ATLANTA — The Georgia House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 725, The Child Abuse Records Protection Act, legislation authored by State Representative Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock), which seeks to protect the confidentiality of records of child abuse cases held by children’s advocacy centers (CAC). The bill will now be considered by the Senate.
“Thank you to my colleagues in the House for supporting this important legislation to further protect Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Rep. Cantrell. “Not only was our previous statute outdated, but it was also unclear, even to the individuals who should have authority over these records. With The Child Abuse Records Protection Act, we will ensure that this information is secure, thus further protecting these precious children.”
The Child Abuse Records Protection Act provides greater confidentiality regarding child abuse records by requiring a court order before the release of such records. The act also states that the court shall issue a protective order covering those records when a court does authorize the release of such records which requires anyone allowed to access these records to acknowledge, in writing, that they agree to be bound by the protective order. In addition, those released records must be returned to the court upon completion of the matter that caused their release, and failure to do so or to obey the protective order may be punished with contempt of court charge.
For more information about HB 725, please click here.
Representative Wes Cantrell represents the citizens of District 22, which includes portions of Cherokee, Forsyth, and Fulton counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2014 and currently serves on the Education, Juvenile Justice, and Small Business Development committees.
###