NCJ Number
241544
Date Published
October 2011
Length
2 pages
Annotation
After defining information-sharing and its importance for improving community safety and the well-being of children and youth, this "Update" briefly discusses the importance of well-designed and implemented information-sharing under the guidelines set by the National Juvenile Information Sharing Initiative (NJISI), which is funded by the U.S Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and administered by the Center for Network Development (CND).
Abstract
"Information sharing" is defined as "the process of exchanging data among various agencies or organizations through computer systems." Information-sharing is important for juvenile justice systems as well as the other agencies that service youth in a community. Timely and reliable information efficiently collected and recorded by one agency can then be shared with other agencies without the need to perform duplicate information collection and input. Shared information also expands the information relevant to a particular case so that agencies making decisions regarding the case are better informed. An example is provided of how the lack of information-sharing resulted in adverse outcomes for a young girl exposed to domestic violence and substance abuse in her home. The NJISI, through its pilot-testing of national guidelines for information-sharing among youth-serving agencies, intends to promote and facilitate efficient and effective information-sharing that will produce better outcomes for at-risk children, youth, and families.