Category: News

AI, data quality and security, and court staffing were among the hot topics discussed at this year’s Data Specialists/Information Technologists Summitearlier this month. This year, 79 attendees from 24 states joined NCSC for two days of data and information technology presentations and discussions at the Maryland Judicial Center in Annapolis. Experts from courts, academia, and partner agencies joined NCSC staff to share trends and best practices.

“Both data and technology have become increasingly important to courts. Events like the summit provide an invaluable opportunity for us to take the time to think strategically about collection and use of state court data, now and in the future,” said Diane Robinson, an NCSC principal court research associate and summit organizer.

The agenda featured sessions on the National Open Court Data Standards, use of data to improve court services and communication, implications of record clearance initiatives on court data, and data quality improvement. Attendees also explored emerging topics like “AI and Court Data” and “Ethics and AI.”

NCSC Data Scientist Andre Assumpcao offered a live workshop, “Beyond ChatGPT: How can AI tools help you?” where he shared NCSC’s experience using large language models, such as ChatGPT, to extract data from court documents. The workshop was part of NCSC’s new product, the Data Dives series, and featured a demonstration of a data pipeline, which took in PDF documents, performed Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for extracting the text, and then restructured the textual information into a CSV file using ChatGPT.

View the workshop, presentation slides, and session notebook online at ncsc.org/datadives.

The SJI Board of Directors will be meeting on Monday, September 18, 2023, at 1:00 PM CT. The purpose of this meeting is to consider grant applications for the 4^th quarter of FY 2023, and other business.

ADDRESS: Kansas Judicial Center, 301 SW 10^th Avenue 1^st Floor Conference Room, Topeka, Kansas.

Court-based self-help services are more available to the public through increased remote access, according to a new report released by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Massachusetts Appleseed). “Self-help centers benefit courts and court users alike. Litigants who visit a self-help center are more likely to file paperwork that is legally sufficient. Having litigants better prepared for court appearances saves time for judges and court staff,” said Lonni Summers, an NCSC senior court management consultant leading the report. “Self-help centers also educate members of the public about how the court system works, enhancing public trust and confidence in state courts.”

A lifeline to millions of Americans who face civil legal problems without a lawyer, self-help centers help bridge the civil justice gap by providing access to legal information, advice, and referrals to counsel. Self-help centers support individuals by helping explain court processes, fill out and file court forms, and connect with wraparound services, including language access services and rental assistance programs.

In addition to increased remote service delivery via phone, chat, email or videoconferencing, the report identified some additional trends in the national survey data from 32 states:

• Consistent and adequate funding is crucial to the success of self-help centers, yet survey respondents cited funding as the number one challenge they face.

• Experienced, dedicated staff is essential to running a successful program. Yet self-help center survey respondents indicated insufficient staffing as a reoccurring struggle faced by their programs and noted a need for increased funding to support hiring additional staff.
• Most programs reported that they offer help solely with civil case types. Out of 25 participants, only four programs reported that they provide help with both civil and criminal matters.

The report also identifies areas where self-help centers can make targeted improvements based on respondent feedback and author expertise. Led by NCSC’s Access Team, the report encourages courts to find the best recommendations and resources to support their specific self-help program needs.

“New centers can learn how to build on their foundation and support the program’s growth. Experienced centers can find new ways to reach deeper into their communities, consider additional ways to provide their services, and maximize program efficiency and effectiveness,” Summers said.

The report, “Court-Based Self-Help Centers: National Survey Findings, Recommendations, and Best Practices,” is available online at ncsc.org/self-help.

Policy Research Associates (PRA) is pleased to announce the findings from its recently completed project, “Understanding the Population of People with Frequent Jail Contact.” This mixed-methods project examined the flow of people with frequent jail contact through the criminal legal system across three counties in the United States. The project assessed the counties’ strategies to reduce frequent jail contact, especially the impact that those strategies had on People of Color and people with behavioral health conditions.

