(a) The Department shall establish and maintain a registry containing the names of all caregivers who have been confirmed by the Department of having maltreated a child pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-105.3

(b) Individuals who wish to contest findings under subsection (a) of this section are entitled to an administrative hearing as provided by the Administrative Procedure Act under Chapter 150B of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. A petition for a contested case shall be filed within 30 days of the mailing of the written notice of the Department’s intent to place its findings about the person in the Child Maltreatment Registry.

(c) Individuals whose names are listed on the Registry shall not be a caregiver as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-105.3(b)(1) at any licensed child care facility or religious-sponsored child care facility.

(d) No person shall be liable for providing any information for the Child Maltreatment Registry if the information is provided in good faith. Neither an employer, potential employer, nor the Department shall be liable for using any information from the Child Maltreatment Registry if the information is used in good faith for the purpose of screening prospective applicants for employment or reviewing the employment status of an employee. The immunity established by this subsection does not extend to malicious conduct or intentional wrongdoing.

(e) Upon request, a child care facility, as defined in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-105.3, is permitted to provide confidential or other identifying information to the Department, including social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, parent’s legal surname prior to marriage, and dates of birth, for the purpose of verifying the identity of the accused caregiver.

(f) With the exception of the names of individuals listed on the Child Maltreatment Registry, all other information received by or pertaining to the Child Maltreatment Registry shall be confidential and is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(g) In order to determine an individual’s fitness to care for or adopt a child, information from the Child Maltreatment Registry may be used by any of the Department’s divisions responsible for licensing homes or facilities that care for children, and the Department may provide information from this list to child-caring institutions, child-placing agencies, group home facilities, and other providers of foster care, child care, or adoption services.

(h) The North Carolina Child Care Commission shall adopt, amend, and repeal all rules necessary for the implementation of this section. (2015-123, s. 8; 2015-264, s. 56(a).)