B Alabama » Systems integration

Agency integration, 2016

• Child welfare

  Alabama, Department of Human Resources, Office of Child Protective Services

  Centralizes child welfare administration services at the state level.

• Integration level

  One or all are decentralized

• Juvenile corrections

  Alabama Department of Youth Services (DYS)

  Does not centralize administration of delinquency services at the state level.

Coordination, 2014

• Uses for coordination
• Does not use for coordination

• Data sharing

  Facilitated through the use of statewide information systems allowing for consistent data sharing between systems.

• Committees or advisory groups

  Multidisciplinary groups that often have regularly scheduled meetings to brainstorm ways to improve systems integration.

• Formal interagency MOUs

  Collaborative agreements to guide systems integration efforts

• Informal interagency agreements

  Commonly based on historical practice, mutual trust, and recognition of the need to collaborate in order to serve dual-status youth.

• Statute and/or rules

  Rules that mandate systems integration efforts

Summary

In Alabama, the Department of Human Resources, Office of Child Protective Services administers child welfare and juvenile justice services are administered at both the state and local level through the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), the Department of Youth Services, and local county executive offices. Alabama has a statewide unified judicial system, and the AOC Family Courts have jurisdiction over both dependency and delinquency cases. The court information system stores information for cases that have been petitioned, but does not contain information on referrals or services provided. The system has the capacity for caseworkers and juvenile probation officers to look-up past petitions; however, this practice is not mandatory and is subject to the county-specific procedures. A court ruling exists to encourage the sharing of information between agencies, and the agencies are in the process of developing a memorandum of understanding.

Reported data

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