Louisiana Children's Code Tit. V, Art. 541. Legislative findings; purposes; goals

A. In an effort to reform and restructure the juvenile justice system and to improve the availability and quality of programs and services available to assist children who are at risk of becoming part of the system, as well as those who are already involved in the juvenile justice system, the legislature supports interagency efforts to gather comprehensive data and to actively share and disseminate data among those agencies responsible for making informed decisions regarding the treatment, care, security, and rehabilitation of children within the state.

B. The legislature finds that the sharing and integration of appropriate data and information may have numerous benefits for the children and families involved in the juvenile justice system, as well as for the state and local agencies attempting to provide services for them.

C. The legislature finds that such data sharing and integration can serve the best interests of the child and the family, contribute to higher levels of effectiveness in service delivery, greater efficiency and productivity, and eventually reductions in the costs of juvenile justice services. Specifically, such data sharing and integration can reduce redundant data entry, expedite the processing of cases, provide for more timely service delivery, ensure more accurate and up-to-date information, assist in the development of a seamless system of services, and contribute to better performance and greater accountability by all involved parties.

D. The legislature finds that the goals and purposes of this Chapter, including the goal to develop a seamless system of services for children and their families, would be furthered by the development of a central repository of data for planning and evaluation purposes and urges the Children's Cabinet to work towards the development of such a central repository.