JTAC’s Marriage License application will soon undergo two big changes.  An improved version will move to the new INcite framework, where it will join the Odyssey Data Warehouse, Mental Health Adjudication and the Protective Order applications.  Users can look forward to some new time-saving features, better screen layout, and enhanced data security.

In addition, a separate Public Pre-Application website will be available for individuals to initiate their own marriage licenses online.  Couples will be able to fill out virtual forms in the comfort of their own homes (or anywhere with Internet access) and spend much less time at the courthouse.  The Clerk would only need to ask four required questions in person, check the couple’s valid IDs and complete the application.  By using this system, we predict it will require only a few minutes at the Clerk’s counter, saving over half an hour on average!

Three counties have agreed to pilot the Public Pre-Application:  Allen, Tippecanoe and Vanderburgh.  We are grateful for their interest and look forward to working with them on this new release!

JTAC began the pilot phase of the POR Odyssey interface in March 2010. The interface between the two systems was designed to save time and effort.  DeKalb County has processed 208 transactions on 46 separate orders.  This includes adding parties, creating cases, issuing orders, showing service, and setting hearings.  Technically, those 208 transactions were processed only once, rather than in both systems.  “I have found that it has worked very well and I am already seeing significant advantages to having everything come over from the Protection Order Registry to Odyssey,” said Laura Marchus, Assistant Court Reporter in DeKalb Superior Court II.

According to Marty Grimm, DeKalb County Clerk, “DeKalb County proclaims it a successful interface.”

On Friday, March 19^th, POR Advocate Access training was held at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.  Representatives from St. Jude House, Porter County Stepping Stone Women’s Shelter and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Victim Assistance Division were in attendance.  Fifty-five agencies throughout the State of Indiana now have the capability to assist their clients in completing the Petition for an Order for Protection and the Confidential Form electronically.  Once a petition is completed and submitted through the Advocate Access, it becomes available to the designated Clerk’s Office.  And as a result, Clerks in 79 counties can import information obtained through the Advocate Access to initiate cases within the Protection Order Registry once the petitioner makes an official filing.    Additional trainings are scheduled.

The latest Indiana Court Times cover story is all about JTAC’s Odyssey deployment and a look back over the last ten years of trial court technology.  The story reminds us why Indiana chose not to undertake a standards-based approach to case management and explains why Odyssey is the right fit for Indiana. Read the story on the new Court Times blog.

Case Study: Hamilton County Odyssey Deployment
Watch a video featuring local Hamilton County staff before, during, and after the implementation of Odyssey.

Public Law 110-2009, which went into effect on July 1, 2009, requires the Division of State Court Administration to collect from the courts information on individuals who are the subject of mental health commitment orders.  JTAC originally announced this new requirement through a memo to judges and clerks on July 3, 2009. With that communication, a form was distributed to help the courts collect the required information and retain it until we completed the development of an electronic reporting system.  Unfortunately, the legislation did not give JTAC adequate time to design, develop and test a new electronic data collection system in time for the July 1, 2009 effective date.  On November 20, 2009, JTAC announced that the application was ready to use and the courts were notified that they should start entering all qualifying orders that have been issued since July 1, 2009.  JTAC must forward this information to the National Crime Information Center for use by the FBI in performing background checks for individuals attempting to purchase firearms.

The INcite/Mental Health Adjudication Application is a very simple application to use. The data is captured on only two screens. One screen collects the case information, and the other screen captures information about the individual.

The law requires us to collect information regarding every person who fits one or more of the following profiles:    
□  The person has been civilly committed under IC 12-26-6-8.    
website:  http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title12/ar26/ch6.html
□  The person has been found to be mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled under IC 12-26-7-5.    
website: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title12/ar26/ch7.html
□  The person has been found guilty but mentally ill under IC 35-36-2-5.
website: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title35/ar36/ch2.html
□  The person has been found not responsible by reason of insanity under IC 35-36-3-1.
website:  http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title35/ar36/ch3.html
□ The person has been found incompetent to stand trial under IC 35-36-3-1.
website:   http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title35/ar36/ch3.html
□ The person has been found incompetent to stand trial or has been found not guilty by reason of lack of mental responsibility pursuant to Articles 50a and 72b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (U.C.M.J.), 10 U.S.C. 850a and 876b.

If you have any questions, please contact Pat Hess via e-mail at phess@jtac.in.gov or phone at 317.234-2735.

The Protection Order Registry Advocate Access has become a vital tool for domestic violence agencies throughout Indiana.  As of February 22, 2010, over 988 petitions have been created utilizing the Registry’s Advocate Access.  Domestic violence advocates in 42 counties are assisting their clients by completing the on-line petition and confidential form that will be filed with the Clerk’s Office in their respective counties.  Advocate Access gives the Clerk’s Office the ability to import the required data needed to initiate a case within the Protection Order Registry.  Importing this data significantly minimizes the amount of time and data entry for the clerk staff.

Clerks and Advocates alike have come to value the POR Advocate Access.  “Protective orders are very time sensitive.  The POR Advocate Access makes the protective order process speedy and efficient,” said Paul Singleton, Protective Order Attorney at the Family Justice Center in St. Joseph County.

