Section 15-11-709. (Effective January 1, 2014) Preservation and destruction of records; computer retrieval

   (a) Subject to the earlier sealing of certain records pursuant to Code Section 15-11-701, the juvenile court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it and shall preserve the records pertaining to a child in accordance with the common records retention schedules for courts approved by the State Records Committee pursuant to Code Section 50-18-92.

(b) Thereafter, the court may destroy such records, except that the records of cases in which a court terminates the parental rights of a parent and the records of cases involving a petition for legitimation of a child shall be preserved permanently.

(c) The juvenile court shall make official minutes consisting of all petitions and orders filed in a case and any other pleadings, certificates, proofs of publication, summonses, warrants, and other writs which may be filed and shall make social records consisting of records of investigation and treatment and other confidential information.

(d) Identification data shall be maintained and shall be disseminated to criminal justice officials for official judicial enforcement or criminal justice purposes as provided in Code Section 35-3-33.

(e) Nothing in this chapter shall restrict or otherwise prohibit a juvenile court clerk from electing to store for computer retrieval any or all records, dockets, indexes, or files; nor shall a juvenile court clerk be prohibited from combining or consolidating any books, dockets, files, or indexes in connection with the filing for record of papers of the kind specified in this chapter or any other law, provided that any automated or computerized record-keeping method or system shall provide for the systematic and safe preservation and retrieval of all books, dockets, records, or indexes. When the clerk of a juvenile court elects to store for computer retrieval any or all records, the same data elements used in a manual system shall be used, and the same integrity and security shall be maintained.

Code 1981, § 15-11-709, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242.