Overview of June 30th meeting hosted by Judge Fowler - This is just a quick synopsis of the meeting of the Monroe County Justice IT Forum that was held on July 30, hosted by Judge Fowler. We had initially planned to meet in Judge Fowler's Courtroom but due to an over abundance of jail pleas occurring in that courtroom we were unable to do so and instead met in the jury deliberation room. Unfortunately we had planned to conduct our first web conference so that we could include Joseph George of the Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel out of Miami and had the equipment to do so set up in the Courtroom. We are very excited to find a method with which to web conference that is easily available to most people in order to increase participation, so we will continue to try to facilitate this at upcoming meetings. An overview of what was discussed at the meeting follows; A brief discussion centered around the document management solution that is being considered by KWPD and the SAO offered by a company Advanced Processing and Imaging. While both agencies may be utilizing the product for different purposes, the products flexibility will potentially allow for some integration should both agencies eventually deploy the system. The SAO is in the final stages of assessing competitive proposals and is intending to move forward as quickly as possible. Among many features the new system will allow for storage of digital evidence while linking directly to the existing case management system. It also will provide a method for documented electronic discovery, scanning of stored files, and eventually allowing for case file management to hopefully become completely paperless. The system can also integrate with other systems such as the SAO accounting and HR system which will additionally assist with paperwork reduction. The KWPD is in the competitive bidding process and was also trying to examine a source of funding for the deployment. To that end, the SAO was going to explore the possibility of utilizing what is known as the Court Technology Fund, a fund that has been established by the collection of filing fees that the SAO, Public Defender and Courts share in. The intent of the fund is to assist with integration of technology throughout Court related agencies in the County, and the funding is for County agencies. If the KWPD department were to deploy the same system, and certain KWPD information became accessible to the SAO as a result, it could be seen that this effort could correlate with the objective of the fund. To that end, while not making any assurances, State Attorney Dennis Ward has expressed interest in exploring the potential of using the SAO portion of the fund to assist other agencies beyond the SAO, PD, and Courts if it helps with systems integration. This would potentially include the MCSO as well should they decide to pursue a similar system. A discussion of the fund itself then ensued, whereby it was brought up that the fund is divided in a manner whereby the Courts receive 50%, the SAO 30% and the PD 20% of any disbursements from collections. No one was present from the PD to discuss how they were using the funds, but Judge Miller who joined the group suggested that the Courts were using a portion of theirs for a variety of communication projects including phones. Judge Miller then shared a great deal of information on the statewide objective of the Clerks and the Courts accomplishing electronic filing, and expressed that great strides were being made and that the move towards electronic filing would be happening soon. It was also brought up that as the move towards more paperless systems developed, the essential need for consistent internet access in the courtrooms would be a crucial component. Manny Madruga discussed the necessity of SAO attorneys to be able to use any SAO laptop in any Courtroom without the need to change wireless networks, etc. I also again reiterated our commitment to provide and maintain the necessary wireless equipment to the Courts to ensure that our SAO users could depend on seamless intergration with the wireless internet access when in any courtroom. There was some discussion regarding participation and it was again a consensus that it would be good to encourage more people and/or agencies to participate in the monthly meetings. To help promote participation it was agreed that some sort of web conferencing would go a long way towards that end. It was agreed that the best way to do that was to hold upcoming meetings at the SAO so that we could test various forms of conferencing at the meetings. Everyone present agreed to encourage others to participate. As time permits, I will develop a website available as a link in the side bar of the main State Attorney website to discuss topics and post meeting information. I currently have simply posted some past meeting details that I may have sent out via email. Hopefully I will be able to make this a more functional component of the Forum over time. I also was able to meet with Judge Fowler's JA, Kim Stover and we discussed the potential of testing a web based calendar for Judge Fowler, which we will make available on the SAO website as a test. I was hoping to use a Google Apps based calendar similar to what we use to publish our Duty Prosecutor on the SAO website. We have enjoyed some distinct advantages of Google Apps since migrating last year, some of which are the ease of integration of email, calendaring, and public and private websites. Aside from the cost savings of replacing the Microsoft email system, Google Apps has been a very functional component of our workflow. Admittedly, I know we are all very busy, but I think if we continue to move forward we will see some very helpful developments as a direct result of participation in the forum. Thanks again for everyones help and participation. Overview of April 6th meeting in Key West - Below is a brief synopsis of the meeting that occurred at the Office of the State Attorney on Tuesday April 6. It was a continuing