Substitute House Bill No. 6765
          Substitute House Bill No. 6765

              PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-104


AN ACT CONCERNING CUSTODY AND VISITATION DECISIONS
WHERE THERE IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Subsection   (e)  of  section  17a-28  of  the
general statutes is repealed and the following  is
substituted in lieu thereof:
    (e) The commissioner  or  his  designee shall,
upon request, promptly  provide copies of records,
without the consent  of  a  person,  to  (1) a law
enforcement agency, [and]  (2)  the  Chief State's
Attorney or his designee or a state's attorney for
the judicial district  in  which the child resides
or in which  the alleged abuse or neglect occurred
or his designee,  for purposes of investigating or
prosecuting  an  allegation   of  child  abuse  or
neglect, (3) THE ATTORNEY APPOINTED TO REPRESENT A
CHILD IN ANY  COURT  IN  LITIGATION  AFFECTING THE
BEST INTERESTS OF  THE CHILD AND (4) A GUARDIAN AD
LITEM APPOINTED TO  REPRESENT A CHILD IN ANY COURT
IN LITIGATION AFFECTING  THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE
CHILD. The commissioner shall disclose to such law
enforcement  agency or  attorney  any  part  of  a
record, whether or  not created by the department,
provided no confidential  record  of  the Superior
Court shall be  disclosed  other than the petition
and any affidavits filed therewith in the superior
court for juvenile  matters,  except upon an order
of a judge  of  the  Superior Court for good cause
shown. The commissioner  shall  also  disclose the
name of any  individual  who  cooperates  with  an
investigation  of  a  report  of  child  abuse  or
neglect to such  law enforcement agency or state's
attorney   for  purposes   of   investigating   or
prosecuting  an  allegation   of  child  abuse  or
neglect.

Approved June 6, 1997