New York State continues in its efforts toward interoperability and toward using technology to improve services to its citizens, especially those most vulnerable and in need of public intervention to reach independence.
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) – under the leadership of former Commissioner Gladys Carrion, former OCFS CIO Bill Travis, and OCFS Interoperability Enterprise Architect Eugene Ashley – has developed a Privacy and Confidentiality Toolkit designed to accomplish two primary objectives: to electronically collect information for children and youth involved with child welfare services and multiple other systems; and to gather such information for the Child Health Passport. Stewards of Change Consulting, LLC, is proud to have provided technical support on the project, along with Documentation Strategies, Inc. The initiative pulled in representatives from several New York State systems, including education, health, mental health, drug and alcohol, child support, juvenile justice, TANF, SNAP, SSI, child care and violence against women.
The New York State Privacy and Confidentiality Toolkit enables OCFS and other programs to better navigate the Federal and New York State laws that impact the sharing of case-level information among health and human services agencies and providers. Using the New York Child Health Passport, the Toolkit provides specific approaches to make data-sharing a success. The Toolkit examines and analyzes what information can and needs to be shared; lays out why it is necessary to share such information; details who (and at what levels of government) can access specific information; and explains how to share such information, including drafts of written consents, Memorandums of Understanding, court orders and state statutes that are geared to state-specific law. The Toolkit – which is written in language that is understandable to policymakers, practice experts and legal staff – also discusses the importance of and need to establish a governance process for the sharing of such information.
Click below to download the toolkit documents:
Transmittal Letter
Toolkit Appendix (Large file – 30 MB)
If you have questions about the New York State Confidentiality Toolkit, please contact Daniel Stein with Stewards of Change Consulting, LLC.
Now this has been dearly needed! Thanks to SOC, NY State and Richard and Gerry for getting it done. Leading the way forward, through very conflicted territory..Regards, Joe
As long as it helps to improve things like human services software and related technology then I'm all for it.
Look for our confidentiality webinar with National League of Cities on December 3rd from 1 – 2 PM EST:
http://www.nlc.org/data-sharing