Schools and public health professionals navigating information sharing about youth involved in multiple systems

Background: Schools and public health professionals often struggle to effectively share information about youth affected by violence, mental health and substance abuse disorders, and unstable home lives. School health personnel, teachers, mental health and substance abuse providers, physicians, social workers, and others must share information to help students and families address these issues. A gap exists between complex, information-sharing laws―HIPAA, FERPA, federal drug and alcohol laws―and the way those laws are applied by public health professionals. Purpose: To present youth-serving public health professionals with strategies and tools to effectively share information about youth involved in multiple systems; to share locally applicable best practices from the ten-year, national Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative. Significance: School shootings have sparked national dialogue about the need for better information sharing, which increases the efficiency and quality of youth services, decreases costs, and provides a more seamless experience for youth and families. Methodology: A literature and resource review were conducted; selected communities' experiences were assessed; and the nation's leading experts in information-sharing were convened and consulted. Findings: Strategies for sharing information effectively were identified and a protocol for decision-making was developed. As a result of the project, the following were produced and piloted: a Toolkit, a website, and an online course based on real-life information-sharing scenarios that allows practitioners to build information-sharing skills. Conclusions/Recommendations: Reviewers of the Toolkit in its formative stages and a panel of experts at a national summit on the topic identified the approach as having great utility for the field.