And Linda Wilk, Hands of Hope Director in Marion, Indiana, encourages other advocates to utilize the electronic protective order system offered by JTAC.  Linda states, “In Grant and Wabash counties we have been consistently utilizing the electronic system to input protective orders and found it to be beneficial both to our program as well as to the victim. The process is simple and frankly more confidential than sitting in the hallway of the courthouse asking the victim personal questions while completing a paper form.  This process allows the victim to sit in a private office with an advocate while telling the circumstances that led up to the need for a protective order.  For clients who have resided in our domestic violence shelter, it has allowed the client to remain in the secure facility while filing the protective order electronically, any time of day and even on the weekend. The victim and/or advocate can then take the forms that still must be filed in person to the courthouse first thing the next day when the Clerk’s Office is open. The electronic protective order project has also allowed for police officers to stay current on the status of protective orders which, as an advocate, is an assurance I can provide to a victim that officers will know is the most current status of the order.”

Training for agencies in 24 additional counties began in February and will continue throughout March.

If you are interested in learning more about Advocate Access to the Protection Order Registry, please contact Pat Hess at 1-317-234-2735.

In the second half of 2009, the JTAC HelpDesk worked more than 5,000 calls and e-mail requests for assistance.  The requests covered not only the Odyssey Case Management System, but also all eleven INcite applications including the Protection Order Registry, Electronic Tax Warrant, Indiana Courts On-line Reporting, Department of Child Services and numerous others.   Paula Mikesell and Laura Kincaid (with help from other JTAC staff when needed) manage calls, e-mails and fax requests from 8:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday each week.  Of course, the HelpDesk staff are assisted by many other subject matter experts working behind the scenes to ensure that questions are answered in a timely manner.  It is no surprise that the Odyssey CMS and the Protection Order Registry make up the majority of the calls since those applications combined have over 10,000 active users.

Approximately 70% of the HelpDesk requests are by phone, with e-mail and fax requests coming in second and third.  Hats off to Gaye Lynn Strickland, the HelpDesk Supervisor, and all the JTAC staff who work hard to assist our users in all 92 counties!  

This past fall employees of Fayette County’s CASA/Victim Assistance program received training on the Public Access application for the Protection Order Registry, which allows domestic violence advocates working with victims to complete necessary forms for a petition for a protection order online. Getting the data processing completed quickly is important – but their antiquated computer equipment with its poor screen resolution and processors that were slowing down or coming to a standstill altogether, made accomplishing this work a major challenge.

Help arrived last week when they received a very welcomed shipment of 5 new computers from JTAC to replace their outdated computer hardware. Michelle Monique Richardson, the Deputy Director of the CASA/Victim Assistance Division, said: “It was like receiving our Christmas early. We felt like small children on Christmas morning. We clapped our hands and giggled with excitement. News traveled fast of our delivery of 5 brand new Dell computers and our Circuit Court Judge was in our office curious to see our special delivery. The Judge was grateful for JTAC doing such a wonderful thing for our office. Once again, thank you so much.” The computer hardware purchase was made possible from federal Byrne JAG grant funding generously provided from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

On December 8, JTAC made its final 2009 presentation to the monthly stakeholders meeting held at our office in Indianapolis. The presentation highlights the milestones in court technology that have been achieved this year, including the continuing implementation of the Odyssey case management system in the counties as well as enhancements to the software application, and advances related to JTAC’s many other technology projects.

View presentation slides

Once again, JTAC is using technology to provide Indiana judges with the necessary tools so that they can comply with laws that ensure the timely determination of a person’s eligibility to possess firearms.  Firearm laws have been enacted to improve our national security and the public safety of citizens throughout the country. JTAC’s Mental Health Adjudication software will send critical information from the courts, through the Indiana Data Communication System (IDACS) maintained by the Indiana State Police, and on to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC).  This information is then available to all states that are seeking prior clearance of individuals who desire to possess or purchase a handgun.

On November 13, 2009, JTAC sent notices to all judges and clerks that they could begin to input mental health adjudication data into a new INcite (Indiana Court Information Technology Extranet) software application.

Public Law 110-2009 was passed by the Indiana General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels on May 15, 2009. The highlights of this law requires the division of state court administration to establish and administer an electronic system for:

(1) receiving information that relates to certain individuals who may be prohibited from possessing a firearm; and

(2) transmitting this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

The law also provides that, if a court makes adjudication or a finding concerning a person’s mental health that may disqualify the person from possessing a firearm, the court shall transmit certain information concerning the finding or adjudication to the division of state court administration for transmittal to NICS. The law also establishes a procedure by which a person who has been released from commitment or who has completed treatment may have the person’s disqualification to possess a firearm removed.

This law is a direct result of the Virginia Tech incident and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.   Former Fort Wayne mayor Paul Helmke is the current President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and has encouraged Indiana to take the necessary steps to come into compliance with federal law.

The initiative is being funded by a grant from the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.  In addition to the Division of State Court Administration and ICJI, the Indiana State Police, Prosecuting Attorneys Council, Homeland Security, FSSA’s Division of Mental Health, Indiana Judicial Center, and Gov. Mitch Daniels worked together to accomplish this initiative.