March 23, 2010

Ms. Blanca E. Sanchez

Administrative Support Supervisor

Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office

P.O. Box 1228

Edinburg, Texas 78540

OR2010-04048

Dear Ms. Sanchez:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 373971.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office (the "sheriff") received a request for a specified incident report. You claim the requested information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.101 of the Government Code. We have considered the exception you claim and reviewed the submitted information.

Section 552.101 of the Government Code excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. Section 552.101 encompasses section 261.201 of the Family Code, which provides as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under [the Act] and may be disclosed only for purposes consistent with this code and applicable federal or state law or under rules adopted by an investigating agency:

(1) a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect made under this chapter and the identity of the person making the report; and

(2) except as otherwise provided in this section, the files, reports, records, communications, audiotapes, videotapes, and working papers used or developed in an investigation under this chapter or in providing services as a result of an investigation.

. . .

(k) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an investigating agency, other than the department or the Texas Youth Commission, on request, shall provide to the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child who is the subject of reported abuse or neglect, or to the child if the child is at least 18 years of age, information concerning the reported abuse or neglect that would otherwise be confidential under this section. The investigating agency shall withhold information under this subsection if the parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of the child requesting the information is alleged to have committed the abuse or neglect.

(l) Before a child or a parent, managing conservator, or other legal representative of a child may inspect or copy a record or file concerning the child under Subsection (k), the custodian of the record or file must redact:

. . .

(3) the identity of the person who made the report.

Fam. Code § 261.201(a), (k), (l). We agree the submitted information constitutes a report of alleged or suspected child abuse. See id. § 261.001(1) (defining "abuse" for purposes of chapter 261 of the Family Code). Thus, we find the submitted report is generally confidential under section 261.201 of the Family Code. However, in this instance, the requestor is the authorized representative of the alleged child victim listed in the report, who is now over eighteen years of age. Consequently, the submitted report may not be withheld from this requestor based on section 261.201(a). ⁽¹⁾ Id. § 261.201(k). Section 261.201(l)(3) states, however, the identity of the reporting party must be withheld. Id. § 261.201(l)(3). Consequently, the sheriff must withhold the identifying information of the reporting party, which we have marked, under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(3) of the Family Code. As you raise no other exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released to this requestor.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Amy L.S. Shipp

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

ALS/rl

Ref: ID# 373971

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. Because this requestor has a special right of access to information that would ordinarily be confidential under section 261.201 of the Family Code, the sheriff must again seek a decision from this office if it receives another request for the same information from a different requestor.

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