effort to develop an association of agencies designed to assist with issues, and develop potential solutions as they relate to the justice system within Monroe County. The following individuals were in attendance: Mick Michel, DOC Geoff Peattie on behalf of RaiEtte Aveal, DJJ Gerald Land, Circuit Court Patty Burns, DOC Steve Hull, DOC Christine Cianci, Court Options Nancy Criswell, SAO Donald Barrett, SAO Sylvia Reams, SAO Marti Roy, Circuit Court Manny Madruga, SAO Angie Glover, MCSO Kathleen Ream, KWPD Patti McLauchlin, Key West City, KWPD Lucy Vasylenko, SAO Overview: Discussion quickly established that certain agencies and/or individuals may have had reservations about participating due to the formality and the draft Charter and Agenda that were circulated. Apparently there is the perception by some that the intent of formulating the committee was for the express intent of dictating policy. As had been discussed at the previous meeting, it was agreed that nothing could be further from the truth, and it is in fact a desire of those involved to eliminate such a perception, and reduce the influence of politics on inter agency cooperation. Discussion then turned towards how to eliminate that perception, and encourage participation by those agencies that had reservations about being involved. It was decided that there should be a less formal approach, and that the approach should center on a more specific objective at first so that certain objectives could be met to illustrate the group's potential benefits. It was also discussed that all efforts could be a waste of time if key stakeholders such as the Public Defender, and County Clerk were not participating, and that it was vital to encourage their involvement. In order to continue efforts towards that end, in general it was agreed upon to do the following; The committee would consider itself more of a "forum" whereby participants could meet approximately once a month to pursue common efforts. The coordination and hosting of each meeting would rotate through participating agencies to reduce the perception that there is an agenda driven by any one particular agency or individual. The first objective would be to work on consolidating circuits among specific agencies, and to implement more effective video conferencing. This objective could illustrate tangible cost savings, and helpful functionality that might encourage more participation by agencies that currently have chosen not to participate. Lt. Kathleen Ream of KWPD agreed to coordinate and host the next monthly meeting. Overview of February 25th meeting in Marathon - Following is a brief synopsis of the Justice IT conference arranged by State Attorney Dennis Ward that was held last Thursday, February 25th in Marathon. Thank you again to those who participated and for your enthusiasm towards the objectives discussed. Please forward this on to any others whom you think could be interested in participating in the future. Conference Overview Welcome and Introduction by State Attorney Dennis Ward. Discussion of needs and benefits of forming a standing committee to address Justice related IT issues conducted by Matt Gardi, Director of IT for the SAO. Issues and topics included in discussion - Digital Evidence, Discovery Distribution, Case Management, Knowledge Sharing, Consolidating Services, Electronic Filing, and taking politics out of collaborating. Those in attendance resolved that; 1 - There is a clear need for a County IT Committee. 2 - There are tangible benefits from forming a Committee. 3 - The Committee should not be centered around any one agency. 4 - The Committee should not be centered around any one job role or issue. Stakeholders include everyone from law enforcement, prosecutors, legal assistants, Judges, administrators, IT personnel, and private attorneys, to the public. 5 - The Committee should be created with the express intent of creating efficiencies and solutions for the County as a whole, the end user, and the public. 6 - While IT should be the basis of the Committee's objectives, it should not be the dominant role, nor shall the Committee be comprised solely of IT personnel. 7 - The Committee should be comprised of two people from each of the following agencies; Clerk of the Courts, Office of the State Attorney, Office of the Public Defender, Court Administration, MCSO, KWPD, DOC Probation, Court Options, Private Defense Attorneys, FHP, FWC, FDLE, Pretrial Services, Gaurdium Ad Litum, DCF, Monroe County BOCC, and the County Attorney. While it was suggested that each agency would have two members, it was recommended that one would be IT, and the other would be from some other job role, and together the two would maintain one vote on the Committee. The purpose was to ensure higher participation while maintaining a diverse perspective on the Committee. Both members would be welcomed to participate in meetings. 8 - While a broad base of agencies was essential to the Committee's effectiveness, it was viewed that the Monroe County Clerk's Office was a central and vital component to have included. 9 - A suggestion after the meeting by Bob Ward, County IT director, was for there to be a sub-committe of IT members to address the full Committee's concerns and objectives that could meet on a more regular basis. 10 - A subsequent meeting would be scheduled hopefully within a month, with those in attendance at that time developing a mission statement, and defining formulation in a more detailed manner. 11 - Effort should be made in the future to utilize the media to promote the Committee's objectives, meetings, and agendas. 12 - Matt Gardi offered to both schedule and contact the appropriate stakeholders for the next meeting with the assistance of Sylvia Reams. Thanks again to everyone who participated, I look forward to gaining momentum as we move forward in the future. Please contact myself or Sylvia Reams for more information on upcoming events. |
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 Dennis W. Ward State Attorney |
MCJITC |