Information Dissemination and Communication

Once the data are collected, analyzed and access to the information is granted, information can then be disseminated to various stakeholders. The dissemination process delivers the finished products so that it can be used to improve service delivery. Information distributed to these stakeholders is used primarily in the following ways:

• By public child welfare workers to make informed decisions about children and families.
• By supervisors so that equitable and consistent practice is carried out by workers.
• By county and state administrators to determine if state law is being followed.
• By the federal government to ensure that national goals are being met.
• By advocates for children, birth parents, foster parents and/or adoptive parents who are trying to ensure that all children and families served have positive outcomes after coming into contact with the public child welfare system.
• By the community at large to be better informed about the agency’s performance and to become engaged in the community’s role in this shared responsibility through open and accessible online information.

The organization should disseminate knowledge about its performance to stakeholders and focus on establishing a dissemination plan to deliver critical knowledge and get the right information, in the right format, to the right people, at the right time. Various mediums to “get the information out” include web sites, on-line publications, electronic newsletters and information services, inventory management, warehousing report development and outreach and marketing services. Questions to consider when crafting the dissemination approach include:

• What current mechanisms are in place to reach out to your stakeholders?
• Which has proven to be the most effective means of communication?
• What is the clear message I want to convey?
• Who is the subject matter expert that will convey the agency’s message? This is critical when the agency is addressing an issue that requires an expert analysis or interpretation of information derived from the information management system.
• Who is my target audience?

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