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§43A-3-313.
§43A-3-313.
A. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is
hereby authorized and directed to enter into agreements and to
contract for the shelter and other services as are needed for victims
of domestic abuse or sexual assault. Any domestic violence or sexual
assault program providing services pursuant to a contract or
subcontract with and receiving funds from the Department of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Board of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services, or any facility of the Department of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services shall be subject to the provisions
of the Unified Community Mental Health Services Act.
B. 1. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 2 of this subsection,
the case records, case files, case notes, client records, or similar
records of a domestic violence or sexual assault program certified by
the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services or of any
employee or trained volunteer of a program regarding an individual who
is residing or has resided in the program or who has otherwise
utilized or is utilizing the services of a domestic violence or sexual
assault program or counselor shall be confidential and shall not be
disclosed. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "client records"
shall include, but not be limited to, all communications, records, and
information regarding clients of domestic violence and sexual assault
programs.
2. The case records, case files, or case notes of programs specified
in paragraph 1 of this subsection shall be confidential and shall not
be disclosed except with the written consent of the individual, or in
the case of the individual's death or disability, of the individual's
personal representative or other person authorized to sue on the
individual's behalf or by court order for good cause shown by the
judge in camera.
C. The district court shall not order the disclosure of the address of
a domestic violence shelter, the location of any person seeking or
receiving services from a domestic violence or sexual assault program,
or any other information which is required to be kept confidential
pursuant to subsection B of this section.
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