Building Bridges in Case Management: Lessons from Integrating Systems Across Public Defense Divisions

• In Event: Data in Indigent Defense: Management of Public Defense and Court Systems

Abstract

The Department of Public Defense (DPD) in King County launched a new case management system in June 2024. DPD previously had two separate case management systems, one for its four practicing divisions and one for the department’s administrative and management division. In finding a new system, DPD had to balance the ability to screen clients and cases to send them to one of each of its four practicing divisions while also supporting the needs of the divisions to manage their cases confidentially and independently. These requirements made for a delicate balance of information flow between the five divisions to preserve client confidentiality and attorney obligations, while also creating efficiencies in assigning and re-assigning cases to best serve its indigent clients. As an additional challenge, the practicing divisions previously had a case-centric management system while the administrative division had a person-centric management system and both needed to be merged into a single system. DPD also identified many ways in which it could integrate with other criminal legal agencies and King County departments electronically to improve accuracy and efficiency. This presentation will share lessons learned through both successes and failures on the process of identifying system needs, selecting a system, configuring the new system, mapping the existing data into the new system, and system implementation.

Author

• Alison Liu, King County Department of Public Defense