§ 19-15-6.Use of information and records of protocol committees, review committees, and panels
Chapter 15. Child Abuse · Last amended 2014 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-15-6
Plain-English Summary
This section sets the confidentiality rules for the three bodies Chapter 15 creates: local protocol committees, local child fatality review committees and the statewide Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel. The default is secrecy. Information these bodies acquire and their records are confidential, may not be disclosed, and aren’t subject to Georgia’s open records law, subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal case.
The exceptions matter. Records that are public under other law stay public even after one of these bodies obtains or considers them. A review committee’s report under § 19-15-3 and the panel’s report under § 19-15-4 are public records and must be released to anyone who asks, but only after the body removes everything that could identify the deceased or abused child, any family member, any alleged or suspected abuser, or anyone who reported suspected abuse. Statistical compilations by a review committee or the panel that identify no one are public. And when a child was in the custody of a state department or agency or a foster parent at the time of death, the bodies’ information, documents, records and reports about that child are not confidential and are subject to the open records law.
The section also protects the people involved. Members may not disclose what happens at a closed meeting, or any information this section shields, except to carry out the chapter’s purposes; a knowing violation is a misdemeanor. Neither a member nor someone who presents information may be questioned in a civil or criminal case about that presentation, or about opinions formed or confidential information learned through service. That shield doesn’t stop anyone from testifying about facts learned independently, and when a member’s testimony is offered, the court must first decide where the witness’s knowledge came from. Members aren’t civilly liable or subject to prosecution for disclosures this section authorizes, and review committee members, attendees and presenters may share information with government agencies as needed to carry out the review committee’s duties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a copy of a child fatality review report in Georgia?
Yes, in redacted form. Reports of a local review committee under § 19-15-3 and of the state panel under § 19-15-4 are public records and must be released to any person who asks. But the body must first remove all information that would identify the deceased or abused child, any family member, any alleged or suspected abuser, or anyone who reported suspected abuse. The section makes no exception to that redaction for parents.
Are child fatality review records confidential in Georgia?
Mostly, yes. Except as this section provides, information acquired by and records of a protocol committee, review committee or the state panel are confidential and aren’t subject to the open records law, subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil or criminal case. The exceptions include records that are public under other law, redacted review reports, anonymous statistics, and records about a child who died in state or foster custody.
Are records public if the child who died was in foster care?
Yes. Notwithstanding any other law, information acquired by and documents, records and reports of the panel, protocol committees and review committees about a child who, at the time of death, was in the custody of a state department or agency or a foster parent are not confidential. They are subject to Georgia’s open records law in Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
Can a child fatality review committee member be made to testify in court?
Not about the committee’s work. A member, or a person who presented information to the committee, may not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding about that presentation or about opinions formed or confidential information obtained through service. But the person may testify about information obtained independently of the committee. When such a member’s testimony is offered, the court must first determine the source of the witness’s knowledge.
Is it a crime to leak information from a child fatality review in Georgia?
It can be. Members of a protocol committee, review committee or the state panel may not disclose what happens at a closed meeting or any information this section protects, except to carry out the purposes of Chapter 15. Anyone who knowingly violates that rule is guilty of a misdemeanor. Members aren’t civilly liable or subject to prosecution for disclosures the section authorizes.
Amendment History
Laws 1990, p. 1785, § 1; Laws 1991, p. 94, § 19; Laws 1993, p. 1695, § 2; Laws 1993, p. 1941, § 1; Laws 1998, p. 609, § 4; Laws 2001, p. 1158, § 1; Laws 2014, Act 476, § 2-7, eff. July 1, 2014.
Formerly Code 1981, § 19-1-6.