West Virginia Code Chapter 49. West Virginia Child Welfare Act § 49-9-107. Confidentiality of investigations

(a) Information relating to any investigation of a complaint that contains the identity of the complainant, a child who is subject to a reported allegation of abuse and neglect, a child who has died or sustained a critical incident, a child in the juvenile justice system, a foster child, foster parent, or kinship parent shall remain confidential except:

(b) The Foster Care Ombudsman shall maintain confidentiality with respect to all matters including the identities of complainants, witnesses, or others from whom information is acquired, except insofar as disclosures may be necessary to enable the Foster Care Ombudsman to carry out duties of the office or to support recommendations.

(c) Notwithstanding any other section within this article, all information, records, and reports received by or developed by the Foster Care Ombudsman Program which relate to a foster child, foster parent, or kinship parent, including written material identifying a foster child, foster parent, or a child who is subject to a reported allegation of abuse and neglect, a child who has died or sustained a critical incident, a child in the juvenile justice system, or kinship parent, are confidential pursuant to § 49-5-101 et seq. of this code and are not subject to the provisions of § 29B-1-1 et seq. of this code, and may not be disclosed or released by the Foster Care Ombudsman Program, except under the circumstances enumerated in this section.

(d) Nothing in this section prohibits the preparation and submission by the Foster Care Ombudsman of statistical data and reports, as required to implement the provisions of this article or any applicable federal law, exclusive of any material that identifies any foster child, foster parent, kinship parent, or complainant.

(e) The Inspector General shall have access to the records and files of the Foster Care Ombudsman Program to verify its effectiveness and quality where the identity of any complainant, a child who is subject to a reported allegation of abuse and neglect, a child who has died or sustained a critical incident, a child in the juvenile justice system, or foster child, foster parent, or kinship parent is not disclosed.