Q. X.1 When can we release information about a
client?
Q. X.2 When do
we have to release information about a client?
Q. X.3 If the
police, etc. contact a shelter regarding a resident
who has moved, is the shelter required to give out
that information or is the information protected as
confidential?
Q. X.4 If a
young person tells a program that he/she has no
outstanding warrants and the shelter discovers that
the young person has one, is the shelter required to
contact the police or is a signed release of
information needed?
Q. X.5 What
limits, if any, can a youth shelter place on police
access to youth in their care?
Q. X.6 Are
there any special legal issues regarding
confidentiality that pertain to outreach/street
outreach workers?
Q. X.1 When
can we release information about a client?
A. Both
the Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of
1974 and the New York State Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act of 1978 require that programs keep all
client records confidential, unless the young
person signs a release which indicates the
information to be released, to whom and for what
purpose. As a general rule, shelter staff may not
release any information without a signed consent
unless there is a compelling reason to do
otherwise. Examples of compelling reasons include
cases where you believe the client is at risk of
suicide, has threatened to harm a third party, or
when child abuse has been disclosed and you must,
by law, report it to the Child Protective
Hotline.
In all
cases, it is the agency or program that
"holds" the confidential information,
not an individual employed by the agency. Each
agency should have its own procedure governing
access to case files, which individuals within
that agency must adhere to.
If a
program monitor from a public agency (Federal,
State, County) is reviewing a program they may
request to review a client's files. However, the
laws covering confidentiality on those files also
extend to them and they may not release any
information from those files to a third party.
In People
v. Garcia (1985) 128 Misc. 2d810, 491 NYS 2d552,
the confidentiality rights given to young people
in runaway/homeless youth programs were
recognized and the court held that a subpoena
served on a program that demands any and all
records on a client must be quashed. Never ignore
a subpoena. In all cases, call your agency
lawyer.
Q. X.2 When do
we have to release information about a client?
A. Apart
from the affirmative obligation to release
information when there is a compelling reason to
do so (see X.1), you may have to release
information when served with a subpoena. A
subpoena is an order, signed by a court or an
attorney, to compel testimony or require the
production of records in a court or
administrative proceeding.
While a
subpoena should never be ignored, you do not
automatically have to turn over everything
requested. If a youth has no objection to turning
over the requested information, have him/her sign
a release form before releasing the information.
If the youth objects, you should have your
program's attorney contact the person issuing the
subpoena to ask that the subpoena be withdrawn.
The attorney will have to evaluate the situation
and advise you as to how to proceed. In any case,
a subpoena that makes a blanket request for any
or all information about a client is overbroad
and should be challenged (see X.1).
Q. X.3 If the
police, etc. contact a shelter regarding a resident
who has moved, is the shelter required to give out
that information or is the information protected as
confidential?
A. All
information about the young people you serve is
confidential. The police have no more right to
the information than anyone else. You may not
release information about a current or former
client without their prior, written consent,
unless the court compels you to turn overthe
information (see X.1 & X.2).
Q. X.4 If a
young person tells a program that he/she has no
outstanding warrants and the shelter discovers that
the young person has one, is the shelter required to
contact the police or is a signed release of
information needed?
A. The
shelter has no special obligation to contact the
police if it finds outthat a youth in its care
has an outstanding warrant. Any information you
release, even to the police, must be with the
youth's prior, written consent. If the police
come to the program with a warrant, you must
comply with the warrant. If the warrant is for a
person in the shelter who is there, the warrant
must be honored.
Q. X.5 What
limits, if any, can a youth shelter place on police
access to youth in their care?
A. When a
young person is living at a shelter, the shelter
is considered their home. The youth has the same
rights to privacy in a shelter as he/she would
have at home. The police may not enter the
shelter without a warrant. The only exception
would be in a case where the police were in
"hot pursuit" of a youth, in which case
the police would have access to a shelter or a
home without a search warrant.
Q. X.6 Are
there any special legal issues regarding
confidentiality that pertain to outreach/street
outreach workers?
A. No,
there does not seem to be any special legal
issues regarding confidentiality for street
outreach workers. However, if the worker is part
of a runaway/homeless youth program, that person
would be guided by the confidentiality rules
governing that program (See X.1). If the person
is a mandated reporter, he/she would be required
to report suspected child abuse or maltreatment.
