(a) If a person claiming to be a parent or lawful agent of an infant surrendered to a designated employee under section 17a-58 submits a request to the Commissioner of Children and Families for reunification with the infant, the commissioner may identify, contact and investigate such parent or lawful agent to determine if such reunification is appropriate or if the parental rights of the parent should be terminated. If, not more than thirty days after the date of surrender of the infant, the commissioner receives a request for reunification with the infant from a person claiming to be a parent or lawful agent of the infant, the commissioner may require that such person and the infant submit to genetic tests, which shall mean deoxyribonucleic acid tests, to be performed by a hospital, accredited laboratory, qualified physician or other qualified person designated by the commissioner to determine parentage. The person requesting reunification shall be responsible for the cost of any genetic test performed pursuant to this section, except the Department of Children and Families shall pay such cost for any person who is determined by the commissioner to be indigent. Absent receiving a request for reunification with an infant pursuant to this section, the commissioner may not subject the infant to genetic testing to determine parentage or other family relationship unless ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) No employee of a hospital that operates an emergency room that takes physical custody of an infant pursuant to section 17a-58, except an employee who has reasonable cause to suspect that an infant has been abused or neglected, as defined in section 46b-120, shall disclose information concerning (1) the facts and circumstances under which the emergency room took physical custody of the infant, (2) a parent or lawful agent, or (3) the infant, unless required to disclose such information pursuant to sections 17a-101a to 17a-101d, inclusive. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, a designated employee of the emergency room shall provide (A) to the Commissioner of Children and Families all medical history information provided by the parent, and (B) to the Commissioner of Public Health the name and date of birth of the infant if the infant's birth has been registered in the state vital records system prior to the surrender of the infant, for the sole purpose of sealing the infant's original birth record. The infant's name and date of birth shall not be disclosed on the report of a foundling child described in section 7-59. Nothing in this subsection shall limit hospital personnel from entering medically relevant information into the infant's medical record or limit any discussion or disclosure that the hospital personnel may have with anyone to the extent that such discussion or disclosure pertains to the medical care and medical treatment of the infant.
(c) Possession of a bracelet linking the parent or lawful agent to an infant surrendered to a designated employee if parental rights have not been terminated creates a presumption the parent or lawful agent has standing to participate in a custody hearing for the infant under chapter 319a but does not create a presumption of maternity, paternity or custody.
(P.A. 00-207, S. 4; P.A. 10-161, S. 2; P.A. 17-18, S. 2; P.A. 18-55, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 10-161 replaced “left with” with “surrendered to” throughout, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing provision re confidential information with provision specifying that information is not to be disclosed to parent or agent of surrendered infant, designating existing exception re information provided to Commissioner of Children and Families as Subdiv. (1), adding Subdiv. (2) requiring information to be provided to Commissioner of Public Health and adding provision prohibiting disclosure of certain information on report of foundling child and amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “person” with “agent” and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 17-18 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “agent” with “lawful agent”, replacing “person” with “parent”, adding provisions re request for reunification with infant from person claiming to be parent or lawful agent, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing provision re disclosure of information concerning parent, agent or infant by designated employee with provision re disclosure of information by employee of hospital that operates emergency room that takes physical custody of infant, adding new Subdivs. (1) to (3) re disclosure of information, redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) and (2) as Subparas. (A) and (B), adding provision re hospital personnel entering information into infant's medical record and discussion or disclosure pertaining to medical care and treatment of infant; P.A. 18-55 amended Subsec. (c) to replace “agent” with “lawful agent”.