July 18, 2011

Ms. Jessica Sangsvang

Assistant City Attorney

City of Fort Worth

1000 Throckmorton Street, Third Floor

Fort Worth, Texas 76102

OR2011-10188

Dear Ms. Sangsvang:

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# 424015 (P.I.R. No. W008457).

The City of Fort Worth (the "city") received a request for a specified incident report. You claim that 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 information protected by other statutes, such as section 261.201 of the Family Code, which provides as follows:

(a) [T]he 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 [Texas Department of Family and Protective Services] 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)(3). Upon review, we agree the submitted incident report was used or developed in an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect. See id. § 261.001(1), (4) (defining "abuse" and "neglect" for purposes of Fam. Code ch. 261). Thus, we find the submitted information is generally confidential under section 261.201 of the Family Code.

We note, however, the requestor may be the parent of the child who was the victim listed in the submitted information, and this requestor is not alleged to have committed the suspected abuse. As it is not clear whether this requestor is the parent of the child for purposes of section 261.201(k), we must rule conditionally. If the requestor is not the parent of the child, the submitted information must be withheld in its entirety from this requestor under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(a) of the Family Code.

If the requestor is the parent of the child in this instance, then, because this requestor is not alleged to have committed the suspected abuse, the city may not use section 261.201(a) to withhold the submitted information from this requestor. Id. § 261.201(k). Section 261.201(l)(3), however, states the identity of the reporting party must be withheld. Id. § 261.201(l)(3). Therefore, the city must withhold the information we have marked under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with section 261.201(l)(3) of the Family Code. The city must release the remaining information. ⁽¹⁾

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,

Tamara H. Holland

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

THH/bs

Ref: ID# 424015

Enc. Submitted documents

c: 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(a) of the Family Code, the city must again seek a decision from this office if it receives another request for the same information from a different requestor. See Fam. Code § 261.201(k).

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