West Virginia Code 15-13-5 – Distribution and disclosure of information
(a) Within five business days after receiving any notification as described in this article, the State Police shall transmit a copy of the notification statement to the Department of Health and Human Resources as provided in section two of this article.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 15-13-5
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) Within five business days after receiving any notification statement pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources shall distribute a copy of the notification statement to:
(1) The supervisor of each county and municipal law-enforcement office and any campus police department in the city and county where the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(2) The county superintendent of schools where the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training facility; and
(3) The Child Protective Services office charged with investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect in the county where the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training facility.
(c) The State Police may furnish information and documentation required in connection with the registration to authorized law enforcement, campus police and governmental agencies of the United States and its territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to receive the same, of other states within the United States and of the State of West Virginia upon proper request stating that the records will be used solely for law-enforcement-related purposes. The State Police may disclose information collected under this article to federal, state and local governmental agencies responsible for conducting preemployment checks.
(d) An elected public official, public employee or public agency is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of any action relating to the provisions of this section except when the official, employee or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.
(e) The information contained in the child abuse and neglect registry is confidential, and may not be disclosed except as specifically provided in this article. The information contained in the registry with respect to an individual shall be provided to that individual promptly upon request. Individuals on the registry requesting registry information shall be afforded the opportunity to file statements correcting any misstatements or inaccuracies contained in the registry. The State Police and the Department of Health and Human Resources may disclose registry information to authorized law-enforcement and governmental agencies of the United States and its territories, of foreign states and of the State of West Virginia upon proper request stating that the information requested is necessary in the interest of and will be used solely in the administration of official duties and the criminal laws. Agreements with other states providing for the reciprocal sharing of abuse and neglect registry information are specifically authorized. Nothing in this article would preclude disclosure of information authorized pursuant to article two-c of this chapter.
(f) An active file on requests for information by requesters shall be maintained by the State Police and the Department of Health and Human Resources for a period of one year from the date of a request.
(g) Information on the registry shall be exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act in article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.