West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 97 - Child Support Enforcement Division › Title 97 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BUREAU FOR CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT › Series 97-01 - General Procedures Pertaining to Documents and Files › Section 97-1-5 - Confidentiality

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
5.1. Information about a specific party to a case, including the party's Social Security number, address, information related to banking or other financial transactions, state and federal tax information, information relating to medical treatment and place of employment is deemed to be confidential. The designation as confidential information includes content stored in paper format, digital format, or any other method of storage of information.
5.2. Information relating to the date and amount of support owed, the date and amount of support payments received, and copies of any court orders contained in the bureau case record, whether in paper form or digital format, may be provided upon verbal or written request to the parties in the case, to their attorneys, to a court of competent jurisdiction for this case, or to any individual to whom a party has indicated in a written release of information.
5.3. An attorney for an individual may receive any information from the case file that it would be lawful to provide to that party to the case.
5.4. The legal doctrines of attorney-client privilege and attorney work product apply to the work of attorneys employed by the bureau, including the attorney's mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, advice or legal theories concerning a case. Information of this nature is considered to be confidential and shall not be released to the parties, their attorneys, or to any individual.
5.5. Without the permission of the party whose information is being sought or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, confidential information contained in a bureau case record may only be released to a court with jurisdiction over the case, to a state agency with which the bureau has a cooperative agreement to facilitate the establishment of paternity and/or establishment/modification/collection of support, or to another state or tribal child support agency for the purpose of establishment of paternity and the establishment and enforcement of support orders and to prosecuting attorneys for the purpose of evaluating and pursuing criminal actions arising directly from the non-payment of support obligations.
5.6. The release of confidential information is prohibited when there is reasonable evidence of domestic violence or child abuse and that such disclosure could be harmful to the party.
5.7. Medical information contained in a bureau case record may be subject to heightened confidentiality and disclosure requirements created by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
5.8. Without the permission of the party whose information is sought or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, medical information contained in a bureau case record may only be released to a court with jurisdiction over the case, or to another state child support program for the establishment of paternity or to obtain reimbursement of medical expenses or to prosecuting attorneys for the purpose of evaluating and pursuing criminal actions arising directly from the non-payment of support obligations.
5.9. When the bureau receives a written request for information contained in its file that is deemed to be confidential, the bureau shall mail a notice by first-class mail to the last known address of the party who is the owner of the requested information to notify him or her of the request. The notice shall advise the party of the right to object to the release of the information on the grounds that the information is not relevant to the establishment of paternity, the determination of the amount of support or the establishment, modification, enforcement, collection or distribution of support. The notice shall also advise the party of his or her right to review the records of the bureau in advance of responding to the request for the release of information in order to determine what information may exist in the bureau's file.
5.9.a. If the party responds that he or she has no objection to the release of the requested information, the bureau attorney assigned to the case shall review the request and release the information, unless state or federal law would specifically prohibit such a release.
5.9.b. If the party files a written objection to the release of the requested information, the bureau attorney assigned to the case shall review the request and the response, and make a determination as to whether the release of the requested information complies with state and federal law. The parties to the case and the requestor, if the requestor is not a party to the case, shall be notified in writing of the attorney's decision and shall be given ten days advance notice of the release of the information, if the determination is to release all or part of the requested information.
5.9.c. If no response is received to the request, the bureau's attorney assigned to the case shall review the request and make a determination as to whether the release of the requested information complies with state and federal law. The parties to the case and the requestor, if the requestor is not a party to the case, shall be notified in writing of the decision of the bureau's attorney and shall be given ten days advance notice of the release of the information, if the determination is to release all or part of the requested information.