Another reason why aggregated electronic records haven’t become commonplace is the lack of coordination and communication across public agencies that serve foster children. “It’s a fairly easy and straightforward concept,” said Ginny Puddefoot, who works on health IT initiatives for The Children’s Partnership, a research and advocacy nonprofit helping Ventura County on the pilot project. “But it’s really complex once you’re trying to bring together these separate systems that have been in different silos for so many years.”
