Confidentiality Policies for Economic Assistance and Health Care Coverage Programs 448-01-25-10-10

 

General Statement 448-01-25-10-10-05

(Revised 12/1/12 ML #3352)  

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North Dakota Century Code, Section 50-06-15, prohibits the disclosure of any information about persons applying for or receiving assistance under any program administered by the Department.

 

State and county staff are not mandatory reporters of suspected cases of child abuse unless they fall under one of the following categories:

 

• Social worker

 

• Physician

 

• Nurse

 

• Dentist

 

• Optometrist

 

• Dental hygienist

 

• Medical examiner or coroner

 

• Any other medical or mental health professional

 

• Religious practitioner of the healing arts

 

• Schoolteacher or administrator

 

• School counselor

 

• Addiction counselor

 

• Child care worker

 

• Foster parent

 

• Police or law enforcement officer

 

• Juvenile Court personnel

 

• Probation officer

 

• Division of Juvenile Services employee

 

• Member of the clergy having knowledge of or reasonable cause to suspect that a child is abused or neglected, or has died as a result of abuse or neglect.

 

Staff who are not mandatory reporters are strongly encouraged to report suspected child abuse and neglect to appropriate child protection staff. Only information other than SNAP and Medicaid information, requested on the SFN 960, Report of Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect, can be shared with child protection staff. Specific case information must not be shared.

Note: Regulations do not allow the disclosure of SNAP or Medicaid information to child protection staff.

 

Protective Service Alerts

Periodically, eligibility staff receive ‘Protective Service Alerts’ from the North Dakota Department of Human Services, Children and Family Services (CFS) Division and other States. These alerts request information of a family’s whereabouts.

 

When eligibility staff receive these e-mails, while it does not fall under ‘administration of the programs’, and since specific information regarding eligibility or benefits is not being disclosed, it is allowable to disclose to the requestor as well as to their own county child protective service unit, the county and state, in which the individual is residing and the county social service office that may be contacted for child protective service information.

 

Any additional information, including ‘How eligibility staff knows this information’ or ‘The family has applied or is receiving services’ may NOT be disclosed.