Georgia
| Code | Subject Matter |
| Code § 15-11-170 | Child Advocate for the Protection of Children: Short title; purpose |
| Code § 15-11-171 | Child Advocate for the Protection of Children: Definitions |
| Code § 15-11-173 | Child Advocate for the Protection of Children: Duties |
| Code § 15-11-175 | Child Advocate for the Protection of Children: Penalty provision |
| Code § 15-11-176 | Child Advocate for the Protection of Children: Investigative authority |
| Code § 15-11-72 | Juvenile Proceedings: Delinquent and Unruly Children; Nature and effect of adjudication |
| Code § 15-11-78 | Juvenile Proceedings: Exclusion of public from hearing; exceptions |
| Code § 15-11-79 | Juvenile Proceedings: Inspection of court files and records |
| Code § 15-11-79.1 | Juvenile Proceedings: Use of disposition and evidence |
| Code § 15-11-80 | Juvenile Proceedings: Access to records - Notice to school officials |
| Code § 15-11-81 | Juvenile Proceedings: Access to records - Preservation and destruction of records |
| Code § 15-11-82 | Juvenile Proceedings: Access to records - Juvenile law enforcement records; maintenance; inspection |
| Code § 15-11-83 | Juvenile Proceedings: Access to records - fingerprints and photographs |
| Rule 3.1 | Juvenile Rules: Court Records |
| Rule 3.5 | Juvenile Rules: Hearings |
| Rule 3.6 | Juvenile Rules: Effect |
| Rule 3.7 | Juvenile Rules: Reopening of sealed records |
| Rule 3.9 | Juvenile Rules: Sharing of court records among juvenile courts |
| Code § 49-5-40 | Child abuse and Deprivation Records: Definitions; confidentiality of records; restricted access to records |
| Code § 49-5-41 | Child abuse and Deprivation Records: Persons and agencies permitted access to records |
| Code § 49-5-41.1 | Child abuse and Deprivation Records: Inspection and retention of records of juvenile drug use |
| Code § 20-2-699 | Compulsory Attendance: Disposition of children taken into custody |
| Code § 20-2-700 | Compulsory Attendance: Reports by peace officers to school authorities and parent or guardian |
| Code § 20-2-701 | Compulsory Attendance: Local school superintendents or visiting teachers and attendance officers to report truants to courts |
TITLE 15. COURTS
CHAPTER 11. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 5. CHILD ADVOCATE FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-170 (2009)
§ 15-11-170. Short title; purpose
(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Child Advocate for the Protection of Children Act."
(b) In keeping with this article's purpose of assisting, protecting, and restoring the security of children whose well-being is threatened, it is the intent of the General Assembly that the mission of protection of the children of this state should have the greatest legislative and executive priority. Recognizing that the needs of children must be attended to in a timely manner and that more aggressive action should be taken to protect children from abuse and neglect, the General Assembly creates the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children to provide independent oversight of persons, organizations, and agencies responsible for providing services to or caring for children who are victims of child abuse and neglect, or whose domestic situation requires intervention by the state. The Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children will provide children with an avenue through which to seek relief when their rights are violated by state officials and agents entrusted with their protection and care.
As used in this article, the term:
(1) "Advocate" or "child advocate" means the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children established under Code Section 15-11-172.
(2) "Agency" shall have the same meaning and application as provided for in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 50-14-1.
(3) "Child" or "children" means an individual receiving protective services from the division, for whom the division has an open case file, or who has been, or whose siblings, parents, or other caretakers have been the subject of a report to the division within the previous five years.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Human Resources.
(5) "Division" means the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Resources.
The advocate shall perform the following duties:
(1) Identify, receive, investigate, and seek the resolution or referral of complaints made by or on behalf of children concerning any act, omission to act, practice, policy, or procedure of an agency or any contractor or agent thereof that may adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of the children;
(2) Refer complaints involving abused children to appropriate regulatory and law enforcement agencies;
(3) Coordinate and supervise the work of the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel created by Code Section 19-15-4 and provide such staffing and administrative support to the panel as may be necessary to enable the panel to carry out its statutory duties;
(4) Report the death of any child to the chairperson of the child fatality review subcommittee of the county in which such child resided at the time of death, unless the advocate has knowledge that such death has been reported by the county medical examiner or coroner, pursuant to Code Section 19-15-3, and to provide such subcommittee access to any records of the advocate relating to such child;
(5) Provide periodic reports on the work of the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children, including but not limited to an annual written report for the Governor and the General Assembly and other persons, agencies, and organizations deemed appropriate. Such reports shall include recommendations for changes in policies and procedures to improve the health, safety, and welfare of children and shall be made expeditiously in order to timely influence public policy;
(6) Establish policies and procedures necessary for the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children to accomplish the purposes of this article including without limitation providing the division with a form of notice of availability of the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children. Such notice shall be posted prominently, by the division, in division offices and in facilities receiving public moneys for the care and placement of children and shall include information describing the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children and procedures for contacting that office; and
(7) Convene quarterly meetings with organizations, agencies, and individuals who work in the area of child protection to seek opportunities to collaborate and improve the status of children in Georgia.
