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physical form or characteristics. Records such as medical records and adoption records are, by law, closed to the public. This definition excludes those records concerning which it is shown that the public interest is best served by not disclosing them to the public. (5) Releasing authority—the agency official charged with maintenance and disposition of records created or received in accordance with the administrative or specific program material for which responsible. (6) Researcher—a person conducting a research project or study in the field of social services which has not been requested by the agency. B. General Release Provisions. (1) Except in the discharge of his proper duties, no person employed by the agency will furnish copies of official records or give any information which may be used as a basis of a claim against the State or the agency. (2) In honoring requests, the releasing authority will disclose only that information which is germane to the request. (3) Only names and amounts of assistance received by clients have been determined to be public information. All other client information is confidential. C. Research in Agency Records. (1) Agency records may be made available to qualified individuals for the purpose of welfare research and study. (2) Space and facilities will be furnished by the custodian of the records to authorized researchers. (3) Agency records will not be removed from the premises of the custodian for the purpose of research. (4) Records transferred to the State Records Center will not be returned to the agency for use by authorized researchers. D. Applications for Research. (1) All requests for access to agency records for research and study must be approved in advance by the State Commissioner of Social Services. Applications will be addressed to the Commissioner, S.C. Department of Social Services, P.O. Box 1520, Columbia, S.C. 29202. (2) Applications will contain the following information: (a) Name and address of the researcher, and any assistants; (b) Professional qualifications of the researcher, and any assistants; (c) Description of the project or field of study in which the researcher is engaged; (d) A statement of the reason for requesting the use of agency records; (e) A reference to the particular records to which access is requested and their location; (f) Inclusive dates during which access is desired. (3) Prior to being granted access to agency records, each individual named in the application will be required to sign an agreement stating that: (a) All information obtained from the records will be treated in accordance with ethical principles to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. (b) The identity of individuals referred to in the records will not be divulged without permission of the individuals concerned. (c) The researcher understands that permission to examine the records does not imply approval of the project or field of study by the Commissioner or the agency. (d) All identifying entries pertaining to an individual will be deleted from abstracts or repro- duced copies of documents from the records. (e) The researcher agrees that prior to publication or dissemination he will submit his manu- script for clearance to the Commissioner, S.C. Department of Social Services, P.O. Box 1520, Columbia, SC 29202.