Information Sharing in Dual Supervision of Cases in Adult and Juvenile Systems

In the District of Columbia, there are several hundred individuals with matters pending simultaneously in both the Family Court and the Criminal Division of the D.C. Superior Court. A person in this circumstance is likely to be under the jurisdiction of several agencies receiving supervision and case management services in the adult and juvenile systems. In order to ensure efficient and effective supervision and case management of these individuals, District agencies entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2011 that outlines information sharing among the D.C. Superior Court’s Court Social Services Division (CSS), D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), and PSA. Efforts are now underway to expand this to include the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA).

One of the contributions PSA makes to this collaboration is creating a daily report showing those individuals under age 21 that appear on the day’s lock up or citation list and sharing this with CSOSA, CSS, DYRS and CFSA. When a youthful defendant is listed, PSA contacts CSS and/or DYRS to confirm any pertinent information, which is then included in the Pretrial Services Report provided to the judicial officer to assist in setting release conditions.

The collaboration process is facilitated by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.