§ 15-11-175. Penalty provision
(a) No person shall discriminate or retaliate in any manner against any child, parent or guardian of a child, employee of a facility, agency, institution or other type of provider, or any other person because of the making of a complaint or providing of information in good faith to the advocate, or willfully interfere with the advocate in the performance of his or her official duties.
(b) Any person violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
§ 15-11-176. Investigative authority
The advocate shall be authorized to request an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation of any complaint of criminal misconduct involving a child.
TITLE 15. COURTS
CHAPTER 11. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 1. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
PART 7. DELINQUENT AND UNRULY CHILDREN
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-72 (2009)
§ 15-11-72. Nature and effect of adjudication
An order of disposition or other adjudication in a proceeding under this article is not a conviction of a crime and does not impose any civil disability ordinarily resulting from a conviction nor operate to disqualify the child in any civil service application or appointment.
TITLE 15. COURTS
CHAPTER 11. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 1. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
PART 8. ACCESS TO RECORDS AND HEARINGS
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-78 (2009)
§ 15-11-78. Exclusion of public from hearing; exceptions
(a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this Code section, the general public shall be excluded from hearings involving delinquency, deprivation, or unruliness. Only the parties, their counsel, witnesses, persons accompanying a party for his or her assistance, and any other persons as the court finds have a proper interest in the proceeding or in the work of the court may be admitted by the court. The court may temporarily exclude the child from the hearing except while allegations of his or her delinquency or unruly conduct are being heard.
(b) The general public shall be admitted to:
(1) An adjudicatory hearing involving an allegation of a designated felony pursuant to Code Section 15-11-63;
(2) An adjudicatory hearing involving an allegation of delinquency brought in the interest of any child who has previously been adjudicated delinquent; provided, however, the court shall close any delinquency hearing on an allegation of sexual assault or any delinquency hearing at which any party expects to introduce substantial evidence related to matters of deprivation;
(3) Any child support hearing;
(4) Any hearing in a legitimation action filed pursuant to Code Section 19-7-22; or
(5) At the court's discretion, any dispositional hearing involving any proceeding under this article.
§ 15-11-79. Inspection of court files and records
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, all files and records of the court in a proceeding under this article are open to inspection only upon order of the court.
(b) Subject to the requirements of subsection (a) of Code Section 15-11-56,
subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-65, and Code Section 15-11-79.2, the
general public shall be allowed to inspect court files and records for cases
arising under Code Section 15-11-73 or any complaint, petition, or order
from any case that was open to the public pursuant to subsection (b) of Code
Section 15-11-78. The general public shall be allowed to inspect court files
and records for proceedings involving a legitimation petition under the jurisdiction
of the juvenile court pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (e)
of Code Section 15-11-28.
(c)(1) The judge may permit authorized representatives of recognized
organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to inspect and make
abstracts from official records under whatever conditions upon their use and
distribution the judge may deem proper and may punish by contempt any violation
of those conditions.
(2) The judge may permit any school principal or any school guidance counselor, school social worker, or school psychologist who is certified under Chapter 2 of Title 20 and who is counseling a child as a part of such counseling person's school employment duties to review official records of the court in any proceeding under this chapter concerning that child, including but not limited to records of that child's controlled substance or marijuana abuse, which records are protected by Code Section 49-5-41.1, under whatever conditions that the judge may deem proper and may punish by contempt any violation of those conditions.
(d) The judge shall permit authorized representatives of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, the Governor's Office for Children and Families, and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to inspect and extract data from any court files and records for the purpose of obtaining statistics on children and to make copies pursuant to the order of the court.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the complaint, petition, order of adjudication, and order of disposition in any delinquency case in which the child has been adjudicated to be delinquent for a violation of the criminal laws of this state shall be disclosed upon request of counsel for the state or the accused for use preliminarily to or in conjunction with a subsequent juvenile or criminal proceeding in a court of record.
§ 15-11-79.1. Use of disposition and evidence
The disposition of a child and evidence adduced in a hearing in the juvenile court may not be used against such child in any proceeding in any court other than for a proceeding for delinquency or unruliness, whether before or after reaching majority, except in the establishment of conditions of bail, plea negotiations, and sentencing in felony offenses; and, in such excepted cases, such records of dispositions and evidence shall be available to district attorneys and superior court judges and the accused and may be used in the same manner as adult records.
