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Help arrived last week when they received a very welcomed shipment of 5 new computers from JTAC to replace their outdated computer hardware.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.

The Herald Bulletin of Anderson had an interesting editorial last week entitled “Protective order program should be used statewide”. The editorial starts off with:

Across Indiana, there are 52,000 active protective orders against individuals accused or convicted of violent acts against another person.

Most orders are obtained by victims going to a county clerk’s office and filing a petition. Sometimes they have to wait in line before a staffer can help them complete the paperwork. The process can be unnerving, adding frustration to the trauma they’ve already experienced. Victims can feel powerless.

A new pilot program should make the process more accessible and serve as an additional step in helping law enforcement protect the victims.

Madison County has been named one of eight Hoosier counties to test a domestic violence registry pilot program.

In those counties, domestic violence advocates have online access in seeking protective orders on behalf of victims. Trained advocates can file paperwork at anytime, online at a shelter or other office.

JTAC’s Protection Order Registry is now standard operating procedure across the state and is required by state law, but the registry’s new public access feature brings even more functionality to an already popular initiative. For that, we couldn’t agree more with the Herald Bulletin and we doubt many Hoosiers would disagree.

Earlier this week, JTAC Directory Mary DePrez traveled to Madison in Jefferson County to deliver a project update to those in attendance.

Launch the presentation

Last Tuesday, JTAC held the August Stakeholder meeting.  Representatives from the Department of Corrections, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the Indiana Judicial Center and Judge Jeff Dywan, Lake County,  were in attendance.

Mary DePrez provided an update on the ‘Public Access’ pilot for the Protection Order Registry and recent grant awards.  She also mentioned two recent awards:  A ‘First Place’ Best Practices Award by the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals;  and the Peter K. O’Rourke Special Achievement Award for JTAC’s positive impact on traffic safety.  Both awards were a result of the successful partnership with Tyler Technologies, Inc., the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, the Indiana State Police, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and numerous judges, clerks and local law enforcement agencies  for working together to make the eCWS/Odyssey/BMV data exchange model a nationally recognized model.

Donna Edgar gave an Odyssey deployment update.  Since the July Stakeholder meeting, Owen County and 4 Superior Courts in St. Joseph County started to use Odyssey.  Donna also ‘unveiled’ the Odyssey Supervision module that has been under development since last Fall.  The application is undergoing rigorous testing and should be ready to deploy in the coming months.  Dylan Vester also demonstrated the latest eCWS release for the handheld devices.  The eCWS team is expected to begin testing next week and deployment of this release will begin in early September.

The meeting concluded promptly at 4:00!  Contact Mary Kronoshek at 317-234-2710 or mkronoshek@jtac.in.gov if you would like to receive a reminder for the monthly Stakeholder meeting.

Launch the presentation.

Indiana now has 37 counties processing their tax warrants through JTAC’s e-Tax Warrants application as part of INcite. The most recent additions are Hamilton and Newton Counties. Numerous other counties are expressing interest in moving their tax warrant processing over to INcite as more and more counties with existing systems face renewal of annual fees for their existing systems. JTAC’s INcite application is available free of charge to all counties and interfaces with the Odyssey Case Management System.

JTAC began a new pilot project with 8 counties on July 1^st. Building on the success of the Protection Order Registry (POR), JTAC has developed a new Public Access application for the POR. This will allow domestic violence advocates to work with a victim to complete necessary forms for a protection order online. Of course, all of the electronic forms seamlessly push into the POR and a case is started by the Clerk effortlessly.

31 days after launching, 150 petitions have been filed electronically through the Public Access. This has been a real boon for the courts because they now get legible paperwork and law enforcement because the petitions are automatically attached to the case file in the POR where it can be accessed at a moment’s notice. The pilot is going great and changes have already been made to Public Access based on user feedback. As a result, DV advocates concerns with the application have significantly decreased and POR is saving more time and more lives.

Everyone at JTAC thanks the DV Advocates, the Clerks,  and their staff in Allen, Elkhart, Grant, Madison, Marion, St. Joseph, Tippecanoe and Wabash counties for their efforts and feedback on this important new project.

