(A) All reports and information collected pursuant to this article maintained by the Vulnerable Adult Guardian ad Litem Program or by a guardian ad litem are confidential. These records must be maintained and destroyed in accordance with program policy. (B) The Director of the Vulnerable Adult Guardian ad Litem Program, or the director's designee, may disclose to the media information contained in the vulnerable adult protective services records, if disclosure is limited to discussion of the program's activities in handling the case. The program may incorporate into its discussion of the handling of the case any information placed in the public domain by other public officials, a criminal prosecution, the alleged perpetrator or the attorney for the alleged perpetrator, and other public judicial proceedings. For the purposes of this subsection, information is considered placed in the public domain if it has been reported in the news media, is contained in public records of a law enforcement agency, is contained in public records of the court, or has been the subject of testimony in a public judicial proceeding. HISTORY: 2014 Act No. 162 (S.764), Section 1, eff May 16, 2014.
South Carolina Legal Code