TITLE 15. COURTS
CHAPTER 11. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
ARTICLE 1. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS
PART 8. ACCESS TO RECORDS AND HEARINGS
O.C.G.A. § 15-11-80 (2009)
§ 15-11-80. Notice to school officials
Within 30 days of any proceeding in which a child is adjudicated delinquent for a second or subsequent time or any adjudicatory proceeding involving a designated felony, the court shall provide written notice to the school superintendent or his or her designee of the school in which such child is enrolled or, if the information is known, of the school in which such child plans to be enrolled at a future date. Such notice shall include the specific delinquent act or designated felony act that such child committed.
§ 15-11-81. Preservation and destruction of records
(a) Records. Subject to the earlier sealing of certain records pursuant to Code Section 15-11-79.2, the juvenile court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it and shall preserve the records pertaining to a child in accordance with the common records retention schedules for courts approved by the State Records Committee pursuant to Code Section 50-18-92. Thereafter, the court may destroy such records, except that records of cases where orders were entered permanently depriving a parent of the custody of a child and records of cases involving a petition for legitimation of a child filed pursuant to Code Section 19-7-22 shall be preserved permanently. The court shall notify the deputy director of the Georgia Crime Information Center upon the destruction of any such felony records. The juvenile court shall make official minutes consisting of all petitions and orders filed in a case and any other pleadings, certificates, proofs of publication, summonses, warrants, and other writs which may be filed therein and shall make social records consisting of records of investigation and treatment and other confidential information. The provisions of this subsection notwithstanding, identification data shall be maintained and shall be disseminated to criminal justice officials for official judicial enforcement or criminal justice purposes as provided in Code Section 35-3-33.
(b) Records, dockets, indexes, files. Nothing in this chapter shall restrict or otherwise prohibit a juvenile court clerk from electing to store for computer retrieval any or all records, dockets, indexes, or files; nor shall a juvenile court clerk be prohibited from combining or consolidating any books, dockets, files, or indexes in connection with the filing for record of papers of the kind specified in this chapter or any other law, provided that any automated or computerized record-keeping method or system shall provide for the systematic and safe preservation and retrieval of all books, dockets, records, or indexes. When the clerk of a juvenile court elects to store for computer retrieval any or all records, the same data elements used in a manual system shall be used, and the same integrity and security maintained.
§ 15-11-82. Juvenile law enforcement records; maintenance; inspection
(a) Except as provided in Code Sections 15-11-79 and 15-11-83, law enforcement records and files concerning a child shall be kept separate from the records and files of arrests of adults.
(b) Unless a charge of delinquency is transferred for criminal prosecution under Code Section 15-11-30.2, or the interest of national security requires, or the case is one in which the general public may not be excluded from the hearings under subsection (a) or (b) of Code Section 15-11-78, or the court otherwise orders in the interest of the child, the records and files shall not be open to public inspection nor shall their contents be disclosed to the public.
(c) Inspection of the records and files is permitted by:
(1) A juvenile court having the child before it in any proceeding;
(2) Counsel for a party to the proceedings, with the consent of the court;
(3) The officers of public institutions or agencies to whom the child is committed;
(4) Law enforcement officers of this state, the United States, or any other jurisdiction when necessary for the discharge of their official duties;
(5) A court in which the child is convicted of a criminal offense, for the purpose of a presentence report or other dispositional proceeding;
(6) Officials of penal institutions and other penal facilities to which the child is committed;
(7) A parole board in considering the child's parole or discharge or in exercising supervision over the child; or
(8) Any school superintendent, principal, assistant principal, school guidance counselor, school social worker, school psychologist certified under Chapter 2 of Title 20, or school law enforcement officer appointed pursuant to Chapter 2, 3, or 8 of Title 20 when necessary for the discharge of his or her official duties.
(d) The court shall allow authorized representatives of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Corrections, and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to inspect and copy law enforcement records for the purpose of obtaining statistics on children.
(e) Any law enforcement records and files involving an offense over which the superior court shall have exclusive jurisdiction as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-11-28 shall be kept and reported in the same manner as the records and files of adults.
(f) Access to fingerprint records submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation pursuant to Code Section 15-11-83 shall be limited to the administration of criminal justice purposes as defined in Code Section 15-11-2.
§ 15-11-83. When child shall be fingerprinted or photographed; filing, processing, confidentiality, inspection, and destruction of fingerprint files; publication of names and pictures of children
(a)(1) Every child charged with an act which would be a felony if committed by an adult, other than those status offender crimes as defined in Code Section 15-11-2, shall be fingerprinted and photographed upon being taken into custody. Fingerprints and photographs of children shall be taken and filed separately from those of adults by law enforcement officials to be used in investigating the commission of crimes and to be made available as provided in this article and as may be directed by the court.
