H Delaware » Systems integration

Agency integration, 2016

• Child welfare

  Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (Child Welfare)

  Centralizes child welfare administration services at the state level.

• Integration level

  Single agency integration

• Juvenile corrections

  Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS)

  Centralizes 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 Delaware, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families, a single centralized department, oversees both child welfare and juvenile justice services allowing for consistent data sharing about dual status youth at the state level. Since Delaware is already a unified system formal and informal inter-agency collaborative agreements are unnecessary, however, there are state-level committees that focus on dual status issues. There is also a single integrated data system called Family and Child Tracking System (FACTS) that both the child welfare and juvenile justice divisions use. No statute exists that mandates data sharing between child welfare and juvenile justice, but there is a department policy that requires data sharing among divisions.

Again, since Delaware has a single unified department that administers all child welfare and juvenile justice services at the state level, there is no need for local collaborative agreements or memoranda of understanding. This does not mean, however, that data sharing and coordination is not happening. In fact, the unified department allows for frequent and integrated sharing of data about dually involved youth at the local level. There are also local examples of prevalence research on dual status youth. Dual status cases are formally identified at intake to both child welfare and juvenile justice through the FACTS data system.

Case management for dual status youth is coordinated through sharing of case planning information between divisions, inter-division planning meetings, and joint case-level management meetings. The court also coordinates services for dual status youth through instances of consolidation of delinquency and dependency hearings with one judge and joint hearing appearance requirements for social workers and probation officers.

Reported data

Progressive data, 2014

The Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families reports dual-status youth statistics on a monthly basis in its Venn Report series.  The indicators address multi-system involvement from a services perspective and covers delinquency, child protection and behavioral/mental health services to youth. Statistics are available for overall youth served by the integrated department as well as those in out-of–home care.  Youth involved with multiple agencies usually hovers around 8%.

View the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families Monthly Venn Report Series >>

Report excerpt, Venn Report, Jan 31, 2015 Snapshot (p. 2).