Confidentiality – Wis. Admin. Code DHS §116-05

The Department must maintain the confidentiality of any information in the Wisconsin birth defect prevention and surveillance reporting system.  The Department may only release child identifying information to:

1. Parent or guardian of the child upon on a written request; 
2. Local health officer or other program for special needs children upon written request for information and written consent from the parent or guardian.
3. A reporter for the purposes of verifying the information.
4. A representative from a state or federal agency upon written request and with notification to the child’s parent or guardian.
5. A researcher, who is performing the research for the purposes of demographic, epidemiological, health or social services research related to birth defect surveillance and prevention.  The researcher must complete an application detailing the project.  Additionally, the researcher must agree that the information will only be used for the detailed research purposes, that the child-identifying information will not be released to other people, and that the final product will not reveal the child’s identity.  

The Department must maintain all reports and records for at least 10 years before they are destroyed.