Art. 1274 Penalties

This rule sets punishment for people who share private adoption information when they aren't supposed to. It applies to workers or former workers at the Department of Children and Family Services, licensed adoption agencies, or courts. If these people give out identifying information about someone involved in an adoption, and they don't have a judge's order or aren't using the official adoption registry to do it, they've broken the law.

Breaking this rule is a misdemeanor crime. Someone found guilty can be fined between $500 and $5,000. They could also spend up to six months in jail. A judge can even order both the fine and jail time together.

The point of this rule is to protect private information tied to adoptions. People who work with adoption records have access to sensitive details about birth parents, adopted children, and adoptive families. This law makes sure they only share that information the right way, either through a court order or the proper registry system, and punishes them if they don't.