Authority: IC 11-8-5-2

Affected: IC 4-1-6-8; IC 4-1-6-8.6

Sec. 6. (a) Courts and personnel authorized by a court shall have access to offender and juvenile records consistent with the following:

1. (1) All court orders pertaining to offender and juvenile records shall cause such records to be copied or released by the records supervisor immediately pursuant to the terms of the court order and the following:

   1. (A) The record repository shall reflect in a manner prescribed by the department the whereabouts of records so removed and when they were removed and the name of the employee authorizing the transfer of the record from the department to the court.
   2. (B) No offender or juvenile record or documents contained therein shall be altered or omitted prior to or during the transmittal of the official record to the court.
2. (2) If access to an offender's or juvenile's record was granted under compulsory legal process other than that initiated by the offender or juvenile, reasonable effort shall be made to notify the offender or juvenile prior to release of the information.

(b) An attorney representing an offender, juvenile, or a juvenile's parent or legal guardian may have access to a client's records consistent with the following procedures:

1. (1) If the attorney is requesting a review and copies of the official record, then the attorney shall be charged for the cost of reproductions consistent with approved schedules.
2. (2) The attorney may have access to unrestricted and restricted information in the offender's record to the same extent as the offender. An attorney representing a juvenile or the parent or legal guardian of a juvenile shall have access to any information in the juvenile's official record unless release of such information is contrary to the health, welfare, or safety of the juvenile.
3. (3) Access by an attorney to confidential records in the offender's official record shall be accompanied by a court order specifying the documents to be released.

(c) Release to a person or agency providing a lawful service on behalf of the department, or related to or on behalf of an offender or juvenile in response to a written request, shall be limited to those documents related to the service performed and shall include confidential and restricted information consistent with this rule or as otherwise permitted by law, including the following:

1. (1) Upon release of such information or the providing of duplicate copies, the material shall be clearly marked as to how the information is classified.

2. (2) A record shall be made by the records supervisor of all such inspections noting the following:

   1. (A) The requestor's name, agency, or function represented.
   2. (B) The purpose of the request.
   3. (C) The date access was granted.
   4. (D) The name of the person granting access.
3. This record shall be then made a part of the offender's record.
4. (3) Such access shall be limited to law enforcement agencies performing a criminal investigation or agencies providing a lawful service to the department or offender or juvenile wherein the direct benefit to the offender or juvenile is clearly indicated.

(d) Unless otherwise previously specified in this rule, release of offender records shall be restricted to information classified as unrestricted unless there is a compelling public interest in releasing specific portions of the material classified restricted or confidential. Such a request shall be immediately forwarded to the division or facility head responsible for keeping these records for the final decision to release information so classified. A written notice of such a release shall be incorporated into the offender's or juvenile's record in the same manner prescribed in the prior section.

(e) All authorized department personnel or contract personnel who have an official interest in an offender's or juvenile's records as a consequence of statutory functions or department responsibilities, delegated or otherwise, shall have appropriate access to offender and juvenile records.

(Department of Correction; Offender Records, Art VI; filed Jul 30, 1979, 2:25 pm: 2 IR 1201; readopted filed Nov 15, 2001, 10:42 a.m.: 25 IR 1269; filed Jun 17, 2003, 9:25 a.m.: 26 IR 3541; readopted filed Dec 2, 2009, 2:18 p.m.: 20091223-IR-210090805RFA; readopted filed Nov 15, 2016, 1:28 p.m.: 20161214-IR- 210160374RFA; readopted filed Nov 28, 2022, 2:50 p.m.: 20221228-IR-210220280RFA)