(2) Law enforcement agencies may photograph a child who for any reason has been placed in the custody and control of the Department of Juvenile Justice and who has absconded and subsequently returned to such custody. Photographs shall be maintained in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b) All children sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be fingerprinted. The fingerprinting of child inmates will be processed in accordance with the Department of Corrections' policies for adult inmates.
(c) Fingerprint files and photographs of children may be inspected by law enforcement officers when necessary for criminal justice purposes and for the discharge of their official duties. The names and addresses of children who have been fingerprinted or photographed and the offense or offenses charged shall be made available in the discretion of the court to the appropriate department of family and children services and school superintendent. This information may be disseminated by the appropriate school superintendent to the child's teachers and counselors in the superintendent's discretion. Other inspections may be authorized by the court in individual cases upon a showing that it is necessary in the public interest.
(d) If a child has been charged with an offense that if committed by an adult would be a felony, or if the case is transferred to another court for prosecution, the child's fingerprints, personal identification data, and other pertinent information shall be forwarded to the Georgia Crime Information Center of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The Georgia Crime Information Center shall create a juvenile fingerprint file and enter the data into the computerized criminal history files. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall act as the official state repository for juvenile history data and is authorized to disseminate such data for the purposes specified in Code Section 15-11-82.
(e) Upon application of the child, fingerprints and photographs of a child shall be removed from the file and destroyed if a petition alleging delinquency is not filed or the proceedings are dismissed after either a petition is filed or the case is transferred to the juvenile court as provided in Code Section 15-11-30.4 or the child is adjudicated not to be a delinquent child. The court shall notify the deputy director of the Georgia Crime Information Center when fingerprints and photographs are destroyed pursuant to this subsection, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation shall treat such records in the same manner as expunged records pursuant to subsection (c) of Code Section 35-3-37.
(f) Except as provided in this Code section, without the consent of the
judge, a child shall not be photographed after he or she is taken into custody
unless the case is transferred to another court for prosecution.
(g)(1) The name or picture of any child under the jurisdiction
of the juvenile court for the first time shall not be made public by any news
media, upon penalty of contempt under Code Section 15-11-5, except as otherwise
provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection or as authorized by an order of
the court.
(2) It shall be mandatory upon the judge of the juvenile court or his or her designee to release the name of any child with regard to whom a petition has been filed alleging the child committed a designated felony act or alleging the child committed a delinquent act if the child has previously been adjudicated delinquent or if the child has previously been before the court on a delinquency charge and adjudication was withheld. No person, firm, or corporation shall be guilty of any offense by making public the name or picture of any such child.
UNIFORM RULES FOR THE JUVENILE COURTS OF GEORGIA
SECTION 3. COURT RECORDS
Ga. Unif. Juv. Ct. R. 3.1 (2008)
The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it including cases dismissed, informally adjusted or adjudicated. Such records shall be preserved in accordance with records retention schedules established by the State Records Committee and approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The court shall make official minutes, which may be the case files, consisting of all petitions and orders filed in a case and any other pleadings, certificates, proofs of publication, summonses, notices, warrants and other writs which may be filed therein and shall make social records, consisting of records of investigation and treatment and other confidential information. All complaints, summonses, orders, notices and pleadings shall be filed with the clerk of juvenile court with the date and time received noted thereon by the clerk.
(a) Making records available to the Council. All records required to be made available to the Council pursuant to these Rules shall be kept in the manner set forth in the Guidelines for Maintaining a Juvenile Court Docket for the Council of Juvenile Court Judges (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"). A current copy of the Guidelines shall be maintained in the Clerk's Office.
See O.C.G.A. § 15-11-79.2. Copies of the order shall be sent to each agency or official therein named and the deputy director of the Georgia Crime Information Center. Sealed records shall be destroyed in accordance with approved court records retention schedules.
Upon the entry of the order, the proceeding shall be treated
as if it never occurred. All index references, including computer and micrographic
records, shall be deleted and the person, the court, the law enforcement
officers and departments shall properly reply that no record exists with
respect to the person upon inquiry in any matter.
The records shall be sealed in an envelope which is identified
on the outside by the applicant's social security number and the date of birth
of the applicant. All references to the case outside of the sealed envelope
shall be removed completely.
Rule 3.7. Reopening of sealed records.
Inspection of sealed files and records may be permitted by an order of the court upon petition by the person who is the subject of the records and only by that person named in the order or to criminal justice officials upon petition to the court for official judicial enforcement or criminal justice purposes. After the record is reopened and the proceeding to reopen the record is terminated, the Court shall order that the record be resealed.
Rule 3.9. Sharing of court records among juvenile courts.
