§ 50-06-15 — Confidentiality of information contained in records - Penalty

1. Individually identifiable information concerning an individual applying for or receiving
assistance or services under any program administered by or under the supervision
and direction of the department is confidential, except that any such information,
including an individual's social security number, may be used and disclosed:
a. In the administration of any such program;
b. In accordance with a program's participation in the department's master client
index data matching system, unless prohibited by federal law;
c. As specifically authorized by the rules of the department;
d. As permitted or required by other law; or
e. Notwithstanding confidentiality laws set forth in titles 14, 23, 25, 43, and 50 and
the department's rules, within and between the department's divisions to assist
with or to provide assistance or services under any program administered by or
under the supervision and direction of the department. The disclosure of
information under this subdivision must comply with applicable federal laws and
regulations.
2. A vendor, agent, or contractor of the department must agree to maintain the
confidentiality of individually identifiable information disclosed to that person by the
department or by any individual applying for or receiving assistance or services and
may use and disclose confidential information only to the extent that person's
agreement with the department permits the use and disclosure of any such
information.
3. As used in this section, "individually identifiable information" means information,
including an individual's name, address, telephone number, facsimile number, social
security number, electronic mail address, program identification number, protected
health information, personally identifiable information, or any other unique identifying
number, characteristic, or code, as well as demographic information collected from an
individual, that:
a. Is created or received by the department; and
b. Relates to:
(1) The past, present, or future assistance or services applied for or received by
an individual under any program administered by or under the supervision

and direction of the department that identifies the individual or with respect
to which there is a reasonable basis to believe the information can be used
to identify the individual; or
(2) A report, or any other information obtained, concerning an applicant or a
provider of or an individual applying for or receiving assistance or services
under any program administered by or under the supervision and direction
of the department.
4. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, a report concerning an applicant or a
provider of or an individual applying for or receiving assistance or services under any
program administered by or under the supervision and direction of the department, as
well as any other information obtained, is confidential if the report is made in good
faith, and may be disclosed to:
a. Authorized staff of the department and its authorized agents who further may
disclose to persons who have a definite interest in the well-being of the adults or
children concerned, who are in a position to serve their interests, and who need
to know the contents of the records to assure the well-being and interests of the
adults or children concerned.
b. Any person who is the subject of the report; provided, however, that the identity of
the persons reporting or supplying information under this chapter is protected
until the information is needed for use in an administrative or legal proceeding
arising out of the report.
c. Public officials and their authorized agents who require the information in
connection with the discharge of their official duties.
d. A court, including an administrative hearing officer, when the court determines the
information is necessary for the determination of an issue before the court.
e. A person engaged in a bona fide research purpose approved by the department's
institutional review board; provided, however, that no individually identifiable
information as defined in subsection 3 is made available to the researcher unless
the information is absolutely essential to the research purpose and the
department gives prior approval.
5. Any person who discloses, authorizes, or knowingly permits, participates in, or
acquiesces in the disclosure of any confidential information in violation of this section
is subject to the penalty provided in section 12.1-13-01.