Juvenile Justice in California. Policymakers can help answer these questions by collecting, organizing and analyzing data from multiple sources. Data also provide a framework that brings people with diverse interests together, helping people to focus on mutually desired results for children, youth, families and communities. Data help people to understand their assets and problems and to create shared visions and hopes for the future. Using data, people from different perspectives can often find common ground, agreeing on the results they want to achieve, their priorities for action and the indicators that will demonstrate joint progress toward improving the well-being of the children, youth and families in their communities.
Shared information is the key to better results for children and youth.
To improve the well-being of children, youth, families and communities, many people with different perspectives must be involved. Concerned organizations, disciplines and formal and informal groups such as neighborhood associations must focus their resources and energy on common purposes. Data become the collective language that enables them to work together toward these purposes. A continuing flow of strategic information about the wide array of education, health and social service programs available for families and children is essential both to policymakers and to community residents. Data can help policymakers assess equity of resources across geographic areas, track service utilization among different cultural, ethnic, racial and community groups and identify which agencies and departments are serving the same clients.