There is established a statewide system for providing juvenile
court legal case information on individuals to juvenile courts for the sole
purpose of ensuring effective rehabilitation, disposition, supervision and
treatment of juveniles. The Council of Juvenile Court Judges, through its
presiding judge and executive director, shall ensure that information disseminated
on individuals is used solely for these purposes. It is the express intent
of the Council that individuals' prior juvenile court histories shall not
be used for investigative purposes.
For purposes of this rule the term "legal case information" means
information contained in petitions, complaints and allegations related to cases
within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. "Legal case information" shall
also mean demographic data on the subject child or children, in whose interest
a complaint or petition has been filed.
The Council may receive legal case information from juvenile courts
for the purpose of compiling and maintaining a statewide database on children
referred to juvenile court. Juvenile courts shall submit through their clerks
case information to the Council, in a timely fashion and in a manner and form
prescribed by the Council of Juvenile Court Judges.
Upon request, the Council may provide data from any or all juvenile
courts on a child's prior juvenile court cases to individual juvenile courts
in which a complaint or petition has been filed. Such data shall only be used
for the purposes of making intake and detention decisions and appropriate dispositions
of current cases. Such statewide information shall only be:
Child's I.D. #
Case #
File #
County #
Child's Name and AKA's
Child's Age, DOB, Sex, Race
With Whom The Child Lives (parents, relatives, etc.)
Child's Phone Number (residence and business)
Child's Address
Mother's Name
Mother's Address (if different from child)
Mother's Phone Number (residence and business)
Father's Name
Father's Address (if different from child)
Father's Phone Number (residence and business)
Legal Custodian's Name (if different from parent)
Legal Custodian's Address, Phone Number
Complaint(s)
Complaint(s) Types
Date Offense Committed
Date Complaint Filed
Referral Source
Detained or Placed (location, date, time)
If Released: Date, Time
Date Petition Filed
Complaint or Petition Amended
Date of Adjudicatory Hearing
Results of Adjudicatory Hearing; Offense and Type
Disposition Date
Disposition(s)
Person Who Made Disposition
Whether Case is Appealed
Findings on Appeal
Such statewide information shall be requested from the Council
only by officers of the court designated by the chief judge and approved by
the Council's executive director. Each officer, thus approved, shall be given
a unique identifier which shall be registered in a log kept by the Council
and which must be used in requesting information. Officers of the court who
may be approved to request such information are limited to the judge, the clerk
of the court or employees of the clerk of court, a court-employed intake or
probation officer, or a court service worker assigned to provide probation
or intake services to the court. Unique identifiers shall be changed periodically
and whenever designated court officers or employees of the Council authorized
to release statewide information are terminated. Information from cases in
which the child has been acquitted shall not be released to any court other
than the reporting court. This shall also apply to an adjudicated offense overturned
by an appeals court.
Legal case information transmitted to the court shall be filed
with the clerk of the juvenile court, who shall be ordered to maintain a record
of such information. Such information shall not be open to public inspection;
but inspection of the record shall only be permitted to the judge, intake officer,
probation officer, or court service worker assigned to the case. Dissemination
of such information to unauthorized parties or use of such information for
purposes other than authorized in this rule shall be grounds for termination
of employment with the Council, user agency, or the court. Intentional dissemination
or receipt of legal case information for purposes not authorized in this rule
shall be punishable by the civil contempt power of the court.
When it appears to the Council that any court has not instituted
sufficient procedural safeguards to ensure the privacy and security of juvenile
court histories, the Council, through its presiding judge and executive director,
shall not release any further information until that court demonstrates that
adequate safeguards have been instituted.
After a child has been committed to the Department of Juvenile
Justice, a copy of the legal case information of the person committed may be
furnished to the agency receiving custody of the person for the sole purpose
of establishing treatment or rehabilitation plans. Such information shall remain
confidential.
The Council may permit authorized representatives of recognized
organizations compiling statistics for appropriate purposes to inspect and
make abstracts from prior juvenile court histories under conditions to be determined
by the Council. Statistical information thus released shall not include a child's
name nor the names of the child's parents or legal custodian.
All juvenile prior histories shall be destroyed within six months
after a child reaches age 25.
TITLE 49. SOCIAL SERVICES
CHAPTER 5. PROGRAMS AND PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
ARTICLE 2. CHILD ABUSE AND DEPRIVATION RECORDS
O.C.G.A. § 49-5-40 (2009)
§ 49-5-40. Definitions; confidentiality of records; restricted access to records
(a) As used in this article, the term:
(1) "Abused" means subjected to child abuse.
(2) "Child" means any person under 18 years of age.
(3) "Child abuse" means:
(A) Physical injury or death inflicted upon a child by a parent or caretaker thereof by other than accidental means; provided, however, physical forms of discipline may be used as long as there is no physical injury to the child;
(B) Neglect or exploitation of a child by a parent or caretaker thereof;
(C) Sexual abuse of a child;
(D) Sexual exploitation of a child; or
(E) However, no child who in good faith is being treated solely by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious denomination by a duly accredited practitioner thereof shall, for that reason alone, be considered to be an "abused" child.
