(a) The department shall update its post-adoption records with any medical, psychological or psychiatric information provided by an adopted person or a person for whom records are maintained, as described in § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), eighteen (18) years of age or older, or such person’s legal representative, or by such person’s adoptive or legal parent if the adopted person or a person for whom records are maintained as described in § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A) is under eighteen (18) years of age, or which information is provided by any biological or legal relative of an adopted person or a person for whom records are maintained, as described in § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), or such person’s legal representative, which information concerns any of those persons; provided, that such information shall be provided in the form of a letter or other written evidence from a licensed health care professional or from a licensed health care facility that explains the health care status of persons who may be affected and why the transmission of such information to other persons is necessary.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 36-1-135

  • Adopted person: means :
    (A) Any person who is or has been adopted under this part or under the laws of any state, territory, or foreign country. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Department: means the department of children's services or any of its divisions or units. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Legal parent: means :
    (i) The biological mother of a child. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Legal relative: means a person who is included in the class of persons set forth in the definition of "biological relative" or "legal parent" and who, at the time a request for services or information is made pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Legal representative: means :
    (i) The conservator, guardian, legal custodian, or other person or entity with legal authority to make decisions for an individual with a disability or an attorney-in-fact, an attorney at law representing a person for purposes of obtaining information pursuant to this part, or the legally appointed administrator, executor, or other legally appointed representative of a person's estate. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • parents: means any biological, legal, adoptive parent or parents or, for purposes of §. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Post-adoption record: means :
    (A) The record maintained in any medium by the department, separately from the sealed record or sealed adoption record and subsequent to the sealing of an adoption record or that is maintained about any sealed record or sealed adoption record. See Tennessee Code 36-1-102
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Upon receipt of the information under subsection (a), the department shall, at no charge to any of the persons listed under subsection (a), conduct a diligent search for the person or persons who may be affected and, if located, shall notify them, their parents, if applicable, or their legal representatives, if applicable, of the availability of and the nature of this information and those persons may request that the information be provided to them. In any case, copies of all such updated information shall be maintained in the post-adoption record for future use.
(c) If any of the persons listed in subsection (a) seek additional or updated information for a medically established need as determined by written evidence from a licensed health care professional or a licensed health care facility pursuant to the requirements of subsection (a), the department shall, at no charge, contact the persons who have access to or who have or may have knowledge of such information, and shall request the persons so contacted to provide such information to the department for transmittal to the treating professionals or health care facility of the requesting party. Such information shall be provided to the department by means of a specific release for a stated purpose and the release shall be time limited.
(d) Any notification required to be made by the department as part of a search and information request or transmittal pursuant to this section with an adopted person or with a person for whom records are maintained, as described under § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), who is under eighteen (18) years of age shall be made with such person’s adoptive or legal parent, or with the legal representative of the adopted person or person for whom records are maintained as described under § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), or with the parents or with the legal representative of the minor biological or legal relative of the adopted person or person for whom records are maintained as described under § 36-1-127(c)(1)(A), and such parents or legal representatives shall make any decisions relative to release of information or provision of information pursuant to this section.
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