An Act To Specify the Record-keeping Requirements for Social Workers
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1187
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: GOODE, KATZ, FECTEAU, LOCKMAN, MASTRACCIO, O'CONNOR, SEAVEY, WARD, PATRICK
Amends: 32 MRSA §7006

Legislative Document 
No. 1187 
H.P. 820 
House of Representatives, April 1, 2015 
An Act To Specify the Record-keeping Requirements for Social 
Workers 
Reference to the Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GOODE of Bangor. 
Cosponsored by Senator KATZ of Kennebec and 
Representatives: FECTEAU of Biddeford, LOCKMAN of Amherst, MASTRACCIO of 
Sanford, McCREIGHT of Harpswell, O'CONNOR of Berwick, SEAVEY of Kennebunkport, 
WARD of Dedham, Senator: PATRICK of Oxford. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA §7006 is enacted to read: 
§7006.  Record-keeping requirements 
1.  Record-keeping requirements.  A person licensed under this chapter shall: 
A.  Retain all client records for a period of 7 years from the date of the client's last 
visit, except that records for minors must be retained for 7 years following the date 
the client reaches the age of majority and records of deceased clients must be retained 
for a period of 3 years from the date of the client's death; and 
B.  Maintain all client records in accordance with the federal Health Insurance 
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 
2.  Destruction of records.  Upon the applicable date of maturity under subsection 1, 
the person licensed under this chapter shall dispose of all client paper records through the 
use of an onsite shredding system and dispose of all electronic client records 
electronically. 
3.  Discontinuance of practice.  In the event a person licensed under this chapter 
discontinues practice as a result of a loss of licensure, death, disability or retirement, the 
person licensed under this chapter or an individual designated under subsection 5 shall 
provide public notice of the discontinuance of the practice in a newspaper of general 
circulation in the area in which the person licensed under this chapter practices at least 2 
times within a period of 2 weeks from the date the person licensed under this chapter 
discontinues the practice.  In addition, a notification letter must be sent to all clients who 
have been treated by the person licensed under this chapter within 3 years preceding the 
date of the discontinuance of the practice.  Medical records of all clients must be retained 
for at least 60 days following the notice provisions under this section.  For purposes of 
this section, "medical records" includes information about the client submitted to the 
person licensed under this chapter that is sufficient to justify any diagnosis and treatment 
rendered by the person licensed under this chapter, dates of treatment, actions taken by a 
nonlicensed persons when authorized by the person licensed under this chapter, a mental 
health provider's orders, a health care practitioner's notes, charts and any other diagnostic 
data. 
4.  Client litigation.  In the event a client is involved in litigation, no client records 
may be destroyed until the matter is resolved by the court. 
5.  Transfer of client records.  A person licensed under this chapter shall submit a 
plan to the board every 2 years as part of the license renewal process in section 7060 that 
describes the designated party that will be responsible for the person licensed under this 
chapter's client records under this section in the event of the person licensed under this 
chapter's death, disability or transfer out of state. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws governing social workers by adding new client record-
keeping requirements for persons licensed as social workers by the State as well as public 
and client notice requirements in the event a person licensed by the State discontinues 
practice.