(3.1) "Sexual abuse" means a person's employing, using, persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing any minor who is not that person's spouse to engage in any act which involves:
(A) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
(B) Bestiality;
(C) Masturbation;
(D) Lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of any person;
(E) Flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude;
(F) Condition of being fettered, bound, or otherwise physically restrained on the part of a person who is nude;
(G) Physical contact in an act of apparent sexual stimulation or gratification with any person's clothed or unclothed genitals, pubic area, or buttocks or with a female's clothed or unclothed breasts;
(H) Defecation or urination for the purpose of sexual stimulation; or
(I) Penetration of the vagina or rectum by any object except when done as part of a recognized medical procedure. "Sexual abuse" shall not include consensual sex acts involving persons of the opposite sex when the sex acts are between minors or between a minor and an adult who is not more than five years older than the minor. This provision shall not be deemed or construed to repeal any law concerning the age or capacity to consent.
(4) "Sexual exploitation" means conduct by a child's parent or caretaker who allows, permits, encourages, or requires that child to engage in:
(A) Prostitution, as defined in Code Section 16-6-9; or
(B) Sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual or print medium depicting such conduct, as defined in Code Section 16-12-100.
(b) Each and every record concerning reports of child abuse and child controlled substance or marijuana abuse which is in the custody of the department or other state or local agency is declared to be confidential, and access thereto is prohibited except as provided in Code Section 49-5-41 and Code Section 49-5-41.1.
(c) Each and every record concerning child abuse or neglect which is received by the department from the child abuse and neglect registry of any other state shall not be disclosed or used outside the department for any other purpose other than conducting background checks to be used in foster care and adoptive placements.
§ 49-5-41. Persons and agencies permitted access to records
(a) Notwithstanding Code Section 49-5-40, the following persons or agencies shall have reasonable access to such records concerning reports of child abuse:
(1) A legally mandated, public or private, child protective agency of this state or any other state bound by similar confidentiality provisions and requirements which is investigating a report of known or suspected child abuse or treating a child or family which is the subject of a report or record;
(2) A court, by subpoena, upon its finding that access to such records may be necessary for determination of an issue before such court; provided, however, that the court shall examine such record in camera, unless the court determines that public disclosure of the information contained therein is necessary for the resolution of an issue then before it and the record is otherwise admissible under the rules of evidence;
(3) A grand jury by subpoena upon its determination that access to such records is necessary in the conduct of its official business;
(4) A district attorney of any judicial circuit in this state or any assistant district attorney who may seek such access in connection with official duty;
(5) Any adult who makes a report of suspected child abuse as required by Code Section 19-7-5, but such access shall include only notification regarding the child concerning whom the report was made, shall disclose only whether the investigation by the department or governmental child protective agency of the reported abuse is ongoing or completed and, if completed, whether child abuse was confirmed or unconfirmed, and shall only be disclosed if requested by the person making the report;
(6) Any adult requesting information regarding investigations by the department or a governmental child protective agency regarding a deceased child when such person specifies the identity of the child, but such access shall be limited to a disclosure regarding whether there is such an ongoing or completed investigation of such death and, if completed, whether child abuse was confirmed or unconfirmed;
(7) The State Personnel Board, by administrative subpoena, upon a finding by an administrative law judge appointed by the chief state administrative law judge pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 13 of Title 50, that access to such records may be necessary for a determination of an issue involving departmental personnel and that issue involves the conduct of such personnel in child related employment activities, provided that only those parts of the record relevant to the child related employment activities shall be disclosed. The name of any complainant or client shall not be identified or entered into the record;
(7.1) A child advocacy center which is certified by the Child Abuse Protocol Committee of the county where the principal office of the center is located as participating in the Georgia Network of Children's Advocacy Centers or a similar accreditation organization and which is operated for the purpose of investigation of known or suspected child abuse and treatment of a child or a family which is the subject of a report of abuse, and which has been created and supported through one or more intracommunity compacts between such advocacy center and one or more police agencies, the office of the district attorney, a legally mandated public or private child protective agency, a mental health board, and a community health service board; provided, however, any child advocacy center which is granted access to records concerning reports of child abuse shall be subject to the confidentiality provisions of subsection (b) of Code Section 49-5-40 and shall be subject to the penalties imposed by Code Section 49-5-44 for authorizing or permitting unauthorized access to or use of such records;
(8) Police or any other law enforcement agency of this state or any other state or any medical examiner or coroner investigating a report of known or suspected abuse or any child abuse protocol committee or subcommittee thereof created pursuant to Chapter 15 of Title 19, it being found by the General Assembly that the disclosure of such information is necessary in order for such entities to carry out their legal responsibilities to protect children from abuse and neglect, which protective actions include bringing criminal actions for such abuse or neglect, and that such disclosure is therefore permissible and encouraged under the 1992 amendments to Section 107(b)(4) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 5106(A)(b)(4); and
(9) The Governor, the Attorney General, the Lieutenant Governor,
or the Speaker of the House of Representatives when such officer makes a
written request to the commissioner of the department which specifies the
name of the child for which such access is sought and which describes such
officer's need to have access to such records in order to determine whether
the laws of this state are being complied with to protect children from abuse
and neglect and whether such laws need to be changed to enhance such protection,
for which purposes the General Assembly finds such disclosure is permissible
and encouraged under the 1992 amendments to Section 107(b)(4) of the Child
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 5106(A)(b)(4).
