Section 08.95.900. Confidentiality of communication.

   (a) A licensed social worker, and the social worker's employees or other persons who have access to the social worker's records, may not reveal to another person a communication made to the licensee by a client about a matter concerning which the client has employed the licensee in a professional capacity. This section does not apply to
        (1) a case conference with other licensed social workers or with other licensed practitioners of the healing arts;
        (2) the release of information which the client in writing authorized the licensee to reveal;
        (3) information released to the board as part of a disciplinary or other proceeding by the board;
        (4) information revealed as part of the discovery of evidence related to a court proceeding or introduced in evidence in a court proceeding;
        (5) communications relevant to the physical, mental, or emotional condition of the client in a proceeding in which the condition of the client is an element of the claim or defense of the client, of a party claiming through or under the client, or of a person raising the client's condition as an element of the person's own case, or of a person claiming as a beneficiary of the client through a contract to which the client is or was a party; or, after the client's death, in a proceeding in which a party puts the condition of the client in issue;
        (6) a communication to a potential victim or to law enforcement officers where a threat of imminent serious physical harm to an identified victim has been made by a client; or
        (7) a communication that indicates that another licensed practitioner of the healing arts has committed an act of unprofessional or unlawful conduct in the provision of health or mental health services if the communication is disclosed by the social worker only to the licensing board with jurisdiction over the type of person who allegedly committed the unprofessional or unlawful conduct and the disclosure is made in good faith.
   (b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a licensed social worker shall report incidents of child abuse or neglect as required by AS 47.17.020 and incidents of harm to vulnerable adults as required by AS 47.24.010.
   (c) Information obtained by the board under (a)(3) and (7) of this section is confidential and is not a public record for the purposes of AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.140.

Authorities

8.02.040

Notes

References

AS 8.02.040 .040">Sec. 08.02.040. Access to certain mental health information and records by the state.

History

(Sec. 2 ch 126 SLA 1988; am Sec. 16, 17 ch 118 SLA 1998)