(a)      Except in accordance with a court order or to an authorized officer or employee of the State, another state or local government, or the United States, or a fiduciary institution having a right thereto in an official capacity, and as necessary to discharge responsibilities to administer public assistance, medical assistance, or social services programs, it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to divulge or make known in any manner any information concerning any applicant for or recipient of social services, child welfare services, cash assistance, food stamps, or medical assistance, directly or indirectly derived from the records, papers, files, investigations or communications of the State, county or city, or subdivisions or agencies thereof, or acquired in the course of the performance of official duties.

      (b)      Except as otherwise provided in Title 5, Subtitles 7 and 12 of the Family Law Article, and § 6A of this subtitle, and this section, all records and reports concerning child abuse or neglect are confidential, and their unauthorized disclosure is a criminal offense subject to the penalty set out in subsection (e) of this section. Reports or records concerning child abuse or neglect:

            (1)      Shall be disclosed:

                  (i)      Under a court order; or

                  (ii)      Under an order of an administrative law judge, if the request for disclosure concerns a case pending before the Office of Administrative Hearings and provisions are made to comply with other State or federal confidentiality laws and to protect the identity of the reporter or other person whose life or safety is likely to be endangered by disclosure;

            (2)      May be disclosed on request:

                  (i)      To personnel of local or State departments of social services, law enforcement personnel, and members of multidisciplinary case consultation teams, including an addiction specialist as defined in Title 5, Subtitle 12 of the Family Law Article or § 50A of this article, who are investigating a report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect or who are providing services to or assessing a child or family that is the subject of the report;

                  (ii)      To local or State officials responsible for the administration of child protective services or child care, foster care, and adoption licensing, approval, or regulations as necessary to carry out their official functions;

                  (iii)      To the State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, the State Citizens Review Board for Children, or their designees, or a child fatality review team as necessary to carry out their official functions;

                  (iv)      To a person who is the alleged child abuser or the person who is suspected of child neglect if that person is responsible for the child's welfare and provisions are made for the protection of the identity of the reporter or any other person whose life or safety is likely to be endangered by disclosing the information;

                  (v)      To a licensed practitioner who, or an agency, institution, or program which, is providing treatment or care to a child who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect for a purpose relevant to the provision of the treatment or care;

                  (vi)      To a parent or other person who has permanent or temporary care and custody of a child, if provisions are made for the protection of the identity of the reporter or any other person whose life or safety is likely to be endangered by disclosing the information;

                  (vii)      To the appropriate public school superintendent for the purpose of carrying out appropriate personnel or administrative actions following a report of suspected child abuse involving a student committed by:

                        1.      A public school employee in that school system;

                        2.      An independent contractor who supervises or works directly with students in that school system; or

                        3.      An employee of an independent contractor, including a bus driver or bus assistant, who supervises or works directly with students in that school system;

                  (viii)      To the director of a licensed child care facility or licensed child placement agency for the purpose of carrying out appropriate personnel actions following a report of suspected child neglect or abuse alleged to have been committed by an employee of the facility or agency and involving a child who is currently or who was previously under that facility's or agency's care;

                  (ix)      To the Office of the Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor established under Article 49D of the Code; or

                  (x)      Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, to a licensed practitioner of a hospital or birthing center for the purpose of making discharge decisions concerning a child, when the practitioner suspects that the child may be in danger after discharge based on the practitioner's observation of the behavior of the child's parents or immediate family members; and

            (3)      May be disclosed by the State Department of Education to the operator of a child care center that is required to be licensed or to hold a letter of compliance under Title 5, Subtitle 5, Part VII of the Family Law Article or to a family day care provider who is required to be registered under Title 5, Subtitle 5, Part V of the Family Law Article for the purpose of determining the suitability of an individual for employment in the child care center or family day care home.

      (c)      Only the following information concerning child abuse and neglect may be disclosed to a practitioner of a hospital or birthing center under subsection (b)(2)(x) of this section:

            (1)      Whether there is a prior finding of indicated child abuse or neglect by either parent; and

            (2)      Whether there is an open investigation of child abuse or neglect pending against either parent.

      (d)      Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit:

            (1)      The publication, for administrative or research purposes, of statistics or other data so classified as to prevent the identification of particular persons or cases;

            (2)      The Department of Human Resources from obtaining an individual's financial records from a fiduciary institution in the course of verifying the individual's eligibility for public assistance; or

            (3)      Disclosures as permitted by § 1-303 of the Financial Institutions Article.

      (e)      The Department of Human Resources shall issue regulations governing access to and use of confidential information which is in the possession of the Department or local departments of social services.

      (f)      Any offense against the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for not exceeding 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.