(b)(1) Notwithstanding Code Section 49-5-40, the juvenile court
in the county in which are located any department or county board records concerning
reports of child abuse, after application for inspection and a hearing on the
issue, shall permit inspection of such records by or release of information
from such records to individuals or entities who are engaged in legitimate
research for educational, scientific, or public purposes and who comply with
the provisions of this subsection. When those records are located in more than
one county, the application may be made to the juvenile court of any one such
county. A copy of any application authorized by this subsection shall be served
on the nearest office of the department. In cases where the location of the
records is unknown to the applicant, the application may be made to the Juvenile
Court of Fulton County.
(2) The juvenile court to which an application is made pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not grant the application unless:
(A) The application includes a description of the proposed research project, including a specific statement of the information required, the purpose for which the project requires that information, and a methodology to assure the information is not arbitrarily sought;
(B) The applicant carries the burden of showing the legitimacy of the research project; and
(C) Names and addresses of individuals, other than officials, employees, or agents of agencies receiving or investigating a report of abuse or treating a child or family which is the subject of a report, shall be deleted from any information released pursuant to this subsection unless the court determines that having the names and addresses open for review is essential to the research and the child, through his or her representative, gives permission to release the information.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, access to the child abuse registry created pursuant to Article 8 of this chapter shall not be permitted except as allowed by Article 8 of this chapter.
(c) The department or a county or other state or local agency may permit access to records concerning reports of child abuse and may release information from such records to the following persons or agencies when deemed appropriate by such department:
(1) A physician who has before him a child whom he reasonably suspects may be abused;
(2) A licensed child-placing agency, a licensed child-caring institution of this state which is assisting the Department of Human Resources by locating or providing foster or adoptive homes for children in the custody of the department, or an investigator appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction of this state to investigate a pending petition for adoption;
(3) A person legally authorized to place a child in protective custody when such person has before him a child he reasonably suspects may be abused and such person requires the information in the record or report in order to determine whether to place the child in protective custody;
(4) An agency or person having the legal custody, responsibility, or authorization to care for, treat, or supervise the child who is the subject of a report or record;
(5) An agency, facility, or person having responsibility or authorization to assist in making a judicial determination for the child who is the subject of the report or record of child abuse, including but not limited to members of officially recognized citizen review panels, court appointed guardians ad litem, certified Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers who are appointed by a judge of a juvenile court to act as advocates for the best interest of a child in a juvenile proceeding, and members of a county child abuse protocol committee or task force;
(6) A legally mandated public child protective agency or law enforcement agency of another state bound by similar confidentiality provisions and requirements when, during or following the department's investigation of a report of child abuse, the alleged abuser has left this state;
(7) A child welfare agency, as defined in Code Section 49-5-12, or a school where the department has investigated allegations of child abuse made against any employee of such agency or school and any child remains at risk from exposure to that employee, except that such access or release shall protect the identity of:
(A) Any person reporting the child abuse; and
(B) Any other person whose life or safety has been determined by the department or agency likely to be endangered if the identity were not so protected;
(8) An employee of a school or employee of a child welfare agency, as defined in Code Section 49-5-12, against whom allegations of child abuse have been made, when the department has been unable to determine the extent of the employee's involvement in alleged child abuse against any child in the care of that school or agency. In those instances, upon receiving a request and signed release from the employee, the department may report its findings to the employer, except that such access or release shall protect the identity of:
(A) Any person reporting the child abuse; and
(B) Any other person whose life or safety has been determined by the department or agency likely to be endangered if the identity were not so protected;
(9) Any person who has an ongoing relationship with the child named in the record or report of child abuse any part of which is to be disclosed to such person but only if that person is required to report suspected abuse of that child pursuant to subsection (b) of Code Section 19-7-5, as that subsection existed on January 1, 1990;
(10) Any school principal or any school guidance counselor, school social worker, or school psychologist who is certified under Chapter 2 of Title 20 and who is counseling a student as a part of such counseling person's school employment duties, but those records shall remain confidential and information obtained therefrom by that counseling person may not be disclosed to any person, except that student, not authorized under this Code section to obtain those records, and such unauthorized disclosure shall be punishable as a misdemeanor;
(11) The Department of Early Care and Learning or the Department of Education; or
