Permitted Disclosure of Identifiable Confidential Birth Information

The Department may disclose identifiable confidential birth information that is not otherwise restricted by law or court order only to: (A) Authorized employees or authorized agents of the Department for administrative, statistical or research purposes; (B) Authorized employees of the IV-D agency for child support enforcement purposes, only as set forth in M.G.L. c. 119A and M.G.L. c. 46, § 3D. (C) Authorized employees of the IV-D agency in another vital records jurisdiction for child support enforcement purposes, only as authorized in federal or state law. (D) Authorized researchers conducting research that has been approved by the Commissioner pursuant to M.G.L. c. 111, §§ 24A and 24B, in accordance with 105 CMR 305.070; (E) A vital records custodian from another vital records jurisdiction pursuant to data exchange agreement regarding residents of that vital records jurisdiction whose births occur in the Commonwealth. The agreement shall prohibit the re-disclosure of the confidential birth information unless approved in writing by the Registrar; (F) A government official from another vital records jurisdiction for data relating to residents of that vital records jurisdiction whose births occur in the Commonwealth provided that the disclosure of confidential birth information is: (1) For a public health purpose; (2) The minimum necessary for the required purpose; and (3) Governed by a data exchange agreement, approved in writing by the Registrar, which explicitly restricts the use of the data to only the stated public health purpose and prohibits the re-disclosure of the data unless approved in writing by the Registrar. (G) Any other person when use or disclosure is required by law and the use or disclosure is limited to the relevant requirements of such law. (H) The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for: (1) Internal NCHS statistical use; (2) Preparing public use data files provided that such use and disclosure is consistent with the Department’s Confidentiality Policy and Procedures standard for de-identification or another standard approved by the Commissioner that protects the privacy of data subjects; (3) Re-disclosure to researchers in accordance with data release standards approved by the Commissioner; or (4) Re-disclosure to federal agencies as authorized by federal law. (I) The data subject, upon written request.