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(1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, reports made under this part, as well as any other information in the possession of the division obtained as the result of a report are private, protected, or controlled records under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, and may only be made available to:
(a) a police or law enforcement agency investigating a report of known or suspected abuse or neglect, including members of a child protection team;
(b) a physician who reasonably believes that a child may be the subject of abuse or neglect;
(c) an agency that has responsibility or authority to care for, treat, or supervise a minor who is the subject of a report;
(d) a contract provider that has a written contract with the division to render services to a minor who is the subject of a report;
(e) a subject of the report, the natural parents of the child, and the guardian ad litem;
(f) a court, upon a finding that access to the records may be necessary for the determination of an issue before the court, provided that in a divorce, custody, or related proceeding between private parties, the record alone is:
(i) limited to objective or undisputed facts that were verified at the time of the investigation; and
(ii) devoid of conclusions drawn by the division or any of the division's workers on the ultimate issue of whether or not an individual's acts or omissions constituted any level of abuse or neglect of another individual;
(g) an office of the public prosecutor or its deputies in performing an official duty;
(h) a person authorized by a Children's Justice Center, for the purposes described in Section 67-5b-102;
(i) a person engaged in bona fide research, when approved by the director of the division, if the information does not include names and addresses;
(j) the State Board of Education, acting on behalf of itself or on behalf of a local education agency, as defined in Section 63J-5-102, for the purpose of evaluating whether an individual should be permitted to obtain or retain a license as an educator or serve as an employee or volunteer in a school, limited to information with substantiated or supported findings involving an alleged sexual offense, an alleged felony or class A misdemeanor drug offense, or any alleged offense against the person under Title 76, Chapter 5, Offenses Against the Person, and with the understanding that the office must provide the subject of a report received under Subsection (1)(k) with an opportunity to respond to the report before making a decision concerning licensure or employment;
(k) any individual identified in the report as a perpetrator or possible perpetrator of abuse or neglect, after being advised of the screening prohibition in Subsection (2);
(l) a person filing a petition for a child protective order on behalf of a child who is the subject of the report;
(m) a licensed child-placing agency or person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirements of Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130;
(n) an Indian tribe to:
(i) certify or license a foster home;
(ii) render services to a subject of a report; or
(iii) investigate an allegation of abuse, neglect, or dependency; or
(o) the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, the Department of Health, or a local substance abuse authority, described in Section 17-43-201, for the purpose of providing substance abuse treatment to a pregnant woman or a parent of a newborn child, or the services described in Subsection 62A-15-103(2)(o).
(2)
(a) A person, unless listed in Subsection (1), may not request another person to obtain or release a report or any other information in the possession of the division obtained as a result of the report that is available under Subsection (1)(k) to screen for potential perpetrators of abuse or neglect.
(b) A person who requests information knowing that the request is a violation of Subsection (2)(a) is subject to the criminal penalty in Subsection (4).
(3)
(a) Except as provided in Section 62A-4a-1007, the division and law enforcement officials shall ensure the anonymity of the person or persons making the initial report and any others involved in the division's or law enforcement officials' subsequent investigation.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, excluding Section 80-3-107, but including this chapter and Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act, when the division makes a report or other information in the division's possession available under Subsection (1)(e) to a subject of the report or a parent of a child, the division shall remove from the report or other information only the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of individuals or specific information that could:
(i) identify the referent;
(ii) impede a criminal investigation; or
(iii) endanger an individual's safety.
(4) Any person who willfully permits, or aides and abets the release of data or information obtained as a result of this part, in the possession of the division or contained on any part of the Management Information System, in violation of this part or Sections 62A-4a-1003 through 62A-4a-1007, is guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
(5)
(a) As used in this Subsection (5), "physician" means an individual licensed to practice as a physician or osteopath in this state under Title 58, Chapter 67, Utah Medical Practice Act, or Title 58, Chapter 68, Utah Osteopathic Medical Practice Act.
(b) The physician-patient privilege does not:
(i) excuse a physician from reporting suspected abuse, neglect, fetal alcohol syndrome, or fetal drug dependency under this part; and
(ii) constitute grounds for excluding evidence regarding a child's injuries, or the cause of the child's injuries, in any judicial or administrative proceeding resulting from a report under this part.
(6) A child-placing agency or person who receives a report in connection with a preplacement adoptive evaluation under Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130:
(a) may provide this report to the person who is the subject of the report; and
(b) may provide this report to a person who is performing a preplacement adoptive evaluation in accordance with the requirement of Sections 78B-6-128 and 78B-6-130, or to a licensed child-placing agency or to an attorney seeking to facilitate an adoption.
(7) A member of a child protection team may, before the day on which the child is removed, share case-specific information obtained from the division under this section with other members of the child protection team.
(8)
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (8)(b), in a divorce, custody, or related proceeding between private parties, a court may not receive into evidence a report that:
(i) is provided to the court:
(A) under Subsection (1)(f); or
(B) by a parent of the child after the record is made available to the parent under Subsection (1)(e);
(ii) describes a parent of the child as the alleged perpetrator; and
(iii) is found to be unsubstantiated, unsupported, or without merit.
(b)
(i) After a motion to admit the report described in Subsection (8)(a) is made, the court shall allow sufficient time for all subjects of the record to respond before making a finding on the motion.
(ii) After considering the motion described in Subsection (8)(b), the court may receive the report into evidence upon a finding on the record of good cause.