{"id":31677,"date":"2019-09-11T18:11:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T18:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/information_sharing_agreements\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T22:19:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T22:19:55","slug":"acuerdos_de_intercambio_de_informacion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/information_sharing_agreements\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfCu\u00e1les son algunos ejemplos de intercambio de informaci\u00f3n en tiempo real entre la protecci\u00f3n infantil y las fuerzas del orden?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Child protection and law enforcement agencies have a shared responsibility<\/span><\/a> to keep children safe. In most states, mandated reporters and other concerned citizens may report suspected maltreatment to either agency, so cross-reporting protocols are necessary to ensure that the information reported gets to the appropriate agency, as determined by state law, for timely follow-up.<\/p>\n

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The need for information sharing goes far beyond sharing reports.<\/b><\/span> Both CPS and law enforcement have critical data about families \u2014 including information about prior maltreatment reports, arrests, and convictions \u2014 that the other agency needs to make good decisions about child safety. Sharing this information promotes a more complete picture of the child and family, which can help child welfare caseworkers assess their personal safety before entering a home and could mean the difference between life and death for a child. It can also form the basis for greater collaboration on investigations between CPS and law enforcement<\/span>. Yet progress in this area continues to be slow, impeded by concerns such as cost and confidentiality, as well as by cultural, structural, and bureaucratic barriers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Saving lives<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities found in its 2016 report<\/span> that child protection staff access to real-time information about law enforcement\u2019s interactions with families is rare. Fewer than half of all states address the process of information sharing in statute: 16 states require CPS and law enforcement agencies to coordinate investigations<\/span> and share information in order to minimize the trauma caused to children by repeated interviews; and seven states require information sharing among multidisciplinary teams.<\/p>\n

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For CPS caseworkers to be most effective at keeping children safe, they must have access to the law-enforcement information they need to make good decisions.<\/b><\/span> We must develop and encourage ways for law enforcement to share information with child protection in a timely way. Doing so will help both agencies make the best possible decisions<\/b><\/span> on behalf of vulnerable children.<\/p>\n

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This brief focuses on the practice of sharing information between CPS and law enforcement during the investigative phase of the child protection process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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When you don\u2019t have an understanding of how the other pieces operate, you just operate from your own perspective. Collaboration allows us to come up with better solutions from a multi-system perspective. I see it as a three-legged stool; if you don\u2019t have one leg \u2014 child welfare, law enforcement, or the district attorney \u2014 it\u2019s not going to succeed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Jennie Feria, Division Chief, Child Protection Hotline, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Jurisdictional examples<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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The large jurisdictions of Los Angeles County and New York City offer examples of effective information sharing and collaboration between CPS and law enforcement during the investigation process.<\/p>\n

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Los Angeles County: Electronic Suspected Child Abuse Report System (eSCARS) and Emergency Response Investigation Service (ERIS)<\/b><\/h3>\n

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California\u2019s Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act requires CPS and law enforcement to share information about reports of suspected child abuse, with oversight by the District Attorney. In 2009, Los Angeles County launched the Electronic Suspected Child Abuse Report System (eSCARS) to address this shared responsibility. This secure, web-based application<\/b><\/span> links the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), 46 local law enforcement agencies, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s Office.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Prior to the creation of eSCARS, the protocol for sharing reports between agencies via paper and fax was slow, cumbersome, and inconsistent. Reports rarely were tracked or followed up with conversations among departments about findings, actions, or outcomes. So DCFS, the Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department, and the DA\u2019s office submitted a joint proposal to the County Board of Supervisors in 2005 for funding to improve the system.<\/p>\n

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Today, when the child protection hotline receives a report, the information is entered online and sent simultaneously to appropriate law enforcement agencies, social workers, and the DA. If anyone related to the case (child, parent, or perpetrator) has a history of child abuse reports, that information is immediately available to those responding. Law enforcement officers enter their findings directly into eSCARS as well, where they can be viewed by social workers and help inform a child protection investigation in real time.<\/p>\n

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eSCARS has improved the consistency and accountability of cross-reporting between law enforcement and DCFS in Los Angeles County. The system also has improved relationships among the agencies involved. Monthly face-to-face steering committee meetings are credited with increasing comfort, camaraderie, and communication among the three agencies, with child welfare staff expressing that they feel more like an equal partner with law enforcement in child maltreatment investigations. Additional benefits include generating data to support requests for increased funding for child maltreatment investigations, and to inform child fatality reviews.<\/p>\n

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The eSCARS system received funding in 2015 for a major technical upgrade, including additional functionality (such as the ability to identify commercially sexually exploited children<\/span><\/a>) and modernization that has made the system more accessible to caseworkers using mobile devices in the field. The entire eSCARS project has been so highly regarded that the State of California Office of Emergency Services is now offering grants to other counties to replicate it.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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eSCARS has helped put us all on the same page, in the same boat. We\u2019re equal professionals now, working on behalf of these kids and families. It has professionalized our investigations, and we\u2019re seen as full partners with other first responders.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— John Langstaff, Principal Information Systems Analyst, Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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In 2018, Emergency Response Investigation Service (ERIS)<\/span> was launched to provide child welfare investigators with real-time access to additional information about families, including family composition, past history with law enforcement and, eventually, data from the county departments of mental health, public health, probation, and more.<\/b><\/span> The first phase of this project leverages the capabilities of the Los Angeles Countywide Master Data Management system and its related Master Person Index to provide investigative caseworkers with access to more accurate information about all adults related to a report, including arrest records, warrants, registrations, detailed physical descriptions, and convictions. The ERIS application can be accessed from a computer in the office or from the field on a tablet or smartphone.<\/p>\n

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New York City: Instant Response Teams (IRTs)<\/b><\/h3>\n

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The New York City Administration for Children\u2019s Services (ACS) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) created Instant Response Teams (IRTs) in the late 1990s to improve coordination between the two agencies. IRTs enhance the CPS agency\u2019s investigative capacity and coordinate rapid responses to fatalities, severe physical and sexual abuse, and other cases involving severe maltreatment. In 2006, the effort was expanded to include a database that relays certain case information in real time between ACS supervisors and the police department.<\/p>\n

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Agency policy dictates what information can be shared between the two departments. Child protective records are disclosed to NYPD and local district attorneys when necessary to conduct a criminal investigation or prosecution. NYPD is likewise authorized to share information with ACS if both agencies are investigating cases involving the same victim. Information that can be disclosed includes witness information, names and addresses of family members, existence of any orders of protection, arrest and detention records, and domestic incident reports.2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Key considerations<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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The following questions may be helpful to consider when designing and implementing a law enforcement-CPS information-sharing initiative or other investigation partnership:<\/p>\n