19-A M.R.S. §1506: Public assistance recipients' rights of privacy

When the department seeks to establish paternity of a dependent child, any inquiry about prior or current sexual activity of a recipient of public assistance must be limited to that necessary to resolve a genuine dispute about the parentage of a child. When a custodial mother has informed the department that a particular man is the father of her child, the department may make no further inquiry into her personal life unless the man so identified has denied that he is the father of that child or he refuses to cooperate.