1. Juvenile Data Exchange (JDEX) Technology Committee Presentation
March 9, 2017
Judge Greg Price, Floyd County Juvenile Court
Chair, Council of Juvenile Court Judges (CJCJ), JDEX Committee

2. Georgia’s Juvenile Justice System has lacked a centralized record keeping system and information sharing platform. This has long been a barrier to judicial decision-making and the provision of a uniform justice experience for youth offenders in our State.
Background

3. The problem has been made more complex by the fact that the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) only provides probation and court services to children upon request from local Juvenile Courts (OCGA §49-4A-7)
The percentage of Georgia’s at-risk youth are roughly split between DJJ dependent and independent counties.
Background

4. Dependent versus Independent courts
Importantly, offense data has not accompanied youth offenders as they move between independent and dependent jurisdictions.

5. The Georgia Juvenile Proceedings Code requires that courts complete the Detention Assessment Instrument (DAI) for any pre-adjudication detention. The Pre-Disposition Risk Instrument (PDRA) is required to determine appropriateness of post-adjudication detention. Both are intended to enhance evidence-based decision-making in juvenile proceedings (House Bill 242 [2013]).
Neither can be reliably completed with the current information sharing barriers.
Background

6. Enter Juvenile Data exchange (jdex): A collaborative solution
JDEX brings together the Georgia Council of Juvenile Court Judges (CJCJ); Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC); Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ); the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB); and the Judicial Council of Georgia, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to develop a consolidated information repository.
Enter Juvenile Data exchange (jdex): A collaborative solution

7. Work on JDEX began in 2015 with the leadership of the CJCJ Technology Committee as a response to a Criminal Justice Reform Council recommendation. Collaborative efforts have culminated in a data dictionary to standardize core juvenile justice data elements, the development of the exchange architecture and data mapping protocols, implementation guidelines, and analytics.
The JDEX Committee elected to initially focus on DJJ’s Juvenile Tracking System (JTS) along with Canyon Solution’s case management system (JCATS), which collectively contain approximately 80% of Georgia’s juvenile cases.
JDEX data elements include demographics, previous DAI and PDRA assessments, offense histories, and detention and sentencing decisions.
JDEX Overview

8. DJJ and Canyon Solutions have agreed to upload updated juvenile records to JDEX on a weekly basis.
The stated goal is to increase frequency by June
JDEX is not a repository for ”certified” juvenile court records, but a system to alert juvenile court judges and parties to previous youth offender assessments and unsealed contacts across jurisdictions and in both dependent and independent courts.
JDEX Overview

9. As of February 2017, JDEX contains 62,009 juveniles records from independent and dependent courts.
Including fully “reproducible” risk assessments complete with detailed responses, individual scores, and risk estimate.
Currently JDEX data collection is being expanded to include legal history, detention decisions, and sentencing dispositions (expected May 2017).
JDEX Overview

10. JDEX Overview Total juveniles (Feb 2017): 62,009
County
Count
Columbia
594
Bartow
471
Troup
411
Gwinnett
4267
Hall
560
Whitfield
738
Gordon
187
Thomas
367
Muscogee
1710
Carroll
176
Upson
201
Cobb
1850
Fulton
4061
Dougherty
1010
Murray
184
Chatham
1016
Houston
1243
Newton
841
Polk
180
20,067
Total juveniles (Feb 2017):
62,009
From Department of Juvenile Justice and Independent Courts utilizing web hosted JCATS CMS **
New Cases opened since courts came online with web-hosted JCATS. Case number will increase over time looking forward.
JDEX Overview

11. JDEX piloting is expected to formally begin in May 2017 with a geographically diverse set of Juvenile Courts.
10 courts including those participating in the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI).
The JDEX Committee is planning for statewide implementation by July 2017.
Jdex Rollout - Pilots

12. JDEX is currently standing-up an analytics module that will will allow juvenile court judges and stakeholders to explore statewide and local data at an unprecedented level of granularity.
The data are de-identified and aggregated for the purposes of protecting youth records.
The data include demographic elements, DAI and PDRA assessments, detention and sentencing patterns, as well as recidivism estimates.
JDEX is currently working with Carl Vinson Institute to develop reporting elements and ensure data integrity.
The JDEX Analytics Module is expected to be available to Georgia’s Juvenile Court Judges by June 2017.
JDEX Analytics

13. Live demonstration

14. Advancing juvenile justice
JDEX provides a critical information sharing solution to Georgia’s Juvenile Courts to address key barriers.
JDEX helps promote enhanced judicial decision- making and a uniform justice experience for youth offenders.
JDEX delivers sophisticated analytics to judges and stakeholders to drive informed statewide and local policy planning.
JDEX advances juvenile justice and criminal justice reform in Georgia.
Advancing juvenile justice