216A.6 Confidentiality of individual client advocacy records.

1. For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

a. “Advocacy services” means services in which a department staff member writes or speaks in support of a client or a client’s cause or refers a person to another service to help alleviate or solve a problem.

b. “Individual client advocacy records” means those files or records which pertain to problems divulged by a client to the department or any related papers or records which are released to the department about a client for the purpose of assisting the client.

2. Information pertaining to clients receiving advocacy services shall be held confidential, including but not limited to the following:

a. Names and addresses of clients receiving advocacy services.

b. Information about a client reported on the initial advocacy intake form and all documents, information, or other material relating to the advocacy issues or to the client which could identify the client, or divulge information about the client.

c. Information concerning the social or economic conditions or circumstances of particular clients who are receiving or have received advocacy services.

d. Department, or division, or office evaluations of information about a person seeking or receiving advocacy services.

e. Medical or psychiatric data, including diagnoses and past histories of disease or disability, concerning a person seeking or receiving advocacy services.

f. Legal data, including records which represent or constitute the work product of an attorney, which are related to a person seeking or receiving advocacy services.

3. Information described in subsection 2 shall not be disclosed or used by any person or agency except for purposes of administration of advocacy services, and shall not be disclosed to or used by a person or agency outside the department except upon consent of the client as evidenced by a signed release.

4. This section does not restrict the disclosure or use of information regarding the cost, purpose, number of clients served or assisted, and results of an advocacy program administered by the department, and other general and statistical information, so long as the information does not identify particular clients or persons provided with advocacy services.

88 Acts, ch 1106, §1

C89, §601K.6

C93, §216A.6

2011 Acts, ch 34, §48