"The technology underlying JCS enables the AOC project team to develop new screens and reports in 3-4 days versus 2-4 weeks using older technology."
Alan J. Erickson, AOC Senior Project Manager
 

Challenge

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for the State of Washington provides information systems services to all Washington state courts, including Superior Court Juvenile Departments. Professionals interacting with the juveniles use AOC systems to record each youth's activities, health, mindset and progress. These highly confidential records enable approved professionals to make the most informed decisions regarding the youth's rehabilitation and care.

Juvenile Department customers challenged AOC Senior Project Manager Alan J. Erickson and his team to develop a web-based solution with strict security and the ability to facilitate 800 court customers. The solution system needed to be deployed using browser-based clients to minimize remote systems management.

Solution

Working in partnership with Magic Software, Erickson and his AOC project team developed the Juvenile and Corrections System (JCS). Following acceptance testing in early 2005 and customer training, JCS was successfully launched into pilot status. JCS runs on a Magic Software’s eDeveloper Enterprise Server under Windows and integrates with an IBM OS/390 mainframe using DB2 as its database.

"JCS links juvenile department referrals and Superior Court (SCOMIS) legal cases," Erickson says. "It uses the link to display related legal case and/or person data entered in SCOMIS, JIS and JIS Calendaring with the referral in JCS. This eliminates the need for juvenile departments to reenter most legal case information on a referral, once a legal case is filed."

Erickson adds, “The integrating of information adds functionality and redundancy is greatly reduced. All relevant data entered in other AOC statewide applications by other court levels are now readily available to Juvenile Department customers from a single database via JCS.”

JCS is targeted for statewide implementation by all of Washington's juvenile courts, which includes departments in 35 juvenile judicial districts and their associated detention facilities. JCS will deploy to 33 other juvenile departments statewide within six months.

Value

Besides giving Juvenile Departments more accurate records, JCS puts juvenile courts more in greater synchronization with the courtroom. JCS gives users the ability to search and retrieve court orders and warrants quickly and electronically. JCS allows for more efficient case flow and status reporting and replaces the outdated automated (JUVIS) and system as well as manual-based business processes.

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