Judy Caplan

Judy Caplan, coordinator of school and family partnerships at North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, discusses the importance of sharing information yet maintaining confidentiality when providing services for children and families. Excerpted from a videotaped interview with Judy Caplan (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1997).

"Well I think there are two sides to this confidentiality question. One is the notion is about in order to best serve children and their families we need to be able to know, one, who are the families we are serving, and when different agencies are serving the same families if they can work together, they can provide better services for those families. The other side of the confidentiality issue is that often time we totally disregard a family or a student's right to confidentiality and that we tell things about each other that we shouldn't. Being cognoscente of confidentiality is being cognoscente of respecting that student and his or her family as being an integral part of the plan for that student, and so I think we need to think really seriously before we share information, we need to be able to justify to the students and to his or her family why it's important to share information and to be sure they understand and see what's going on."

This Critical Issue summary was written by Robin Fleming and Stephanie Lubin, program specialists with the Center for School and Community Development at North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

Date posted: 1998