Dallas County, Texas Evolved Odyssey system to enhance operations and provide better service to justice partners and citizens

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1 2018 TYLER PUBLIC SECTOR EXCELLENCE AWARD S TEXAS Dallas County, Texas Evolved Odyssey system to enhance operations and provide better service to justice partners and citizens With more than 2.4 million people living in Dallas County, the court sees around 1.5 million cases filed each year. To ensure each instance is handled efficiently and responsibly, court administrators are continually striving to find new and innovative ways to streamline processes and create fully automated systems. Recent enhancements to the way Dallas County utilizes its software have improved constituent experiences, increased revenue, and reduced the amount of paper needed for daily operations. Family court cases, for example, were not accessible online except through a third-party vendor. However, in updating processes, Dallas County adapted access rights within Odyssey Portal to make this sensitive information available through its Odyssey system. With this change, revenue previously lost to the third-party was regained and the amount of time staff spent helping attorneys gain access to the information was reduced. Among other updates to processes, Dallas County also increased revenues by establishing e-payments to allow customers to pay with a credit card, partnered with the District Clerk s office to better handle juvenile e-filing, deployed OCR to make PDF documents easily searchable, and used efiletexas e-serve to improve overall efficiencies. Increased revenue previously lost to a third party and reduced staff time supporting attorneys by implementing Portal Elevated Access Reduced paper and staff time processing filings by partnering with the District Clerk to launch a fully-integrated juvenile e-file system Improved e-filing acceptance rates and reduced costs for multiple image viewing software systems with OCR Reduced staff time and materials costs in processing financial transactions Realized a slight revenue increase through availability of credit card payments Dallas County has achieved an Advanced environment on the court and operations dimensions, while making significant progress on other dimensions with the use of Odyssey.

2 Achieved a truly integrated justice system to increase efficiencies Increased momentum toward establishing paperless operations Gained tighter controls of data and the ability to share information Improved accuracy and reliability in the booking and release process Enabled an Inmate Risk Assessment Program and a PR bond program contributing to the decrease in jail population Faster CJIS reporting that s now a shared responsibility between justice partners Nueces County has achieved an Advanced environment on the Justice Partner dimension and All on the other dimensions with the use of Odyssey. Nueces County, Texas Despite Hurricane Harvey, implemented Tyler Corrections in only nine months With more than 1,200 employees working for Nueces County, located on the coast of Texas, the ability to easily access information regardless of department is key to creating an efficient work environment. To simplify data-sharing, Nueces County implemented Odyssey Case Manager, Odyssey Attorney Manager and Odyssey Financial Manager with an interim interface to connect with the jail. When the temporary fix proved to be too difficult to maintain, the county changed direction. Instead of managing work arounds, county leaders made the decision to go live with Tyler Corrections, previously known as Odyssey Jail Manager, much sooner than initially expected. This accelerated a typically longer implementation timeframe to only nine months. Just as the final phase of implementation began, Hurricane Harvey devastated the Gulf Coast and left communities across the county in ruins. Still, Nueces County persisted. Despite, major disruptions caused by the storm, the project was completed a week ahead of schedule. The systems helped the county reduce paper to save taxpayer dollars, easily share information between entities, and create a safer, more efficient organization. As the State of Texas searches for new ways to decrease statewide jail overpopulation issue, Nueces County s new system has become an example of cooperation. The new procedures allowed the jail and court to truly become partners in justice to ultimately reduce the jail population.

3 Cameron County, Texas Reduced staff case file processing time by 50% Increased access to current, accurate case details for court staff, attorneys, and the public Added convenience for judges to electronically view and sign orders from anywhere Saved time, money, and the need for additional personnel by eliminating travel requirements and manual filing Created a flexible, advanced solution for departments to streamline workflow Cameron County District Clerk s Office has achieved an Advanced environment on the court and operations dimensions, while making significant progress on other dimensions with the use of Odyssey. Revolutionized court operations by leveraging Odyssey throughout county The Cameron County Magistrate s Court sits 25 minutes from the main court house. Without software to easily share information between the two entities, a Sheriff s Deputy had to physically bring updated case files back-and-forth to each location. More than an inconvenience, the manual process was costly and inefficient until the Magistrate s Court joined the rest of the county in using the Odyssey software suite. The court was able to restructure operations and create seamless processes as soon as the software was in place. Key staff in both the District Court and the Magistrate s Court can now immediately access accurate and up-to-date case files, organize the court docket, and even give judges the flexibility to view and sign court documents from anywhere. Transitioning to Odyssey also helped increase transparency within the community and reduce the amount of staff time required to gather necessary documents for the public. With the new system in place, the Magistrate s Court joined the rest of the county in running fully electronic processes. Both courts are now mobile, paperless, and easily accessible.

