NCJ Number
153282
Date Published
1993
Length
660 pages
Annotation
This study assesses records confidentiality restrictions to determine whether they constitute real barriers to interagency collaboration efforts in providing services for children and families.
Abstract
The research focused on Federal statutes and regulations, as well as those of California, Iowa, New York, and Washington. The investigation included legal research, interviews with agency administrators and personnel, and site visits. The report concludes that confidentiality restrictions are not significant barriers to interagency collaborations. The report first analyzes the interests of children and families in protecting information from disclosure. Balanced with these interests in privacy are the interests of agencies in sharing information. The interests of agencies and families are identified. Privacy protections and confidentiality restrictions in Federal and State constitutions, statutes, regulations, and agency practices, as well as those in various professional standards are reviewed. It finds that, from the Constitution to the agency manual, confidentiality restrictions are not absolute, but instead balance individual interests in privacy against agency interests in providing effective services. The report then describes the various means by which agencies share information. Also discussed are interagency agreements, memoranda of understanding, contracts, court orders, and other mechanisms for sharing information among agencies. Confidentiality in aggregate information systems is also addressed, as are methods of protecting confidential information in practice. Finally, the report includes in the appendixes an extensive set of statutes, regulations, portions of agency manuals, consent forms, interagency agreements, and similar documents.