§ 444. Confidentiality of records; related matters. 1. The department
in consultation with the advisory committee shall make regulations;

(a) protecting the confidentiality of individual identifying
information submitted to or provided by the service, and preventing
access thereto, by, or the distribution thereof to, persons not
authorized by law;

(b) setting forth procedures for informing any child or his
representative of the nature of the system and its uses;

(c) allowing any child or his representative or any member of his
family, an opportunity to review any information pertaining to such
child or family and to request that any part of such information be
amended or expunged; and

(d) providing that the service shall remove from its records and
expunge the individual identifying information, excluding
non-identifying child or family data to be used for historical purposes,
concerning any child who has been discharged from care.

2. Prior to final promulgation of any regulations as described in
subdivision one of this section, the department shall, in addition to
complying with all other advance notice requirements make proposed
regulations available to all state agencies charged with the
administration or supervision of child care programs and to local
government agencies and persons that have expressed an interest in
safeguarding information maintained by the service, and shall provide
such agencies with an opportunity to comment on the proposed
regulations. In promulgating final regulations the department shall
consider any comments received.

3. Any persons wilfully violating or failing to comply with the
provisions of subdivision one of this section or wilfully violating or
failing to comply with any regulation which the department is authorized
under such subdivision to make, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

4. The regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this
section, shall provide that the information compiled and maintained by
the service pursuant to paragraph (d) of subdivision ten of section four
hundred forty-two of this title shall be subject to the confidentiality
provisions of title six of this article.