Virginia Law

A. External case-specific data requests shall be submitted to the department using the Confidentiality Agreement Form, the Research Proposal Form, and the Research Agreement Form.

B. The Research Agreement Form shall be signed by the principal researcher and the student researcher, if applicable, at the time of submission.

C. The coordinator of external research shall determine the following within 10 business days of receiving the data request:

1. That the request meets the conditions for department approval of research identified in 6VAC35-170-30 and 6VAC35-170-50;

2. That the proposal is not a human research proposal and is not required to be reviewed by the HRRC; however, requests that include sensitive data shall be reviewed by the HRRC;

3. That the principal researcher has appropriate academic or professional standing or job-related experience in the area to be studied;

4. That the proposal is in the required format and includes all required information;

5. That the proposal complies with basic research standards and applicable laws;

6. That the data requested is accessible;

7. That department resources are available to process the data request; and

8. An estimate of the time required to compile the data request.

D. Except as provided in subsection E of this section, the following identifiers are considered sensitive data and shall be removed from the data provided to researchers:

1. Names;

2. Dates of birth;

3. Postal street addresses;

4. Telephone numbers;

5. Email addresses;

6. Social security numbers;

7. Medical record numbers;

8. Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints; and

9. Full face photographic images and any comparable image.

E. The director may on a case-by-case basis approve the dissemination of data containing a limited number of the identifiers listed in subsection D of this section for research benefiting the department provided the researcher agrees that any such information shall be kept confidential in accordance with 6VAC35-170-40 or released or published only in aggregate form.

F. The human research review process shall be followed when the data requested by a researcher are such that a reasonable person could identify the research participants.

G. Industry standard levels of encryption shall be required to protect all juvenile record information provided to researchers.

H. Upon determining the requirements in subsection C of this section are met, the director shall designate an internal committee , which shall meet within 20 business days of receiving the proposal. The internal committee shall:

1. Review the data requested and determine if it is necessary to restrict the scope of the information provided. The scope of information may be restricted for any reason.

2. Determine the research is beneficial to the department.

3. Ensure juvenile confidential information will be protected adequately.

4. Make a written recommendation to the director to approve or disapprove the request.

I. The director shall approve or deny the proposal within 10 business days of receiving the recommendation.

J. The department shall notify the researcher of the director's decision within five business days of the director making the decision.

1. If the director denies the proposal, the notification shall include a written rationale for the denial.

2. If the director approves the proposal, the notification shall include the research agreement containing the director's signature. The agreement shall outline the respective responsibilities of the parties and shall specify:

a. When progress reports shall be required. If the external research request also involves human research, this schedule of progress reports shall be developed in consultation with the HRRC;

b. That the department shall have unrestricted permission to use the research findings in accordance with professional standards of research;

c. That a final report shall be submitted electronically to the department;

d. That unless waived by the director or the director's designee, all external articles, reports, and presentations made from the data collected shall be submitted electronically to the department and shall include the statement "The findings of this study are the responsibility of the researchers, and cooperation by the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice in facilitating this research should not be construed as an endorsement of the conclusions drawn by the researchers;" and

e. That the research agreement shall not be effective until signed by both the principal researcher and the director.

K. The department shall provide the principal researcher, by first class mail, electronic mail, or facsimile, a final copy of the research agreement containing the director's signature .

L. External case-specific data requests submitted through the VLDS shall not be subject to the requirements of this section. Researchers submitting such requests shall adhere to the provisions of 6VAC35-170-67.