q Texas » Systems integration

Agency integration, 2016

• Child welfare

  Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)

  Centralizes child welfare administration services at the state level.

• Integration level

  One or all are decentralized

• Juvenile corrections

  Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD)

  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 Texas, juvenile probation is administered by county departments, the Juvenile Justice Department administers secure commitment, and the Department of Family and Protective Services administers child welfare services. No data sharing occurs between these agencies at the state level and there are no statewide policies or practices regarding crossover youth.

However, six large urban counties (Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, McLennan, Tarrant, and Travis) are involved with Georgetown University's Crossover Youth Practice Model project. In these counties, data sharing occurs between the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the local juvenile justice agencies in a variety of ways such as, communicating involvement of youth in either system, inter-agency case planning, and case management. Some counties have one judge overseeing both delinquency and dependency cases and have probation officers with specialized caseloads.

Reported data