Youth records; authorize member of Legislature to inspect upon written release.

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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Seymour

SENATE BILL NO. 2379

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-261, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE THE RELEASE OF CERTAIN CHILDREN'S RECORDS TO A 2
COMMITTEE OR MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE UPON PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT 3
OF THE PARENT, GUARDIAN OR CUSTODIAN OF THE CHILD; TO SET FORTH 4
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WRITTEN RELEASE; TO EXTEND THE DATE 5
OF THE REPEALER ON THIS SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 43-21-261, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
43-21-261. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 10
section, records involving children shall not be disclosed, other 11
than to necessary staff or officials of the youth court, a 12
guardian ad litem appointed to a child by the court, or a 13
Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer who may be 14
assigned in a dependency, abuse or neglect case, except pursuant 15
to an order of the youth court specifying the person or persons to 16
whom the records may be disclosed, the extent of the records which 17
may be disclosed and the purpose of the disclosure. Such court 18
orders for disclosure shall be limited to those instances in which 19
the youth court concludes, in its discretion, that disclosure is 20
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required for the best interests of the child, the public safety, 21
the functioning of the youth court, or to identify a person who 22
knowingly made a false allegation of child abuse or neglect, and 23
then only to the following persons: 24
(a) The judge of another youth court or member of 25
another youth court staff; 26
(b) The court of the parties in a child custody or 27
adoption cause in another court; 28
(c) A judge of any other court or members of another 29
court staff, including the chancery court that ordered a forensic 30
interview; 31
(d) Representatives of a public or private agency 32
providing supervision or having custody of the child under order 33
of the youth court; 34
(e) Any person engaged in a bona fide research purpose, 35
provided that no information identifying the subject of the 36
records shall be made available to the researcher unless it is 37
absolutely essential to the research purpose and the judge gives 38
prior written approval, and the child, through his or her 39
representative, gives permission to release the information; 40
(f) The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, 41
or its duly authorized representatives, for the purpose of a 42
child's enrollment into the Job Corps Training Program as 43
authorized by Title IV of the Comprehensive Employment Training 44
Act of 1973 (29 USCS Section 923 et seq.). However, no records, 45
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reports, investigations or information derived therefrom 46
pertaining to child abuse or neglect shall be disclosed; 47
(g) Any person pursuant to a finding by a judge of the 48
youth court of compelling circumstances affecting the health, 49
safety or well-being of a child and that such disclosure is in the 50
best interests of the child or an adult who was formerly the 51
subject of a youth court delinquency proceeding; 52
(h) A person who was the subject of a knowingly made 53
false allegation of child abuse or neglect which has resulted in a 54
conviction of a perpetrator in accordance with Section 97-35-47 or 55
which allegation was referred by the Department of Child 56
Protection Services to a prosecutor or law enforcement official in 57
accordance with the provisions of Section 43-21-353(4). 58
Law enforcement agencies may disclose information to the 59
public concerning the taking of a child into custody for the 60
commission of a delinquent act without the necessity of an order 61
from the youth court. The information released shall not identify 62
the child or his address unless the information involves a child 63
convicted as an adult. 64
(2) Any records involving children which are disclosed under 65
an order of the youth court or pursuant to the terms of this 66
section and the contents thereof shall be kept confidential by the 67
person or agency to whom the record is disclosed unless otherwise 68
provided in the order. Any further disclosure of any records 69
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involving children shall be made only under an order of the youth 70
court as provided in this section. 71
(3) Upon request, the parent, guardian or custodian of the 72
child who is the subject of a youth court cause or any attorney 73
for such parent, guardian or custodian, shall have the right to 74
inspect any record, report or investigation relevant to a matter 75
to be heard by a youth court, except that the identity of the 76
reporter shall not be released, nor the name of any other person 77
where the person or agency making the information available finds 78
that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the 79
life or safety of such person. The attorney for the parent, 80
guardian or custodian of the child, upon request, shall be 81
provided a copy of any record, report or investigation relevant to 82
a matter to be heard by a youth court, but the identity of the 83
reporter must be redacted and the name of any other person must 84
also be redacted if the person or agency making the information 85
available finds that disclosure of the information would be likely 86
to endanger the life, safety or well-being of the person. A 87
record provided to the attorney under this section must remain in 88
the attorney's control and the attorney may not provide copies or 89
access to another person or entity without prior consent of a 90
court with appropriate jurisdiction. 91
(4) Upon request, the child who is the subject of a youth 92
court cause shall have the right to have his counsel inspect and 93
copy any record, report or investigation which is filed with the 94
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youth court or which is to be considered by the youth court at a 95
hearing. 96
(5) (a) The youth court prosecutor or prosecutors, the 97
county attorney, the district attorney, the youth court defender 98
or defenders, or any attorney representing a child shall have the 99
right to inspect and copy any law enforcement record involving 100
children. 101
(b) The Department of Child Protection Services shall 102
disclose to a county prosecuting attorney or district attorney any 103
and all records resulting from an investigation into suspected 104
child abuse or neglect when the case has been referred by the 105
Department of Child Protection Services to the county prosecuting 106
