d New Hampshire » Systems integration

Agency integration, 2016

• Child welfare

  New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children Youth and Families (DCYF)

  Centralizes child welfare administration services at the state level.

• Integration level

  Single agency integration

• Juvenile corrections

  New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division for Children, Youth, and Families

  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 New Hampshire, the Department of Health and Human Services provides juvenile justice and child protective services under the Division of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) allowing for consistent data sharing at the state level.

A state statute exists that mandates coordination for dual status youth, and a single policy at DCYF guides child welfare, juvenile justice, and secure detention.  DCYF leadership is actively engaged in increasing collaboration between systems and meets on a monthly basis to address collaboration issues. Additionally, Juvenile Justice Services and Child Protective Services share a database that contains information for all delinquent and dependent youth, and there are also informal collaborative statements between departments for coordination. 

There are also examples of data sharing and coordination for dual status youth at the local level in New Hampshire. Dual status youth entering either the juvenile justice system or child protective services are identified upon intake or initial assessment, respectively. Coordination of case management for dually involved youth occurs through joint case-level management meetings between the divisions and family Division Courts hear delinquency and child welfare cases where the judges are able to access dependency and delinquency case information for each youth.

Reported data