Confidentiality Laws: Protections for Kids or Cloak of Secrecy for Agencies? The Abell Report. Volume 23, No.3

Any analysis of confidentiality laws begins with a discussion of the interests involved. Children and families involved in the juvenile justice system have important interests in keeping their records confidential, yet, at the same time, when youth under the care or custody of state or local agencies commit violent crimes, or are the victims of abuse or neglect, the public has strong interests in obtaining information that is timely and accurate. When the media publish information about violent incidents involving young people under state care, public agencies have their own strong interests in correcting misinformation in the public domain about agency operations and in providing context information to enable a fuller understanding of what policies are in place and why. There are clearly valid and important interests on all sides of this issue. Children and families have legitimate concerns about protecting their privacy, however, and the Supreme Court has taken a strong position in support of the "monitoring" or "watchdog" function of the public and the press, which requires some degree of openness and transparency. Information sharing among public agencies is being offered as one remedy to the above situation and states are working to come to a consensus on how this can be accomplished and still protect minor children and their families. A second article in this issue describes "Banner Neighborhoods," which was founded in 1982 as a neighborhood project in Southeast Baltimore. Its purpose is to help elderly homeowners on a fixed income maintain their homes, prolonging the years that they can live independently in their neighborhoods.