4 Denton County, Texas Led state in implementing criminal e-filing for efiletexas Grew footprint for paperless operations for more effective administration of justice For the average office, the annual cost of relying on paper files is close to $100,000 a year, and for courts, the cost can be up to ten times as much. So, in its quest to become completely paperless, Denton County helped develop a revolutionary new platform and, inadvertently, helped pave the way for courts across the state. To cut the amount of paper files used, Denton County partnered with Tyler Technologies to pioneer a way to accept initial case filings for a criminal case Sharing a common vision, Odyssey developers and the county Streamlined and expedited the criminal filing process Accelerated the speed of receiving an emergency motion by eliminating the need to hand-deliver time-sensitive motions or orders Increased efficiency of probation document processing by allowing e-filing IT staff worked tirelessly to create, test and implement a program that would revolutionize the way criminal cases were managed. As a leader in court management, Denton s push for continuous improvement Denton County has achieved an All environment in several dimensions with the use of Odyssey. helped it to become the first county to go live with a process and new platform to accept e-filing in criminal cases. ALL ELECTRONIC

5 Efficiently processed all financial transactions through Odyssey rather than multiple systems Eliminated the need for maintaining separate data sources Reduced risk of errors from redundant manual data entry Discovered and implemented features not available during original launch State Court of Fulton County has achieved an Advanced environment on the Justice Partner and Attorney dimensions and is making significant progress on the other dimensions with the use of Odyssey. State Court of Fulton County, GA Transitioned all financial data and transactions into Odyssey to modernize and simplify processes When the State Court of Fulton County, Georgia, closed its books at the end of each month, employees had to navigate through thirteen different accounting programs, dozens of spreadsheets, and manually transfer information. Even after implementing Odyssey the court continued to rely on previous practices that added extra work and increased the odds of errors. In an effort to find new ways to streamline processes and create a more efficient court, Fulton County made the decision to take full advantage of its Odyssey Financial Manager software. County Audit and IT teams worked with Tyler Technologies to migrate and update the entire financial process into Odyssey in two phases. Once the transition was complete, the accounting department entered data into only one system. No longer spending time manually entering deposit information, check creation, end-of-month reconciliation, and pre-payment data into multiple spreadsheets, employees freed up time to focus on new efforts. Because of the county s efforts to continually improve its software experience, key staff now have instant, real-time access to critical financial data, and case financials have been updated with actual usage and the needs of each department to allow budgetary flexibility.

6 WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN Award winners are selected by exhibiting leadership, innovation, and excellence in using the Odyssey product suite. Entries are judged on: Organizational efficiency and productivity Organizational responsiveness Business value Innovation Relevance E-Court Maturity Model The Maturity Model is a tool for planning your organization s successful evolution from paper-based to electronic operations. As a scorecard, it identifies many key characteristics of an electronic court. By implementing the capabilities in the table, and over time moving toward the top of the chart, courts eliminate paper and become more efficient. Eventually, a completely electronic court is achieved. Shown below is the Maturity Model for courts, but there are also versions for jails and prosecuting attorneys. All of the Excellence Award winners have made significant progress moving up the Maturity Model toward fully electronic operations. Court Operations Citizens Attorneys Justice Partners Advanced Documents received and signed Participants are electronically noticed on court orders and actions. between court and clerk. All documents in CMS are searchable PDFs. between clerk and court. Self-represented litigants can complete forms and electronically file online. interaction between court and juror regarding jury services and trial cancellation. Attorneys are electronically noticed on court orders and action. between attorneys and the CMS. Feature-rich services function natively on mobile devices. between clerk and court. Courts can view electronic case information from many jurisdictions in the region. All All files in courtroom are electronic. All data entry and forms generated in courtroom. Processes between court and clerk are electronic. Only electronic files are maintained. Appeals are generated Processes between clerk and court are electronic. Court documents can be viewed online. Jurors can submit excusal and reschedule requests online. Some self-represented litigants can complete forms online. All new cases and subsequent filings are submitted Attorneys can submit proposed orders Court documents can be viewed online. All justice partners receive information from the court Justice partners can electronically retrieve appropriate case documents. Mostly Most files in courtroom are electronic. Some manual and paper processes still exist. Most cases are initiated Most subsequent filings are received E-filings are automatically updated in CMS. Citizens can look up case information online. Jurors can complete questionnaires online. Most filings are submitted Attorneys can look up case information online. Most justice partners receive information from the court Justice partners have appropriate elevated privileges to access secured case information. Some Some data entry and forms generated in the courtroom, but paper/manual processes are still prevalent. Some documents are received All paper documents received or generated are scanned. General court information is available online. Payments can be made online and are automatically posted in the CMS. Some filings are submitted Some justice partners receive information from the court Manual Paper files in courtroom. Manual forms generated in courtroom. All signatures on paper. All case filings are received on paper and docketed manually. All case files are maintained on paper. Copies of court records are available at the courthouse. Payments are mostly made in person by cash or check. Jury service is facilitated through paper and mail. Copies of court records are available at the courthouse. Attorneys hand-deliver or use couriers to file documents with the court. Information is provided to justice partners mostly by exchanging paper documents. Case information from other court jurisdictions must be requested manually. OD-TXTEA-BROCH Tyler Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.