attorney or district attorney for criminal prosecution. 107
(c) Agency records made confidential under the 108
provisions of this section may be disclosed to a court of 109
competent jurisdiction. 110
(d) Records involving children shall be disclosed to 111
the Division of Victim Compensation of the Office of the Attorney 112
General upon the division's request without order of the youth 113
court for purposes of determination of eligibility for victim 114
compensation benefits. 115
(6) Information concerning an investigation into a report of 116
child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed by the Department of 117
Child Protection Services without order of the youth court to any 118
attorney, physician, dentist, intern, resident, nurse, 119
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psychologist, social worker, family protection worker, family 120
protection specialist, child caregiver, minister, law enforcement 121
officer, or a public or private school employee making that report 122
pursuant to Section 43-21-353(1) if the reporter has a continuing 123
professional relationship with the child and a need for such 124
information in order to protect or treat the child. 125
(7) Information concerning an investigation into a report of 126
child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed without further 127
order of the youth court to any interagency child abuse task force 128
established in any county or municipality by order of the youth 129
court of that county or municipality. 130
(8) Names and addresses of juveniles twice adjudicated as 131
delinquent for an act which would be a felony if committed by an 132
adult or for the unlawful possession of a firearm shall not be 133
held confidential and shall be made available to the public. 134
(9) Names and addresses of juveniles adjudicated as 135
delinquent for murder, manslaughter, burglary, arson, armed 136
robbery, aggravated assault, any sex offense as defined in Section 137
45-33-23, for any violation of Section 41-29-139(a)(1) or for any 138
violation of Section 63-11-30, shall not be held confidential and 139
shall be made available to the public. 140
(10) The judges of the circuit and county courts, and 141
presentence investigators for the circuit courts, as provided in 142
Section 47-7-9, shall have the right to inspect any youth court 143
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records of a person convicted of a crime for sentencing purposes 144
only. 145
(11) The victim of an offense committed by a child who is 146
the subject of a youth court cause shall have the right to be 147
informed of the child's disposition by the youth court. 148
(12) A classification hearing officer of the State 149
Department of Corrections, as provided in Section 47-5-103, shall 150
have the right to inspect any youth court records, excluding abuse 151
and neglect records, of any offender in the custody of the 152
department who as a child or minor was a juvenile offender or was 153
the subject of a youth court cause of action, and the State Parole 154
Board, as provided in Section 47-7-17, shall have the right to 155
inspect such records when the offender becomes eligible for 156
parole. 157
(13) The youth court shall notify the Department of Public 158
Safety of the name, and any other identifying information such 159
department may require, of any child who is adjudicated delinquent 160
as a result of a violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances 161
Law. 162
(14) The Administrative Office of Courts shall have the 163
right to inspect any youth court records in order that the number 164
of youthful offenders, abused, neglected, truant and dependent 165
children, as well as children in need of special care and children 166
in need of supervision, may be tracked with specificity through 167
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the youth court and adult justice system, and to utilize tracking 168
forms for such purpose. 169
(15) Upon a request by a youth court, the Administrative 170
Office of Courts shall disclose all information at its disposal 171
concerning any previous youth court intakes alleging that a child 172
was a delinquent child, child in need of supervision, child in 173
need of special care, truant child, abused child or neglected 174
child, as well as any previous youth court adjudications for the 175
same and all dispositional information concerning a child who at 176
the time of such request comes under the jurisdiction of the youth 177
court making such request. 178
(16) The Administrative Office of Courts may, in its 179
discretion, disclose to the Department of Public Safety any or all 180
of the information involving children contained in the office's 181
youth court data management system known as Mississippi Youth 182
Court Information Delivery System or "MYCIDS." 183
(17) The youth courts of the state shall disclose to the 184
Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and 185
Expenditure Review (PEER) any youth court records in order that 186
the number of youthful offenders, abused, neglected, truant and 187
dependent children, as well as children in need of special care 188
and children in need of supervision, may be tracked with 189
specificity through the youth court and adult justice system, and 190
to utilize tracking forms for such purpose. The disclosure 191
prescribed in this subsection shall not require a court order and 192
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shall be made in sortable, electronic format where possible. The 193
PEER Committee may seek the assistance of the Administrative 194
Office of Courts in seeking this information. The PEER Committee 195
shall not disclose the identities of any youth who have been 196
adjudicated in the youth courts of the state and shall only use 197
the disclosed information for the purpose of monitoring the 198
effectiveness and efficiency of programs established to assist 199
adjudicated youth, and to ascertain the incidence of adjudicated 200
youth who become adult offenders. 201
(18) In every case where an abuse or neglect allegation has 202
been made, the confidentiality provisions of this section shall 203
not apply to prohibit access to a child's records by any state 204
regulatory agency, any state or local prosecutorial agency or law 205
enforcement agency; however, no identifying information concerning 206
the child in question may be released to the public by such agency 207
except as otherwise provided herein. 208
(19) In every case of child abuse or neglect, if a child's 209
physical condition is medically labeled as medically "serious" or 210
"critical" or a child dies, the confidentiality provisions of this 211
section shall not apply. In such cases, the following information 212
may be released by the Mississippi Department of Child Protection 213
Services: the cause of the circumstances regarding the fatality 214
