4. a. A family justice center shall develop and maintain, under the immediate supervision of the center’s privacy officer designated by the director pursuant to subsection b. of section 1 of this act, policies and procedures which comply with all applicable federal and State privacy laws pertaining to the confidentiality of records to be maintained on victims and their family members who request and access assistance through the center.

b. All of the providers of assistance at a family justice center shall comply with the applicable laws on confidentiality and privileged communications concerning their respective professions. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to abrogate or modify any existing handling of confidential records or information, or privileged communications, as set forth and recognized under State or federal constitutional, statutory, or common law, or court rule, including any legal obligation by a provider of assistance to report or disclose to other parties specific information or incidents when the disclosure is mandated under State or federal law or required by court order.

c. (1) A family justice center shall develop and maintain, under the immediate supervision of the center’s privacy officer, a procedure to seek and obtain an informed, voluntary, written consent from each victim at the time the victim initially requests to access assistance through the center, which consent shall be reasonably time limited and intended to only permit the collection and subsequent sharing of the victim’s and family members’ confidential records and information, and the content of otherwise privileged communications, amongst some or all of the center’s personnel, some or all of the providers of assistance at the center, and third-party service providers not providing assistance at the center, as agreed to by the victim. A victim shall not be required to provide written consent to the family justice center for the victim or any family member to access services at the center.

(2) (a) At the time of seeking the victim’s written consent for the collection and limited sharing of confidential and privileged records, information, and communications, the victim shall also be informed that the limitations of any written consent, if given, shall not prevent the sharing of any records, information, and communications offered by the victim or victim’s family members when, as described in subsection b. of this section, there is a mandatory, lawful duty to report to law enforcement officers, prosecutors, or other governmental officers or officials based upon any specific information that is provided by the victim or a family member, the type of incident involved, or if the victim or a family member is a danger to himself, herself, or others, or disclosure is required by a court order. The family justice center shall obtain and maintain on file a written acknowledgment from the victim that the victim is aware that any mandatory, lawful duty to report or to disclose pursuant to court order shall apply regardless of the provisions set forth in any written consent for limited sharing, if provided by the victim.

(b) Except for a mandatory, lawful duty to report or to disclose pursuant to court order as set forth in subsection b. of this section, and the authorized sharing of information concerning a family justice center’s operations and utilization by victims and their family members pursuant to section 5 of this act, the family justice center’s personnel and the providers of assistance at the center shall not share any confidential or privileged records, information, and communications in any manner, and with any other parties, other than as consented to in the victim’s written consent and consistent with the applicable laws on confidentiality and privileged communications concerning their respective professions.

(3) The victim’s written consent shall not be deemed to be a more general waiver of confidentiality or privileged communications beyond that which is consented to in the victim’s written consent, and beyond that which is consistent with the applicable laws on confidentiality and privileged communications concerning the respective professionals amongst whom any records, information, and communications are shared.

L.2019, c.394, s.4.