Through their analysis, the authors developed the following recommendations:

• Create a data sharing ecosystem
• Establish formal, jurisdiction-specific definitions
• Use validated behavioral health screening tools
• Implement psychiatric advanced directives
• Facilitate jail in-reach programs
• Increase peer support programs
• Improve access to housing
• Increase utilization of community-based services
• Center and evaluate efforts for racial equity

To highlight and provide context for these recommendations, Policy Research has assembled a microsite that houses the following resources:

• Policy brief, which provides additional context for the recommendations provided above.
• County-specific fact sheets, which provide demographic information and trends in bookings over time.
• County-specific graphic recording notes, which provide excerpts from interviews conducted during this research study.
• Podcast episode, which dives into the research and offers key takeaways that can be put into action.

Access here: https://new.express.adobe.com/webpage/7hEp4jmTAuFkP

Policy Research Associates, Inc. in partnership with the State Justice Institute, released a new overview of 18 court navigation programs operating in 22 states across the US. A court navigation program provides guidance and information about court processes and procedures to people in contact with the court system. The compendium can serve as a tool for courts to develop their own court navigation program or to expand an existing program’s services.

Download the free resource here: https://www.prainc.com/…/CourtNavigatorCompendium-508.pdf

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, announced the release of its new report, Allied Legal Professionals: A National Framework for Program Growth. As part of IAALS’ Allied Legal Professionals project—which is generously supported by the Sturm Family Foundation—this report includes multiple research-informed recommendations to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals across states, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.

“To hire a lawyer, people either need considerable money or have an income low enough to qualify for the limited legal aid available. The problem is that the majority of people in the middle class don’t fit into either of those categories, making access to legal services incredibly difficult,” says IAALS Director of Special Projects Michael Houlberg. “Even if every lawyer took on pro bono clients, it wouldn’t come close to addressing the need. And IAALS’ research shows that people who need legal help are open to receiving it from qualified and authorized providers who are not lawyers.”

In early 2022, IAALS launched the Allied Legal Professionals project in response to an increase in state programs creating a new tier of legal service providers who target this gap in legal services—mirroring in many ways how nurse practitioners joined the medical field alongside doctors. These new providers—which collectively IAALS has referred to as allied legal professionals (ALPs)—are being authorized to provide legal advice in certain case types and under certain circumstances. Data from these programs show that ALPs are making a positive impact in people’s lives. Well-trained ALPs are competent, their clients are satisfied with their work product, and they can reach a portion of the population that lawyers are not reaching. ALPs are providing high-quality legal services at around half the cost of lawyers.

The report includes:

• A look at the broader ecosystem of legal service providers, of which ALPs are a part.
• Different stakeholders that have essential voices in creating effective ALP programs.
• High-level and on-the-ground recommendations on the various components of state ALP programs.

Access the report here: alp_national_framework.pdf (du.edu)

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, on average over 400,000 abused and neglected children live in foster care in the U.S. and foster care systems serve over 600,000 children and youth every year.[1]  According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in 2020, 34% of child maltreatment victims were under age 3, more than half were female (51%), 44% were white, and the majority (61%) experienced neglect, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Black, multiple race, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic youth were more likely to be victimized than white youth.[2]  State courts play a pivotal role in the lives of these children and families.  Every day judges are faced with difficult decisions affecting children and youth with foster care system involvement, continually challenged to find the right solutions in each of their cases. 

Through a special Request for Applications (RFA) process earlier in FY 2023, SJI awarded grants to further improve state court efforts in addressing child abuse and neglect.  Over $1.3 million in grant application were received in response to this RFA.  SJI awarded a total of five grants:

• ○ The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to: 1) standardize three existing dependency court evaluation research databases; 2) analyze variables with strong relationships to improved outcomes, such as the time required to reach final permanency; and 3) translate these findings into model case management reports.

