SB 561

Under current law, records of the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under

the Children's Code and the Juvenile Justice Code (juvenile court) are confidential

and may not be opened for inspection, or their contents disclosed, except under

certain statutory exceptions or by an order of the juvenile court. Currently, those

exceptions include an exception that requires the juvenile court to disclose its records

on the request of a federal agency to review those records for the purpose of

monitoring and conducting periodic evaluations of activities required under Titles

IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act (Titles IV-B and E), which relate to child

welfare and family preservation services and to foster care and adoption assistance.

This bill requires a juvenile court to disclose juvenile court records on the

request of an entity engaged in the bona fide research, monitoring, or evaluation of

activities conducted under a federal court improvement grant, as determined by the

director of state courts, to review those records for the purpose of that research,

monitoring, or evaluation. A federal court improvement grant is a grant from the

secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services to the highest

state court in a state participating in programs under Titles IV-B and E to assess the

effectiveness of courts in that state in implementing Titles IV-B and E.

Under current law, the general public is excluded from hearings under the

Children's Code and the Juvenile Justice Code. Current law, however, permits the

juvenile court to admit to a hearing under the Children's Code or the Juvenile Justice

Code any person whom the juvenile court finds to have a proper interest in the case

or in the work of the juvenile court.

This bill permits a juvenile court to admit to a hearing under the Children's

Code or the Juvenile Justice Code a person engaged in the bona fide research,

monitoring, or evaluation of activities conducted under a federal court improvement

grant, as determined by the director of state courts.