(12) An individual, at the time such individual is leaving foster care by reason of having attained the age of majority, but such access shall be limited to providing such individual with a free copy of his or her health and education records, including the most recent information available.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any child-caring agency, child-placing agency, or identified foster parent shall have reasonable access to nonidentifying information from the placement or child protective services record compiled by any state department or agency having custody of a child with respect to any child who has been placed in the care or custody of such agency or foster parent or for whom foster care is being sought, excluding all documents obtained from outside sources which cannot be redisclosed under state or federal law. A department or agency shall respond to a request for access to a child's record within 14 days of receipt of such written request. Any child-caring agency, child-placing agency, or identified foster parent who is granted access to a child's record shall be subject to the penalties imposed by Code Section 49-5-44 for unauthorized access to or use of such records. Such record shall include reports of abuse of such child and the social history of the child and the child's family, the medical history of such child, including psychological or psychiatric evaluations, or educational records as allowed by state or federal law and any plan of care or placement plan developed by the department, provided that no identifying information is disclosed regarding such child.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, with the exception of medical and mental health records made confidential by other provisions of law, child abuse and deprivation records applicable to a child who at the time of his or her death was:
(1) In the custody of a state department or agency or foster parent;
(2) A child as defined in paragraph (3) of Code Section 15-11-171; or
(3) The subject of an investigation, report, referral, or complaint under Code Section 15-11-173 shall not be confidential and shall be subject to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, relating to open records.
§ 49-5-41.1. Inspection and retention of records of juvenile drug use
(a) Notwithstanding Code Section 49-5-40, all reports, files, and records of child controlled substance or marijuana abuse shall be open to inspection only upon order of the juvenile court. As used in this Code section, the term "juvenile court" means the court exercising jurisdiction over juvenile matters, as defined under Code Section 15-11-2, in the county where the report was made.
(b) The juvenile court may permit authorized representatives of recognized organizations compiling statistics for proper purposes to inspect and make abstracts from official records under whatever conditions upon their use and distribution the judge may deem proper and may punish by contempt any violation of those conditions. The judge shall permit authorized representatives of the Department of Human Resources and the Council of Juvenile Court Judges to inspect and extract data from child controlled substance and marijuana abuse records for the purpose of obtaining statistics on juveniles and to make copies pursuant to the order of the court.
(c) In no case shall records of child controlled substance or marijuana abuse be retained by the Department of Human Resources beyond the 24 months from the date a report is first received pursuant to Code Section 19-7-6 by a child welfare agency providing protective services.
(d) On application of a person who is the subject of a child controlled substance or marijuana abuse report, and after a hearing, the juvenile court may order the sealing of such reports, files, and records of the Department of Human Resources. Upon entry of the order, the Department of Human Resources shall treat the report and related information as if the report had never occurred. All index references shall be deleted and the person, the court, and the Department of Human Resources shall properly reply that no record exists with respect to the person upon inquiry in any matter. Inspection of the sealed files and records thereafter may be permitted by an order of the juvenile court upon petition by the person who is the subject of the records and only by those persons named in the order.
TITLE 20. EDUCATION
CHAPTER 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
ARTICLE 16. STUDENTS
PART 1. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
SUBPART 2. COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-699 (2009)
§ 20-2-699. Disposition of children taken into custody
Any person assuming temporary custody of a child pursuant to Code Section 20-2-698 shall immediately deliver the child either to the parent, guardian, or other person having control or charge of the child or to the school from which the child is absent, or if the child is found to have been adjudged a delinquent or unruly, he shall cause the child to be brought before the probation officer of the county having jurisdiction over such child.
§ 20-2-700. Reports by peace officers to school authorities and parent or guardian
Any person taking action pursuant to Code Section 20-2-699 shall report the matter and the disposition made by him of the child to the school authorities of the county, independent or area school system, and to the child's parent or guardian.
§ 20-2-701. (For effective date, see note) Local school superintendents or visiting teachers and attendance officers to report truants to juvenile or other courts
(a) Local school superintendents as applied to private schools and home study programs or visiting teachers and attendance officers as applied to public schools, after written notice to the parent or guardian of a child, shall report to the juvenile or other court having jurisdiction under Chapter 11 of Title 15 any child who is absent from a public or private school or a home study program in violation of this subpart. If the judge of the court places such child in a home or in a public or private institution pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 15, school shall be provided for such child.
(b) (For effective date, see note)
(c) (For effective date, see note)
(d) Subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section shall not be effective until full implementation of the state-wide education information system.