Request By:
Honorable Anna Grace Day
Commissioner
Department for Social Services
Cabinet for Human Resources
275 East Main Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40621
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Emily Shinn, Esq., has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of her request, on behalf of her client, Mrs. Vanessa Wethington, to inspect certain public records in your custody. She has described the documents in question as the reports pertaining to the alleged abuse of Mrs. Wethington's children, Billy and Jennifer Wethington.
In your response to Ms. Shinn, dated October 15, 1985, you advised her that the request was being denied. You cited KRS 199.335(9) and KRS 61.878(1)(j) in support of your determination to deny inspection. You stated that Mrs. Wethington does not appear to meet the requirements of the persons or agencies with whom the reports in question may be shared.
In her letter of appeal to this Office Ms. Shinn maintains that her client, Mrs. Wethington, is entitled to inspect the public records in question.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
KRS 199.335 deals in part with the reporting of instances of suspected child abuse or neglect and subsection (9) of that statute states as follows:
"(9) All information obtained by the department staff or its delegated representative, as a result of investigation made pursuant to this section shall not be divulged to anyone except:
(a) Persons suspected of neglect or abuse, provided that in such cases names of informants may be withheld, unless ordered by the court;
(b) Persons within the department with a legitimate interest or responsibility related to the case;
(c) Other medical, psychological, or social service agencies, or law enforcement agencies that have a legitimate interest in the case; and
(d) Cases where a court orders release of such information."
The undersigned Assistant Attorney General talked with a member of your staff by telephone on January 23, 1986, and she advised that Mrs. Wethington is not the person suspected of abuse or neglect. Furthermore, Mrs. Wethington does not meet any of the other statutory requirements relative to the persons or agencies with whom the reports in question may be shared.
KRS 61.878(1)(j), a section of the Open Records Act, provides that the following public records are excluded from public inspection in the absence of a court order to the contrary:
"(j) Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly."
Thus the General Assembly by the enactment of KRS 199.335(9) has restricted the disclosure of information obtained by your department relative to suspected child abuse or neglect.
It is, therefore, the opinion of the Attorney General that your denial of the request to inspect the reports pertaining to the alleged child abuse of Mrs. Wethington's children was proper under KRS 61.878(1)(j) of the Open Records Act and KRS 199.335(9) as Mrs. Wethington does not meet the requirements as to the persons or agencies with whom such reports may be shared.
As required by statute, a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party, Ms. Shinn, who has the right to challenge it in circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).