Juvenile Justice Data Clearinghouse Allows Sharing among State Agencies
Georgia's juvenile justice agencies and the public can now easily access juvenile justice data thanks to a website and database built from the ground up by the Institute's Office of Information Technology Outreach Services (ITOS). The Georgia Juvenile Justice Data Clearinghouse was unveiled by the Governor's Office for Children and Families (GOCF) on September 27.
The website and database, which were developed on behalf of the Juvenile Data Integrity Stakeholders Group (JDISG) and GOCF, facilitates coordination among agencies and helps those agencies provide more effective youth services. The Clearinghouse brings key juvenile data elements into one location to facilitate interagency and public access.
"The Clearinghouse is a viewing lens into this juvenile justice data. We want to make it a useful tool for juvenile justice policy analysts and decision makers," said Mike Perkins, ITOS project manager.
Data collected on the new website also helps Georgia meet U.S. Department of Justice requirements for tracking and reporting juvenile crime information.
"As a result of this collaborative effort, Georgia is able to draw down millions of dollars in federal funds each year that are used to support juvenile court projects in every county across our state," said Katie Jo Ballard, Executive Director of the Governor's Office for Children and Families.
The First Lady of Georgia, Sandra Deal, was present at the "virtual ribbon cutting ceremony," in Atlanta where the new site was introduced. Several representatives from the Institute who had worked on the project were also present.
ITOS began working with JDISG and GOCF in July 2009 to formalize the data collection system and assist with the development of data sharing agreements and common data elements. The data has been aggregated, meaning no personal identifying information is present. GOCF will continue to collect the data with ITOS maintaining the website and database.
ITOS helps local governments and government agencies achieve greater efficiency and make informed decisions by developing Web-based applications and providing geographic information systems (GIS) services and training.
