In addition to FERPA and PPRA, there are many other Federal laws that
govern privacy protection rights of students served by the juvenile
justice system.
- The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 1997) protects all educational records
of students with special educational needs. IDEA incorporates
all of the protections of FERPA and regulates access to all records
of students receiving special education services under IDEA.
- Federal Alcohol and Other Drug Confidentiality Law and Regulations (CFR
42 Part 2, 1987) protect educational records of students who receive
services from programs receiving Federal assistance. Under the
confidentiality rules, the records of youth who receive counseling
cannot be disclosed without the patient’s consent, even
when the patient is a minor, regardless if counseling is the result
of parental alcoholism or drug abuse or because of the youth’s
own substance abuse problems.
- The Privacy Act of 1974 safeguards individuals against invasions of their
privacy when data about them is collected, maintained, utilized,
and disclosed by federal agencies. The Act further protects unwarranted
invasions of privacy by restricting disclosure of universal identifiers,
such as an individual’s social security number.
- The Correction of Youthful Offenders Act (1984) protects juvenile delinquency
proceedings in Federal district courts from disclosure to unauthorized
persons.
- The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act (1988) regulates personally
identifiable computer record sharing among Federal agencies.
Based on the Juvenile Justice System Exception of FERPA, some states
have mandated formalized information-sharing systems among juvenile
justice organizations and other youth-serving agencies. Information
sharing networks in these states are the result of legislative reforms
designed to eliminate service duplication and to enhance service coordination.
Legal agreements among agencies establish privacy standards and ensure
confidentiality of information through strict guidelines about what
and how information can be shared, how the information can be used,
and what must be documented relative to information access and release.
These formal relationships enable the court, social services, and
healthcare agencies to track youth and respond to a variety of needs
through a continuum of services by removing legal barriers to information
sharing.
Although laws and policies regulate what and how
youth information is collected, maintained, and disclosed, all of
the laws have built-in processes that permit juvenile justice professionals
to gather, store, protect, and share youth information within the
context of the law. Each regulation provides alternatives for appropriate
use of youth information to carry out case, management, and policy-level
decisions within existing legal limits. Juvenile justice professionals
who are uncertain about their ethical obligations and legal responsibilities
for human subject protection should seek advice from local legal
authorities and from experts at Federal, state, and local government
offices.
Professional Ethical Standards
In addition to legal obligations to protect the privacy
and confidentiality rights of youthful offenders, juvenile justice
professionals are also guided by professional ethical standards
that set forth the principles of professional responsibilities and
conduct. Some relevant codes of ethical standards include, but are
not limited to:
- National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
- National District Attorneys Association
- American Bar Association
- American Sociological Association
- American Judicature Society
- American Political Science Association
- American Psychological Association
- Program Evaluation Standards
Ethical codes provide standards for professionals who work with juveniles. Most professional
organizations have formally adopted codes of ethics and the majority
of those are founded on the general principles of the Belmont Report
-- Respect for Persons, Beneficence, and Justice.
Juvenile justice professionals must assume responsibility for the confidentiality
and privacy of youth records when disclosing information to authorized
persons.
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