389.5.
(a) Unless the court finds compelling evidence that the records should not be sealed, the court shall order the sealing of all records relating to a dependency petition that has been dismissed. dismissed or for which jurisdiction has terminated at the time the dismissal or termination of jurisdiction is final. The records ordered sealed shall include those possessed by the all child welfare agency,
agencies, law enforcement agency, agencies, the minor’s or nonminor’s school, schools, any agency with which the minor was placed, and any other agency or official named in the order. Thereafter, the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the minor or nonminor may properly reply accordingly to any inquiry about the events for which records are ordered sealed. The court shall send a copy of the order to each agency and official named in the order directing the agency to seal its records. Each agency
and official shall seal the records in the agency’s or official’s custody as directed by the order, shall advise the court of the agency’s or official’s compliance, and shall thereupon seal the copy of the court’s order for sealing of records that the agency or official received.(b) The person who is the subject of the records sealed pursuant to this section may petition the superior court to permit inspection of the records by persons named in the petition, and the superior court may order the inspection of the records. Except as provided in subdivision (c), the records shall not otherwise be open to inspection.
(c) (1) In
any action or proceeding based upon defamation, a court, upon a showing of good cause, may order any records sealed under this section to be opened and admitted into evidence. The records shall be confidential and shall be available for inspection only by the court, jury, parties, counsel for the parties, and any other person who is authorized by the court to inspect them. Upon the judgment in the action or proceeding becoming final, the court shall order the records sealed.
(2) If a county welfare agency receives an allegation that a minor may be a person described in Section 300, or that the minor’s sibling or half sibling may be a person described by Section 300, the agency may, in the course of its investigation, inspect records relating to the minor that were previously sealed pursuant to this section.
(3) A county welfare agency with responsibility for supervision and placement over a minor, or a sibling or half sibling of a minor, whose records have previously been sealed pursuant to this section, may inspect the records for the purpose of determining the appropriate placement and services for the minor, his or her sibling or half sibling, and for the purpose of providing reunification or family maintenance services to the minor, his or her sibling or half sibling, or his or her parent or parents.
(4) If a subsequent petition alleging that a minor is a person described in Section 300 is filed, records relating to the minor that were previously sealed pursuant to this section shall be available for inspection by all parties to the petition. These parties and their attorneys may
also receive copies of the record.
record, which shall remain confidential. If a petition alleging that the minor’s or nonminor’s sibling or half sibling is a person described by Section 300 is filed, the court may consider any records that were previously sealed pursuant to this section relating to the minor or nonminor, consistent with this subdivision, if the sealed records are relevant to the provision of reunification services described in subdivision (b) of Section 361.5.
(5) If the child custody proceeding of a minor is transferred to the jurisdiction of a tribal court pursuant to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, any record that has been sealed pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the tribal court consistent with Section 827.15.
(6) The State Department
of Social Services may inspect the relevant portion of a record sealed pursuant to this section for the limited purpose of establishing eligibility for benefits or services for a former foster youth.
(d) This section does not apply to records maintained by the State Department of Social Services that are necessary to comply with Section 200.333 of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 23.141 of Title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or subsection (e) of Section 1915 of Title 25 of the United States Code.