or medically serious or critical physical condition; the age and 215
gender of the child; information describing any previous reports 216
of child abuse or neglect investigations that are pertinent to the 217
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child abuse or neglect that led to the fatality or medically 218
serious or critical physical condition; the result of any such 219
investigations; and the services provided by and actions of the 220
state on behalf of the child that are pertinent to the child abuse 221
or neglect that led to the fatality or medically serious or 222
critical physical condition. 223
(20) Any member of a foster care review board designated by 224
the Department of Child Protection Services shall have the right 225
to inspect youth court records relating to the abuse, neglect or 226
child in need of supervision cases assigned to such member for 227
review. 228
(21) Information concerning an investigation into a report 229
of child abuse or child neglect may be disclosed without further 230
order of the youth court in any administrative or due process 231
hearing held, pursuant to Section 43-21-257, by the Department of 232
Child Protection Services for individuals whose names will be 233
placed on the central registry as substantiated perpetrators. 234
(22) (a) Upon the prior written release of the parent, 235
guardian or custodian of the child who is the subject of a youth 236
court cause, any committee or member of the Mississippi 237
Legislature shall have the right to inspect any record, report or 238
investigation, including any trial transcripts or recordings, that 239
are in the custody of the youth court or the Department of Child 240
Protection Services. 241
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(b) A written release in substantially the following 242
form shall be sufficient for the purposes of this subsection (22): 243
YOUTH COURT AND CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES RECORD RELEASE FORM 244
By completing this form and signing the statement below, you 245
are authorizing the appropriate Youth Court and Child Protection 246
Services to disclose such information to a committee of the 247
Legislature or a member of the Legislature. Such information will 248
be kept confidential by them from third parties. You also affirm 249
that this request for assistance is in no way an attempt to evade 250
or violate any federal, state, or local law. 251
PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN FORM. 252
NAME: (LAST) ___________________(FIRST)___________________(MI)___ 253
ADDRESS: 254
__________________________________________________________________ 255
CITY________________COUNTY________________STATE__________ZIP______ 256
EMAIL_____________________________________________________________ 257
PHONE_____________________________________________________________ 258
CELL____________________________ ALT _____________________________ 259
DATE OF BIRTH _______________________ SSN_________________________ 260
THIRD PARTY (if applicable) 261
____________________________________________________ Relationship? 262
__________________________________________________________________263
Is this matter currently under consideration by an attorney? 264
NO ______ YES _____ 265
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PLEASE EXPLAIN THE ISSUE YOU ARE FACING AND THE OUTCOME YOU WOULD 266
LIKE TO SEE: (Use reverse side or add another page if necessary, 267
and attach any relevant documentation that may be helpful in 268
resolving your issue.) 269
__________________________________________________________________270
__________________________________________________________________271
__________________________________________________________________272
__________________________________________________________________273
__________________________________________________________________274
__________________________________________________________________275
__________________________________________________________________276
__________________________________________________________________277
__________________________________________________________________278
__________________________________________________________________279
__________________________________________________________________280
__________________________________________________________________281
SIGNATURE 282
__________________________________________________________________ 283
DATE_______________________ 284
(23) The Department of Child Protection Services may 285
disclose records involving children to the following: 286
(a) A foster home, residential child-caring agency or 287
child-placing agency to the extent necessary to provide such care 288
and services to a child; 289
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(b) An individual, agency or organization that provides 290
services to a child or the child's family in furtherance of the 291
child's permanency plan to the extent necessary in providing those 292
services; 293
(c) Health and mental health care providers of a child 294
to the extent necessary for the provider to properly treat and 295
care for the child; 296
(d) An educational institution or educational services 297
provider where the child is enrolled or where enrollment is 298
anticipated to the extent necessary for the school to provide 299
appropriate services to the child; 300
(e) Any state agency or board that administers student 301
financial assistance programs. However, any records request under 302
this paragraph shall be initiated by the agency or board for the 303
purpose determining the child's eligibility for student financial 304
assistance, and any disclosure shall be limited to the 305
verification of the child's age during the period of time in which 306
the child was in the department's legal custody; and 307
(f) Any other state agency if the disclosure is 308
necessary to the department in fulfilling its statutory 309
responsibilities in protecting the best interests of the child. 310
( * * *24) Nothing in this section or chapter shall require 311
youth court approval for disclosure of records involving children 312
as defined in Section 43-21-105(u), if the disclosure is made in a 313
criminal matter by a municipal or county prosecutor, a district 314
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ST: Youth records; authorize member of
Legislature to inspect upon written release.
attorney or statewide prosecutor, pursuant to the Mississippi 315
Rules of Criminal Procedure and the records are disclosed under a 316
protective order issued by the Circuit Court presiding over the 317
criminal matter which incorporates the penalties stated in Section 318
43-21-267. 319
( * * *25) The provisions of this section shall stand 320
repealed on July 1, * * * 2029. 321
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 322
and after July 1, 2026. 323