N Illinois » Systems integration

Agency integration, 2016

• Child welfare

  Illinois Department of Children and Family Services

  Centralizes child welfare administration services at the state level.

• Integration level

  One or all are decentralized

• Juvenile corrections

  Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ)

  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

The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is a state agency covering child welfare social work; whereas juvenile court services are decentralized and organized by circuit courts, with oversight by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC).

Data sharing occurs on a per-jurisdiction basis for point-in-time research and for daily operations where weekly lists are cross referenced between the delinquency/probation departments and the state DCFS office for their region. This type of formalized data sharing by local protocol occurs in Peoria County and DuPage counties. Where counties can draw information in an analyzable format, these research files can be matched by personal identifier and merged with delinquency records by the state DCFS, which maintains analytic tools to facilitate this type of point-in-time multi-system prevalence research. DuPage County (adjacent to Chicago) has emerged as a leader in the understanding of dual status youth prevalence and developing a coordinated response. This leadership has been facilitated through their long-term involvement with the MacArthur Foundation's national Models for Change systems reform initiative, participation in training at the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University, and consultation with RFK Children's Action Corp. Subsequently, DuPage County has hosted statewide conferences and training for other Illinois jurisdictions on information sharing and case coordination on behalf of dual status youth.

Reported data