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Information Sharing

Efforts to share data among organizations serving children, youth, and families must take several issues into consideration, including confidentiality, policies and procedures, the establishment of common data elements, the integration of different information systems, and more. The following resources discuss ways to improve data sharing among organizations, including State and local examples.

Building a Data Sharing Network of Scholarship Programs for Alumni of Foster Care: Pilot Phase Process and Findings (PDF - 1363 KB)
Schultz & Mueller (2008)
Describes the process of launching a data sharing initiative among scholarship programs and presents preliminary findings based on data collected in the pilot phase.

A Collaborative Model for Service Provision by Multiple Public-Sector Agencies
Fu, Chang, Chao, & Chiou
Internet Research, 16(4), 2006
View Abstract
Identifies factors critical to the success of an integrated government website to enhance customer satisfaction with the service quality of government agencies and makes recommendations to other governments that may wish to establish similar collaborative models.

Court/Child Welfare National Exchange Template (NET) Task Force
National Center for State Courts
Offers information on a collaborative effort involving Federal, State, and local organizations to develop a set of technical specifications to assist jurisdictions in the electronic sharing of information between child welfare agencies and courts.

Data Sharing
National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data and Technology
Provides information on meeting the technical challenges presented by sharing data within and child welfare agencies and across State agencies serving children, youth, and families.

Guidelines for Juvenile Information Sharing (PDF - 409 KB)
Mankey, Baca, Rondenell, Webb, & McHugh (2006)
Suggests a course of action for stakeholders involved in a State or local effort to implement and sustain information sharing that focuses on three critical components: collaboration, confidentiality, and technology.

Planning for Electronic Data Exchanges Between Courts and Child Welfare Agencies
Hardin (2003)
View Abstract
Outlines early steps and basic principles to guide courts and agencies in their efforts to exchange data. The paper addresses issues including privacy and confidentiality, notification of parties and witnesses, electronic case tracking and document management, performance measurement, and more.

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State and local examples

Building Bridges: The Case for Sharing Data Between the Court and Child Welfare Systems: White Paper (PDF - 602 KB)
Drezelo & Lepore (2008)
Provides examples of data sharing efforts between courts and child welfare agencies, including New York State's progress in this area, and describes the opportunities and challenges of data sharing.

Service Integration Supported by Information Technology: The N-FOCUS System in Nebraska (PDF - 37 KB)
Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government (2002)
Describes the successes and challenges of a system developed to facilitate the integration of human services across Nebraska by assisting caseworkers with eligibility determinations, case management, and payments to clients and service providers.

Strengthening Texas Courts for the Safety, Permanency, and Well Being of Children in Foster Care (PDF - 472 KB)
Task Force on Child Protection Case Management and Reporting, Supreme Court of Texas (2006)
Summarizes challenges to unified data collection, sharing, and analysis among judges who hear child protection cases in Texas, discusses progress toward a uniform statewide system for managing and tracking data on child abuse and neglect cases, and suggests best practices for measuring and improving court performance.

Using Local Data to Explore the Experiences and Needs of Children of Incarcerated Parents
Brazzell (2008)
Presents lessons learned about merging and analysis of administrative data from the criminal justice and human services systems on children of incarcerated parents, including a discussion of data sets and how they were linked and a review of the analyses conducted. (PDF - 196 KB)

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Updated on March 19, 2010