2012 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 17a - Social and Human Services and Resources
Chapter 319 - Department of Children and Families
Section 17a-60 - Reunification of parent with infant. Confidentiality of information provided designated employee.

(a) If a person claiming to be a parent or agent of an infant surrendered to a designated employee under section 17a-58 submits a request to the Commissioner of Children and Families for reunification with the infant, the commissioner may identify, contact and investigate such person or agent to determine if such reunification is appropriate or if the parental rights of the parent should be terminated.

(b) Information concerning a parent or agent, or an infant surrendered to a designated employee, shall not be disclosed by the designated employee, if so requested by the parent or agent, except that notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, such employee shall (1) provide to the Commissioner of Children and Families all medical history information provided by the parent, and (2) provide to the Commissioner of Public Health, the name and date of birth of the infant if the infant’s birth has been registered in the state vital records system prior to the surrender of the infant, for the sole purpose of sealing the infant’s original birth record. The infant’s name and date of birth shall not be disclosed on the report of a foundling child described in section 7-59.

(c) Possession of a bracelet linking the parent or agent to an infant surrendered to a designated employee if parental rights have not been terminated creates a presumption the parent or agent has standing to participate in a custody hearing for the infant under chapter 319a but does not create a presumption of maternity, paternity or custody.

(P.A. 00-207, S. 4; P.A. 10-161, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 10-161 replaced “left with” with “surrendered to” throughout, amended Subsec. (b) by replacing provision re confidential information with provision specifying that information is not to be disclosed to parent or agent of surrendered infant, designating existing exception re information provided to Commissioner of Children and Families as Subdiv. (1), adding Subdiv. (2) requiring information to be provided to Commissioner of Public Health and adding provision prohibiting disclosure of certain information on report of foundling child and amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “person” with “agent” and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2010.