Summary
The Vermont Supreme Court held that 15 V.S.A. § 670 gives a noncustodial parent a general right of access to a child’s records, but permits a court to deny access when disclosure is not in the child’s best interests or may cause detriment to the other parent. The court affirmed the family court’s denial of the father’s request for his sons’ mental health and therapy records, concluding that disclosure could emotionally harm the children or interfere with their treatment. The court also held that a new hearing and additional factual findings were not required under the circumstances.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 15 V.S.A. § 670 gives a noncustodial parent a general right of access to a child's records.
- Whether the statutory right of access may be limited or denied when disclosure is not in the child's best interests or may cause detriment to the other parent.
- Whether the family court could deny access to the children's therapy records without a new hearing and additional factual findings after remand.
- Whether HIPAA preempted § 670 and whether the psychotherapist-patient privilege barred access to the records.
Holdings
- Section 670 gives a noncustodial parent a general right of access to the parent's child's records, including mental-health records within the scope of the request.
- The general right of access under § 670 is subject to limitation or denial when access is not in the child's best interests or may cause detriment to the other parent; the family court therefore properly denied father access to the children's therapy records.
- The family court was not required to hold a new fact-finding hearing or make additional findings before denying access under § 670 where the existing evidentiary record, prior proceedings, and supplemental briefing were sufficient.
Key quotations
“We conclude that, under § 670, noncustodial parents have a general right of access to their children’s records, but that the family court properly determined that providing father with access to his sons’ mental health records was not in their best interests.” (¶ 12)
“Under § 670, therefore, a court can curtail a noncustodial parent’s general right of access by finding either that disclosure is not in the child’s best interests or that disclosure may harm the other parent.” (¶ 15)
Factual background
The parties divorced in 2004 and have two sons. Mother has sole physical and legal parental rights and responsibilities, while father has parent-child contact every other week. During post-divorce enforcement and modification proceedings, father sought broad access to the children's mental-health and therapy records, including records from individual therapy. The family court concluded that disclosure of the therapy records was not in the children's best interests because it could cause emotional harm and inhibit their participation in necessary treatment.
Procedural history
The parties divorced in 2004, and the family court later awarded mother sole physical and legal parental rights and responsibilities while providing father parent-child contact. After father sought modification and discovery of the children's mental-health records, the family court denied access and found no substantial change in circumstances warranting modification. A prior three-justice panel affirmed the modification ruling but remanded for consideration of father's statutory records-access claim. On remand, the family court denied the claim, and the Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed.