Sec. 103. Ensuring protection and confidentiality for human trafficking survivors
653 words·~3 min read·
/bill/117/s/3946/is/section-103A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In order to ensure the safety of human trafficking survivors and their families— a grantee or subgrantee receiving Federal funds under a grant shall protect the confidentiality and privacy of survivors of human trafficking receiving services from the grantee or subgrantee; and each entity applying to receive Federal funds in the form of a grant shall submit, in conjunction with the application for the grant, a privacy policy for human trafficking survivors and their families that is in accordance with the requirements under this section.
Subject to subsections (c), (d), and (e), a grantee or subgrantee shall agree, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to not— disclose, reveal, or release any personally identifying information or individual information collected in connection with services requested, used, or denied through a program of the grantee or subgrantee, regardless of whether the information has been encoded, encrypted, hashed, or otherwise protected; or disclose, reveal, or release individual client information regarding an individual who requested, used, or was denied services through a program of the grantee or subgrantee without the informed, written, and reasonably time-limited consent of the individual about whom information is sought, whether in connection with the program for which the Federal funds were received or another Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial grant program.
For purposes of subsection (b)(2)— the informed, written, and reasonably time-limited consent described in such subsection— in the case of an unemancipated minor shall be obtained from both the minor and a parent or guardian; and in the case of person with a legal incapacity, shall be obtained from both the person and a court-appointed guardian; and such consent may not be given by the alleged or convicted trafficker of the minor or person with a legal incapacity, or the alleged or convicted trafficker of a parent or legal guardian of the minor or person with a legal incapacity.
Notwithstanding the prohibition under subsection (b)(2), if a minor or a person with a legally incapacity is permitted by law to receive services without the consent of a parent or guardian, the minor or person may consent to the disclosure, revealing, or release of information without obtaining additional consent in accordance with paragraph
(1)of this subsection. If a grantee or subgrantee is compelled by a statutory or court mandate to disclose, reveal, or release information described in subsection (b), the grantee or subgrantee shall— make reasonable attempts to provide notice to survivors affected by the disclosure, revealing, or release of the information; and take steps necessary to protect the privacy and safety of the persons affected by the disclosure, revealing, or release of the information. A grantee or subgrantee may share— nonpersonally identifying data in the aggregate regarding services to clients of the grantee or subgrantee and nonpersonally identifying demographic information, in order to identify underserved populations and comply with Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial reporting, evaluation, or data collection requirements; court-generated information and law enforcement-generated information contained in secure, governmental registries for protection order enforcement purposes; law enforcement-generated and prosecution-generated information necessary for law enforcement and prosecution purposes; and information necessary for the functioning of a multidisciplinary team. Under no circumstances may a grantee or subgrantee— require a human trafficking survivor to provide consent to disclose, reveal, or release his or her personally identifying information as a condition of eligibility for the services provided by the grantee or subgrantee; or share any personally identifying information of a human trafficking survivor in order to comply with Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial reporting, evaluation, or data collection requirements, whether in connection with the program for which the Federal funds were received or another Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial grant program. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a grantee or subgrantee from reporting suspected human trafficking, exploitation, abuse or neglect, as those terms are defined under, and as such reporting is specifically mandated by, Federal, State, local, or Tribal laws.