1 / 23

Privacy & Confidentiality Issues in Sharing Data Effective Models for Sharing Education Information To Improve Child

Privacy & Confidentiality Issues in Sharing Data Effective Models for Sharing Education Information To Improve Child Welfare Outcomes Jessica Feierman, Juvenile Law Center Maura McInerney, Esq. Education Law Center National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data & Technology

abby
Download Presentation

Privacy & Confidentiality Issues in Sharing Data Effective Models for Sharing Education Information To Improve Child

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Privacy & Confidentiality Issues in Sharing Data Effective Models for Sharing Education Information To Improve Child Welfare Outcomes Jessica Feierman, Juvenile Law Center Maura McInerney,Esq.Education Law Center National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data & Technology August 11, 2011

  2. Who We Are American Bar Assocation Juvenile Law Center Education Law Center Casey Family Programs http://www.abanet.org/child/education/

  3. Children in Child Welfare System Only one third receive high school diploma in four years; Twice as likely to drop out Philadelphia study: 75.2% of youth in care dropped out of high school in 2005 2-4 times as likely to repeat a grade California study: 83% of children in care in Los Angeles were held back in school by the third grade Significantly below their peers on standardized tests lower reading levels and lower grades in core academic subjects While 70% of foster youth dream of attending college, 7-13% gain access to any higher education programs and 2% obtain bachelor’s degrees.

  4. Major Barriers To Educational Success for Children in Care • Lack of school stability • Average child in care changes schools at least three times • 65% more than seven times according to one study • Delays in enrollment and transfer of credits • Disproportionate referrals to disciplinary settings • Lack of access to educational services • Confusion over decision making authority • Absence of education advocates, especially for children in special education

  5. Sharing Information To Improve Educational Outcomes • Education to Child Welfare • Child Welfare to Ed • Joint Research • Common Data System Accessed by Multiple Agencies (with varying levels of accessibility)

  6. Two Types of Information Statistical – Aggregate & Disaggregate • Not “personally” identifiable • Confidentiality rules do not apply • Disaggregate = Children/youth in child welfare Student Level - Individual • Personally identifiable • Confidentiality rules apply • Individual records - reports, transcript, IEPs, discipline records, medical records & beyond

  7. The Benefits of Sharing Education Information: Aggregate Data • Identify systemic problems • Develop effective policies & priorities to • Improve education outcomes • Increase accountability of systems • Target funding (e.g., school stability) • Increase and target $$ for specific goals • Educate and facilitate collaboration among multiple systems: Education, Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice, Employment, Job Training, Vocational, etc.

  8. The Benefits of Sharing Individual Student Data • Education to Child Welfare: • Trigger prompt interventions & improve services to child • Inform other decisions (e.g., placement and transition goals) • Longitudinal data: Track child over time & across systems – employment, medical etc. – leading to systemic reform • Child Welfare to Education: • Legal benefits (McKinney-Vento, Fostering Connections) • Appropriate supports and responses to child’s behavior

  9. Risks of Sharing Information • Education to Child Welfare • Low sensitivity of information • Undermines parental rights • Child Welfare to Education • Highly sensitive information • Potential alienation of parents from education system • Possible punitive impact (e.g., disciplinary placement) • Repercussions for child (e.g., bullying)

  10. Information Child Welfare Must Collect Title IV-E of the Social Security Act 42 U.S.C.A. 675(1)(C) & (5)(D) • Must keep health and education records as part of written case plan, that includes: • Name and address of health and education provider • Grade level performance • School record (including disciplinary record) • Known medical problems and medications • Any other relevant health and education information (e.g., IEP, 504 Plans etc.) • Must supply records to foster care provider • Must supply records to youth exiting care

  11. What Else Could Child Welfare Collect • School Mobility: Whether living placement resulted in school change & re-enrollment • Special Ed: Early intervention; evaluations requested/conducted; special education services delivered as child moves; type of learning/devp’l disability; decisionmaker • Early ChildhoodEducation: Participation in Headstart/other programs: what age/how long • Discipline: Suspensions, expulsions, alternative education for disruptive youth

  12. What Could Child Welfare Collect (Cont’d) • Type of educational placement: public school, residential settings (on-site school, homebound, etc.) • School completion rates: Drop out, years to complete high school; reasons for dropping out and at what age • Credit Issues: Document problems with credits, obtaining high school diploma • Transition Readiness: level of education, life skills training, transition plans.

  13. What is Education Already Collecting • All States Collect Data • NCLB: No Child Left Behind / IDEA • Electronically Maintained • Student Specific Identification Numbers • Each State May Collect • Additional Data (e.g., discipline info, links to other agencies)

  14. Sharing Information:Real & Perceived Barriers Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 20 U.S.C. § 1233g; 34 CFR Part 99 Purpose: Protect privacy interests of students’ education records. Prohibits schools from disclosing personally identifiable information from students’ education records without the written consent of a parent or eligible student, unless an exception to general consent rule applies.

  15. Rights Under FERPA • to be informed about educational records; • to inspect them; • to request an amendment to them; • to challenge the accuracy of the records; • to prevent unauthorized disclosure of the records; • to complain to DOE about a violation of FERPA; and • to waive these rights in writing.

  16. FERPA Definitions • Education records: Records that are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational agency or institution, or by a party acting for the agency or institution. See 34 CFR § 99.3 • Parent : Natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian.

  17. Redisclosure prohibited • School may disclose personally identifiable information only on the condition that the party to whom the information is disclosed will not redisclose the information without the prior consent of the parent or eligible student. • Penalty: If third party improperly rediscloses information, the educational agency or institution may not allow that third party access to personally identifiable information from education records for at least five years. 34 CFR § 99.33(e).

  18. FERPA CONSENT NOT REQUIRED:Non-personally identifiable Information Student is identified by non-personal identifier • Identifier itself is not a scrambled Soc. Sec. unless such identifiers are protected by written agreements reflecting generally accepted confidentiality standards within the research community; and • cannot be linked to a student. Data file is populated by data from education records in a manner that ensures that identity of any student is not easily traceable.

  19. FERPA Exceptions (15) • Directory Information (subject to Opt-out) • name, address, phone, date and place of birth, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, and dates of attendance. • Law Enforcement Exception: disclosure to state and local authorities within department of juvenile justice • Emergency Exception: Disclosure to “appropriate parties” in connection with “emergency” to protect health and safety of student or other persons; • Judicial order or subpoena: Comply with court order ** • With notice of disclosure to parent/student

  20. FERPA Compliance Tips • Parental Consent Form • Must notify parent of what they are sharing and with whom, for what purpose & duration • Writing must be clear & user friendly • Court Order • MUST be specific (not CW determines educat.) • Individualized (CANNOT be blanket order) • Reflect notice to FERPA parent • May limit scope of education records or use FERPA definition

  21. What’s Happening In YOUR State • Data Quality Campaign • http://www.dataqualitycampaign.org/survey_results/index.cfm • Ed Data Express (U.S. Department of Ed.) • http://www.eddataexpress.ed.gov/ • Education Commission of the States • http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=913

  22. How Can We Do This? • Tools • Solving the Data Puzzle: http://www.abanet.org/child/education/publications/solvingthedatapuzzle.pdf • Mythbusting: Breaking Down Confidentiality and Decision-Making Barriers to Meet the Education Needs of Children in Foster Care  Author: Kathleen McNaughtwww.abanet.org/child/education • Funding Opportunities

  23. Contact Information Jessica Feierman Juvenile Law Center jfeierman@jlc.org www.jlc.org Maura McInerney Education Law Center mmcinerney@elc-pa.org www.elc-pa.org

More Related