• ○ The University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work to further develop and refine a multilevel Family Recovery Court that promotes recovery, reunification, and well-being among families with substance use disorder in child welfare. Using a three-pronged approach and community partnership, the FRC’s principles include: 1) keeping families together; 2) ensuring child safety, permanency, and well-being; and 3) advancing the development of adequate resources.
• ○ The Fifth Judicial District Court of Pennsylvania to develop an implementation plan to establish a multi-disciplinary legal representation office for indigent parents involved in the dependency system who, because of a conflict of interest, cannot be represented by the primary multidisciplinary legal office that handles such matters.

• ○ The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop a supplemental guide that provides courts with virtual hearing guidance specifically related to child welfare proceedings. This supplemental guide will provide policy, practice, and technological recommendations to help courts ensure that virtual dependency proceedings are fair, accessible, and adhere to best practices.  The project will build on the NCSC’s Remote Proceedings Toolkit.

• ○ The National Association of Women Judges to partner with the NCJFCJ to develop special podcasts for judges on the best practices in handling child abuse and neglect cases.

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[1] Children’s Bureau Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) Report #9.Online. Available:  https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcarsreport28.pdf.  Released on November 1, 2022.

[2] OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/victims/qa02107.asp?qaDate=2020. Released on April 18, 2022

SJI received 16 grant applications requesting a total of $2,321,097 for the 3rd quarter of FY 2023. The Board met on June 5, 2023, at the Wyoming Supreme Court to make decisions on those applications.

During its meeting, the Board awarded 6 Strategic Initiatives Grants: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop guidelines for the ethnical and evidence-based use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in the state courts, and an AI impact assessment tool; the NCSC to develop, pilot, and disseminate a new strategic planning framework and interactive web application tool that courts can use to address key areas of vulnerability; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) for Phase II of an Initiative to continue to assist state court judges understand and address the needs of military families in the juvenile and family court system; the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice to conduct a Probation and Youth Justice System Review Project in three selected jurisdictions and implement the recommendations from the analysis and review; the NCSC, in coordination with the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators for Phase II of the Blueprint for Racial Justice Initiative; and the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) to partner with NCJFCJ to produce podcasts for judges on best practices in child abuse and neglect cases. 

Nine (9) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Court to partner with the Judicial Innovation Fellowship (JIF) program at the Institute of Technology, Law, and Policy at Georgetown University Law Center to audit and improve how the court and information technology departments across the county share data to better understand court user experiences across the civil and criminal justice systems; the Kansas Judiciary to partner with the JIF program to assess the filing needs of self-represented litigants in Kansas; the NCSC, in collaboration with the CCJ/COSCA Midwest Region, to focus on the issue of “legal deserts” in states where there are areas with few or no lawyers; the Ventura County, California, Superior Court to support a new strategic planning process; the 16^th Judicial Circuit of Michigan to develop and strategic plan and priorities for improving access to justice; the Maine Administrative Office of the Courts to assess the organization and operations of the AOC; the Oregon Judicial Department to create a four-year strategic plan; the Kansas Supreme Court to review and update the vision, mission, and strategic goals set forth in the strategic plan; and the Delaware Court of Common Pleas for a caseflow management project.

One (1) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grant to the National Association of State Judicial Educators (NASJE) to support educational sessions during the 2023 NASJE annual meeting.

While courts are making strides to effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness, it’s also important to focus on the well-being of judges and staff.

Mindfulness can help.

“Building a mindfulness capacity is one strategy many in the public and private sectors are embracing to build thoughtful, creative, and resilient workforces ready to respond to ongoing demands,” said Pam Casey, project director and NCSC Vice President for Research. “Mindfulness involves paying attention in an open and curious way to the experiences of the present moment.”

Last year, NCSC offered an eight-week mindfulness education program to help promote well-being and resilience for judges, court professionals, and others who work with courts. Participants were given access to a free, app-based mindfulness program and invited to 30-minute weekly webinars with a mindfulness instructor. The study, which was funded by the State Justice Institute, found that a hybrid mobile app/webinar program can be an effective way to deliver training to a broader court community but warrants additional research.

Read more at: Mindfulness | NCSC