In addition to focusing on which aspects are most important in the development of a successful information-sharing partnership, it is also necessary to identify those obstacles that most frequently impede or undermine the establishment, implementation, or continued existence of an interagency information-sharing partnership, so that they can be avoided at the outset.

Lack of trust. One of the most common barriers to information sharing is the lack of trust between agencies that typically do not work together, which can lead to information territorialism (Etten and Petrone, 1994). Differences in agency cultures, goals, vocabularies, and frames of reference also can interfere with appropriate information sharing. Similarly, it is difficult to transfer knowledge when there is a shortage of time and meeting places. Other major barriers that are cited as frequently affecting interagency information-sharing programs include (Isaacs, 1992; Wagner et al., 1997):

• The burden of gathering and reporting information.

• The lack of adequate funding and resources to enable successful programs to continue.

• The difficulty in working effectively with the school system and other youth-serving agencies.

• The failure to conduct an evaluation.

Technical incompatibilities. Moreover, technological incompatibilities can impede information sharing. For example, if agencies do not use a common client identifier for all cases, they may be unable to match a juvenile's name in the different agency computer systems. Agencies may use different coding procedures and have systems using incompatible computer programming languages. Similarly, agencies may define variables using different classification methods (Etten and Petrone, 1994).

Lack of funding. Isaacs (1992) asserts that long-term, stable funding frequently does not exist for interagency partnerships. Thus, programs are not able to hire necessary staff, operate for a significant duration or on a significant scale, or provide continuity of services.

There also is always the risk that an agency may opt out of an interagency information-sharing partnership because it is not the lead organization. Another risk of sharing information between a diverse group of service providers is that children may be prematurely labeled by mental health insurers or other agencies.

In some instances, because of narrow statutory interpretations, long-standing practices, a lack of understanding of other agencies' duties and policies, or a mistrust of other agencies, some agencies will continue to refuse to share their information with others in the system, despite evidence that sharing will contribute to achieving systemwide goals of rehabilitating juveniles and protecting the public (Etten and Petrone, 1994). Yet such problems should not discourage an agency or agency group from attempting to establish an information-sharing program. In many cases, the barriers described above can be overcome with thoughtful planning and by working closely with potential partners. For example, differences in agency cultures can be resolved through discussion, teambuilding, job rotation, and other efforts to find common ground. Scheduling conflicts can be addressed by establishing flexible schedules and mutually convenient places for knowledge transfer, including rotating the meeting place between the different agencies to encourage full participation and ownership of the activity. Finally, technological obstacles may be overcome by having different agencies adopt similar computer programming languages so that each agency's computer system can access the same data (Etten and Petrone, 1994).