The Indiana Supreme Court is partnering with law enforcement, clerks and domestic violence groups to help better protect victims of abuse.  Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties are leading this effort by serving as pilot counties for an expanded protective order registry.  Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr. will be joined by Saint Joseph County Prosecutor Mike Dvorak and Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill, local judges and victim advocates for special news briefings to describe the importance of the expanded registry.  Justice Sullivan will travel to both Saint Joseph and Elkhart Counties to thank court leaders for their commitment to the registry and answer press questions.

Saint Joseph and Elkhart Counties are serving as pilot counties for a new public access component of the protective order registry.  The expanded registry will allow a victim to complete required forms online with the help of a domestic violence advocate.  Once the forms are completed, they can be printed and taken to the county clerk for filing.  The clerk can then focus on getting the information to a judge to review.  When a judge issues a protective order the information is sent to local, state, and federal law enforcement. This pilot system is expected to save time and increase efficiency for the courts.  It will also allow a person requesting a protective order to start the process with the help of a trained domestic violence advocate.

In 2007, Saint Joseph County had 367 new protective orders filed and Elkhart County had 508 new orders filed during that same period.  Under the old system, those hundreds of requestors obtained their protective orders by going to the Saint Joseph or Elkhart County Clerk’s office where they filed their petitions requesting a protective order.  The process can include waiting in line and waiting for clerk staff to help them properly complete the paperwork.

The expanded registry is being piloted in Elkhart and Saint Joseph Counties and six other counties across the state including Marion, Grant, Madison, Wabash, Tippecanoe, and Allen.  It is being implemented by the Supreme Court’s Division of State Court Administration Judicial Technology and Automation Committee (JTAC).  Justice Sullivan, who Chairs JTAC, believes the expanded registry is one of the most significant accomplishments of the Committee, “We are helping to save lives with this partnership.  This new public access function is being added after suggestions from domestic violence advocates and local clerks.  By working closely with Indiana State Police, Elkhart and Saint Joseph County domestic violence advocates, and our state legislature we have developed a system that will do more to protect victims.”

Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard spoke about the importance of the upgrade in the 2009 State of the Judiciary, “Improving the effectiveness of domestic abuse protective orders is not something you postpone in hard times, it’s something you race to accomplish.”  It is a sentiment echoed by Laura Berry Berman, the Executive Director of the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence who explained, “We are strong supporters of the registry and want people to understand this is more than a technology upgrade-it will allow our volunteers to give victims the assistance they need and link them to community resources.”  Elkhart and Saint Joseph County domestic violence advocates will attend the press briefings to answer questions about the process.

The Indiana Supreme Court received a $135,235 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute to improve the electronic Protection Order Registry.  The money has helped pay for the development of the public access site.  The Protective Order Registry is used in 91 counties.  More information is available at www.in.gov/judiciary/jtac/programs/poregistry.html.

Event Information:

ELKHART COUNTY
MONDAY, JULY 27th
11 a.m. E.D.T
Office of the Prosecuting Attorney
301 S. Main St., Suite 100
Elkhart, Indiana 46516

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SAINT JOSEPH COUNTY
Monday, JULY 27th
2 p.m. E.D.T
Family Justice Center
711 E. Colfax Avenue
South Bend, Indiana 46900

The Indiana House had a busy 2009 session and among the new laws passed and signed by the Governor was House Enrolled Act 1428. HEA 1428 set standards for the Division of State Court Administration, and subsequently JTAC, to electronically capture information about certain individuals who are subject to mental health commitment orders. That data is to be transmitted to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This new law took effect on July 1, 2009.

HEA 1428 states in part:

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). Provides that, if a court makes an 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. 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.

Technology moves fast, but it takes some time to put together a whole new application for collecting and transmitting data. JTAC’s development team is working hard to create an INcite application similar to the Protection Order Registry to help trial court staff easily maintain the data required by HEA 1428. The new application should be available in the next couple of weeks.