Georgia Code
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 19-8-23. Where Records of Adoption Kept; Examination by Parties and Attorneys; Use of Information by Agency and Department

(b.1) The department may, in its sole discretion, make use of any information contained in the records of the department concerning an adopted child and the adopted child’s biological parents in connection with the placement of another child in the home of the adoptive parents of the child or in connection with the investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect made concerning the adopted child’s biological parents.
(b.2) (1) As used in this paragraph, the term:
State Adoption Unit Department of Human Services Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(2) Upon the approval of the director, or his or her designee, any information concerning an adopted child, such child’s biological parents, and such child’s adoptive parents may be used solely by the department when, after the adoption, such child dies, suffers a near fatality, or is an alleged victim of child abuse or neglect; provided, however, that the department may provide such information to the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children. Such information shall not otherwise be subject to disclosure or release under Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50.
History. Code 1981, § 19-8-23 , enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1640, §§ 9, 10; Ga. L. 1997, p. 1686, § 7; Ga. L. 1999, p. 252, § 9; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Ga. L. 2003, p. 503, §§ 6, 7, 8; Ga. L. 2004, p. 631, § 19; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, §§ 2-2, 2-4/HB 228; Ga. L. 2011, p. 573, § 6/SB 172; Ga. L. 2016, p. 736, § 1/HB 1070; Ga. L. 2018, p. 19, § 1-1/HB 159; Ga. L. 2018, p. 934, § 1/HB 920; Ga. L. 2022, p. 611, § 2-5/HB 752.
The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, added subsection (b.1).
The first 2018 amendment, effective September 1, 2018, rewrote this Code section. The second 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, added subsection (b.2).
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, in paragraph (d)(1), substituted “health care agent, or mental health care agent” for “or health care agent” twice in the first sentence and added “and the term ‘mental health care agent’ shall have the meaning provided by Code Section 37-11-3” at the end of the last sentence.
Cross references.
Inspection of public records generally, § 50-18-70 et seq.
Lifting restrictions on access to confidential, classified, or restricted records after 75 years, § 50-18-100 .
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1990, “identity” was substituted for “identify” in division (f)(4)(A)(iii).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that subsection (a) is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.