalized in a state
developmental center, the State Department of Developmental Services,
the physician and surgeon in charge of the client, or the
professional in charge of the facility or his or her designee, shall
release information and records to the coroner. The State Department
of Developmental Services, the physician and surgeon in charge of the
client, or the professional in charge of the facility or his or her
designee, shall not release any notes, summaries, transcripts, tapes,
or records of conversations between the resident and health
professional personnel of the hospital relating to the personal life
of the resident that is not related to the diagnosis and treatment of
the resident's physical condition. Any information released to the
coroner pursuant to this section shall remain confidential and shall
be sealed and shall not be made part of the public record.
   (n) To authorized licensing personnel who are employed by, or who
are authorized representatives of, the State Department of Public
Health, and who are licensed or registered health professionals, and
to authorized legal staff or special investigators who are peace
officers who are employed by, or who are authorized representatives
of, the State Department of Social Services, as necessary to the
performance of their duties to inspect, license, and investigate
health facilities and community care facilities, and to ensure that
the standards of care and services provided in these facilities are
adequate and appropriate and to ascertain compliance with the rules
and regulations to which the facility is subject. The confidential
information shall remain confidential except for purposes of
inspection, licensing, or investigation pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 1250) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
1500) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or a criminal,
civil, or administrative proceeding in relation thereto. The
confidential information may be used by the State Department of
Public Health or the State Department of Social Services in a
criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding. The confidential
information shall be available only to the judge or hearing officer
and to the parties to the case. Names which are confidential shall be
listed in attachments separate to the general pleadings. The
confidential information shall be sealed after the conclusion of the
criminal, civil, or administrative hearings, and shall not
subsequently be released except in accordance with this subdivision.
If the confidential information does not result in a criminal, civil,
or administrative proceeding, it shall be sealed after the State
Department of Public Health or the State Department of Social
Services decides that no further action will be taken in the matter
of suspected licensing violations. Except as otherwise provided in
this subdivision, confidential information in the possession of the
State Department of Public Health or the State Department of Social
Services shall not contain the name of the person with a
developmental disability.
   (o) To any board which licenses and certifies professionals in the
fields of mental health and developmental disabilities pursuant to
state law, when the Director of Developmental Services has reasonable
cause to believe that there has occurred a violation of any
provision of law subject to the jurisdiction of a board and the
records are relevant to the violation. The information shall be
sealed after a decision is reached in the matter of the suspected
violation, and shall not subsequently be released except in
accordance with this subdivision. Confidential information in the
possession of the board shall not contain the name of the person with
a developmental disability.
   (p) To governmental law enforcement agencies by the director of a
regional center or state developmental center, or his or her
designee, when (1) the person with a developmental disability has
been reported lost or missing or (2) there is probable cause to
believe that a person with a developmental disability has committed,
or has been the victim of, murder, manslaughter, mayhem, aggravated
mayhem, kidnapping, robbery, carjacking, assault with the intent to
commit a felony, arson, extortion, rape, forcible sodomy, forcible
oral copulation, assault or battery, or unlawful possession of a
weapon, as provided in any provision listed in Section 16590 of the
Penal Code.
   This subdivision shall be limited solely to information directly
relating to the factual circumstances of the commission of the
enumerated offenses and shall not include any information relating to
the mental state of the patient or the circumstances of his or her
treatment unless relevant to the crime involved.
   This subdivision shall not be construed as an exception to, or in
any other way affecting, the provisions of Article 7 (commencing with
Section 1010) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, or
Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 15600) and Chapter 13 (commencing
with Section 15750) of Part 3 of Division 9.
   (q) To the Division of Juvenile Facilities and Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation or any component thereof, as necessary
to the administration of justice.
   (r) To an agency mandated to investigate a report of abuse filed
pursuant to either Section 11164 of the Penal Code or Section 15630
of the Welfare and Institutions Code for the purposes of either a
mandated or voluntary report or when those agencies request
information in the course of conducting their investigation.
   (s) When a person with developmental disabilities, or the parent,
guardian, or conservator of a person with developmental disabilities
who lacks capacity to consent, fails to grant or deny a request by a
regional center or state developmental center to release information
or records relating to the person with developmental disabilities
within a reasonable period of time, the director of the regional or
developmental center, or his or her designee, may release information
or records on behalf of that person provided both of the following
conditions are met:
   (1) Release of the information or records is deemed necessary to
protect the person's health, safety, or welfare.
   (2) The person, or the person's parent, guardian, or conservator,
has been advised annually in writing of the policy of the regional
center or state developmental center for release of confidential
client information or records when the person with developmental
disabilities, or the person's parent, guardian, or conservator, fails
to respond to a request for release of the information or records
within a reasonable period of time. A statement of policy contained
in the client's individual program plan shall be deemed to comply
with the notice requirement of this paragraph.
   (t) (1) When an employee is served with a notice of adverse
action, as defined in Section 19570 of the Government Code, the
following information and records may be released:
   (A) All information and records that the appointing authority
relied upon in issuing the notice of adverse action.
   (B) All other information and records that are relevant to the
adverse action, or that would constitute relevant evidence as defined
in Section 210 of the Evidence Code.
   (C) The information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) may be
released only if both of the following conditions are met:
   (i) The appointing authority has provided written notice to the
consumer and the consumer's legal representative or, if the consumer
has no legal representative or if the legal representative is a state
agency, to the clients' rights advocate, and the consumer, the
consumer's legal representative, or the clients' rights advocate has
not objected in writing to the appointing authority within five
business days of receipt of the notice, or the appointing authority,
upon review of the objection has determined that the circumstances on
which the adverse action is based are egregious or threaten the
health, safety, or life of the consumer or other consumers and
without the information the adverse action could not be taken.
   (ii) The appointing authority, the person against whom the adverse
action has been taken, and the person's representative, if any, have
entered into a stipulation that does all of the following:
   (I) Prohibits the parties from disclosing or using the information
or records for any purpose other than the proceedings for which the
information or records were requested or provided.
   (II) Requires the employee and the employee's legal representative
to return to the appointing authority all records provided to them
under this subdivision, including, but not limited to, all records
and documents or copies thereof that are no longer in the possession
of the employee or the employee's legal representative because they
were from any source containing confidential information protected by
this section, and all copies of those records and documents, within
10 days of the date that the adverse action becomes final except for
the actual records and documents submitted to the administrative
tribunal as a component of an appeal from the adverse action.
   (III) Requires the parties to submit the stipulation to the
administrative tribunal with jurisdiction over the adverse action at
the earliest possible opportunity.
   (2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the State Personnel
Board may, prior to any appeal from adverse action being filed with
it, issue a protective order, upon application by the appointing
authority, for the limited purpose of prohibiting the parties from
disclosing or using information or records for any purpose other than
the proceeding for which the information or records were requested
or provided, and to require the employee or the employee's legal
representative to return to the appointing authority all records
provided to them under this subdivision, including, but not limited
to, all records and documents from any source containing confidential
information protected by this section, and all copies of those
records and documents, within 10 days of the date that the adverse
action becomes final, except for the actual records and documents
that are no longer in the possession of the employee or the employee'
s legal representatives because they were submitted to the
administrative tribunal as a component of an appeal from the adverse
action.
   (3) Individual identifiers, including, but not limited to, names,
social security numbers, and hospital numbers, that are not necessary
for the prosecution or defense of the adverse action, shall not be
disclosed.
   (4) All records, documents, or other materials containing
confidential information protected by this section that have been
submitted or otherwise disclosed to the administrative agency or
other person as a component of an appeal from an adverse action
shall, upon proper motion by the appointing authority to the
administrative tribunal, be placed under administrative seal and
shall not, thereafter, be subject to disclosure to any person or
entity except upon the issuance of an order of a court of competent
jurisdiction.
   (5) For purposes of this subdivision, an adverse action becomes
final when the employee fails to answer within the time specified in
Section 19575 of the Government Code, or, after filing an answer,
withdraws the appeal, or, upon exhaustion of the administrative
appeal or of the judicial review remedies as otherwise provided by
law.
   (u) To the person appointed as the developmental services
decisionmaker for a minor, dependent, or ward pursuant to Section
319, 361, or 726.
   (v) To a protection and advocacy agency established pursuant to
Section 4901, to the extent that the information is incorporated
within any of the following:
   (1) An unredacted facility evaluation report form or an unredacted
complaint investigation report form of the State Department of
Social Services. This information shall remain confidential and
subject to the confidentiality requirements of subdivision (f) of
Section 4903.
   (2) An unredacted citation report, unredacted licensing report,
unredacted survey report, unredacted plan of correction, or
unredacted statement of deficiency of the State Department of Public
Health, prepared by authorized licensing personnel or authorized
representatives described in subdivision (n). This information shall
remain confidential and subject to the confidentiality requirements
of subdivision (f) of Section 4903.

Last modified: February 22, 2013