Information-sharing agreements

Agencies establish information-sharing agreements that both protect people’s privacy and support the need to share, with relevant partners, the case-level results of screenings and assessments that inform key decisions related to pretrial release, diversion, discharge planning, and specialized pretrial and post-conviction community supervision. These agreements align with federal and state confidentiality regulations.

For more information on this intervention, see this resource:

• National Association of Counties ("Data-Driven Justice: Using and Sharing Data")
• Data-Driven Justice Case Studies
• Point-of-Service Information Sharing Between Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Partners

For samples related to this intervention, see these resources:

• Camden Coalition Business Associates Agreement
• Sample Business Associate Agreement Provisions
• MOU between two agencies for a grant program
• MOU between a law enforcement agency and behavioral health agency
• Business Associate Agreement Incorporating Omnibus Rule Provisions

Local Examples

Fulton County, GA

• Fulton County is the lead agency on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that facilitates information-sharing to support connecting people with behavioral health needs to care and services when they are involved in the criminal justice system and diverting them from the criminal justice system when appropriate.
• All participating agencies that fall under the Fulton County or Atlanta city government are covered within the MOU.
• Additional partners in the MOU include the following:
  • Grady Health Systems, the local safety net hospital, will operate the Center for Diversion and Services, a community-based drop-off center for law enforcement and community responders to refer people experiencing behavioral health-related crises. Grady recently received a Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities contract to support reentry at the Fulton County Jail by conducting the GAINS Reentry Checklist, a brief survey that identifies the behavioral health and support services needed for people leaving jail, and other assessments.
  • The Department of Community Affairs manages the Homeless Management Information Systems in the State of Georgia. Data sharing with this key housing stakeholder is critical to connect people to vouchers and appropriate housing.
  • The Policing Alternatives and Diversion (PAD) Initiative provides immediate diversion from arrest using the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) model. PAD staff also respond through the 311 system to calls where a person needs support related to mental health, housing, poverty, and substance use. PAD supports people through reentry and will be a co-located partner at the Center for Diversion and Services.

Memorandum of Understanding Between Fulton County, Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation

Johnson County, KS Johnson County

• All service providers that use the county's integrated data sharing system, My Resource Connection, must sign an agreement that outlines how information may be shared using the system.
• By signing this agreement, users certify that they understand appropriate use of the system and will maintain confidentiality of shared information.

For a sample related to this example, see this resource:

• My Resource Connection Confidentiality Agreement

Los Angeles County, CA Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

• Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and LAPD incorporated a section about confidentiality and information sharing into their memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

For samples related to this example, see this resource:

• MOA between Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Bernalillo County, NM

• Bernalillo County uses a Universal Release of Information (UROI) form for multiple partners, allowing information about the population with behavioral health needs to be shared among all partners listed on the form.
• A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was also created between county and city leaders, law enforcement, judicial programs, homelessness services, managed care organizations, criminal justice partners, and the law office of the public defenders to develop collaborative approaches across behavioral health and criminal justice systems, improve information sharing and data tracking, reduce length of incarceration for those with substance use and/or behavioral health needs, reduce recidivism, and reduce impacts to emergency services.
• Finally, a data use agreement between Bernalillo County and Tyler Technologies was created to build a confidentiality-protected and cloud-based database, which allows MOU partners to search a real-time list of “familiar faces,” the status of a given individual’s UROI, and the agency point of contact for each individual.

For more information on this example, see these resources:

• [CJCC Memorandum of Understanding]
• Bernalillo County Universal Release of Information