The Michigan State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) announced the release of its statewide
web-based drug court case information system (DCCMIS) designed to support drug court case
management and the collection and analysis of drug court data. The DCCMIS project began in
late 2003 when SCAO requested technical assistance from the National Center for State Courts
(NCSC) to recommend an approach to improve drug court automation in the state. NCSC
further assisted with the preparation of a request for proposal (RFP) to develop a drug court case
management system for statewide implementation. Five focus group meetings were held with
drug court users and key stakeholders to refine RFP requirements. An advisory committee of
drug court users was convened to review vendor proposals and evaluate system demonstrations.
The advisory committee recommended that the contract be awarded to Advanced Computer
Technologies (ACT) of Montgomery, Alabama.
Development of the DCCMIS software application commenced in January 2005 with site visits to
observe court processes and define user requirements in local trial and tribal courts. A users’
focus group was then convened to review the design of vendor’s current drug court software and
identify changes needed to incorporate requirements unique to Michigan. SCAO drug court staff
also led a data standards committee to identify required data elements for drug court evaluation.
The alpha-version DCCMIS application was then presented to more than 50 users during
software testing sessions conducted at the Michigan Hall of Justice in late summer 2005. Final
testing of the system was completed at selected beta sites.
System training was provided by SCAO trainers who conducted a brief site visit to assess each
court’s readiness for implementation. Training began with a regional session for groups of court
users, followed by live training at each court site. The SCAO training team completed training and implementation at 54 drug courts within five months of system release. Help desk services
and an on-line users’ manual are provided by the vendor, along with ongoing support and
training from SCAO.
The DCCMIS analysis component will provide users the ability to conduct descriptive and
comparative bi-variant analysis of their data without the need to export data into other statistical
programs. The system will allow users to select out subgroups of clients using any combination
of the variables collected in the system and provide the analytic tools to describe the frequency,
percent, mean, standard deviation, and range of each subgroup. Differences between subgroup
characteristics and recidivism can be tested. This will provide managers quick access to
information and measurable program performance to assist with strategic planning and
administrative decision-making.
Funding for the DCCMIS has been provided, in part, by grants from the Michigan Office of Drug
Control Policy and the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. For questions regarding our
project contact Ms. Emily Taylor in the SCAO Drug Court Programs Office at 517-373-7351 or
taylore@courts.mi.gov.
Nial Raaen is the Director of Trial Court Services for the Michigan Supreme Court. |
