An Application for Funding Under FY 2013 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program PROGRAM NARRATIVE () Submitted by: The Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation P.O. Box 520 Window Rock, Arizona 86515 Ph: 928-871-7669 Fax: 928-871-6761
Contents Contents... 2 PROGRAM ABSTRACT... 3 SECTION I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM... 4 SECTION II: PROGRAM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION... 6 SECTION III: CAPABILITIES/COMPETENCIES... 10 SECTION IV: BUDGET... 12 Budget Narrative... 13 2
PROGRAM ABSTRACT Applicant(s): Title: The Judicial Branch of the Navajo Nation The Amount requested: $78,233 The project s goals are to expand on and improve the automated case management system that currently supports the courts, probation, public safety, prosecutors, peacemaking and the public defenders through JusticeWeb, an online application for Justice Information Sharing. A Needs Assessment Report was generated by the National Center for State Courts following a site visit on March 20-23, 2007. The overall strategy plan consists of modernizing to new technologies and integrating agency systems to foster collaboration and effective communication and sharing of information within and across agency and jurisdictional boundaries. The Navajo Nation Integrated Justice Information Sharing Project (NNIJISP) Technology Oversight Committee adopted a Memorandum of Understanding of Goals and Guidelines that identifies real time access to justice and court case information as well as permitting e-payments of fines, costs and fees. Key deliverables include technological infrastructure procurement; collect uniform data that will provide information for continuous quality improvement; data linkage/sharing; evaluate member policies, practices and procedure and standardize processes and documents for online access via E-Filing, E-View, E-Discovery and E-Payment. 3
SECTION I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Program Narrative The Navajo Nation is vast, frontier and rural. Its land mass stretches across three states; Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and permeates eleven counties within these states. The Navajo Nation is involved with four jurisdictional areas; federal, state, county and local Navajo law. (Exhibit 1) The Navajo Nation ranks as the largest Indian tribe, encompassing a land base of some 27,000 square miles with a population of over 300,000 Indians and non-indians residing within its borders (U.S. Census, 2010). In a resolution passed in 1992 and amended in 1999, the Navajo Nation Council mandated the creation of an Open Information Environment among the governing entities of the Navajo Nation government. The amended resolution calls for the assignment of responsible parties to coordinate the use and development of computer technology to accomplish an open information-sharing environment. At that time, the Inter-Tribal Integrated Justice Pilot Project involving the Navajo Nation, Hopi and Zuni tribes had just begun, led by the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement (NCRLE). Thereafter, the Navajo Nation integration efforts languished for quite some time. The reasons were identified at a NCRLE-sponsored Criminal Justice Summit on March 19-21, 2001: namely, limited resources, minimal technological training and education, inadequate facilities and undeveloped technologies. For over 30 years, the Navajo Nation utilized an antiquated system that became obsolete. In 2012, the Navajo Nation justice community jointly purchased the JustWare case management system. JustWare is now in use at 10 District Court sites located throughout the Navajo Nation. Over the last year, over 150 users have been trained in the Justware system and the application now being utilized by the courts, probation, prosecutors and most recently, Peacemaking. Three judicial district 4
sites are not yet connected because of their rural and frontier nature preventing them from obtaining reliable internet connectivity. At this point in time, JustWare is closed to the public and available to the Navajo justice community only. There is no option for the public or individuals outside the justice community to utilize the system for information, forms or to make payments. In line with the NNIJISP Technology Oversight Committee Goals and Guidelines and to completely fulfill the Navajo Nation Council mandate, the information available in JustWare needs to be accessible by the general public. (Exhibit A) 5
SECTION II: PROGRAM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION A. Legislative Initiative and Formation of Committee. Pursuant to an April 20, 2006 Navajo Nation Council directive in which all branches must cooperate in developing an integrated justice information system, a committee was formed. The committee consists of the heads of criminal justice governmental stakeholders: the Judicial Branch, Division of Public Safety, Prosecutors Office, Department of Corrections, Probation Office, Public Defenders office, the Department of Information Technology and each of their respective IT personnel. (Exhibit A) The committee meets quarterly to plan and update each other on the NNIJISP. A Memorandum of Understanding of Goal & Guidelines relative to NNIJISP were accepted on October 31, 2007. (Exhibit B) B. Needs assessment. On March 20-23, 2007, James E. McMillan, Principal Court Technology Consultant with NCSC, was hired to meet at length with members of the justice community. After testing the database functions of each office, McMillan submitted a Needs Assessment Report in May 2007 with project design recommendations. Funding for this report came from the Navajo Nation Council. C. Design and Goals. McMillan s design involved a 5-Year Plan to establish a unified automated case management system for the Supreme Court, probation, corrections, prosecutors and public defenders. With Justware live at most district courts, this goal is nearing completion; however, as with any technology, it is evolutionary. The NNIJISP Technology Oversight Committee Memorandum of Understanding has two goals: 1) Permit real time access to justice and court case information and 2) Permit e-payments of fines, costs and fees. The procurement of the JusticeWeb software application will be the solution to these goals. 6
JusticeWeb. The software development company that created JustWare has a web based solution to meet our needs called JusticeWeb. The Navajo Nation will secure a sole source contract with New Dawn Technologies, Inc., the creator of JusticeWeb, to procure a software license and subscribe to its services and trainings. New Dawn Technologies, Inc. through the coordination of the Judicial Branch will design a web application specific to the Navajo Nation s needs and provide training to our staff. Media announcements will also be used to inform the public about the capability and availability of JusticeWeb. With JusticeWeb users will be able to E-File, E-View, utilize E-Discovery and submit E-payments. E-File. With the capability to E-File, users who are able to access the internet will be able to file court motions using forms that are available. E-filing will enable stakeholders, pro se litigants, attorneys, claimants and others to electronically file and review cases online. Pro Se Forms will be standardized across all Districts for consistency and ease of use on JusticeWeb. Fees could be attached to E-filing for revenue for the courts. With internet connectivity unavailable to many in our communities, kiosks will be set up at each of our District Court sites for the general public who will be able to access Pro Se Forms at their convenience. E-View. View-only access to information will be available online. This will free up time that often tie up our court personnel on the phone answering questions. E-View will allow stakeholders, employees and the public to view case information and see court calendars. E-discovery. E-Discovery will allow the ability to send or receive discovery packages online, reducing walk-in traffic and staff time. E-Payments. This feature will allow our Districts to accept court fines and fees online. The convenience will benefit the public as well as the courts who will have reduced traffic and 7
increased revenue from the convenience of online payments. Thousands of tourists visit the Navajo Nation every year and are sometimes inconvenienced with having to return to pay a fine. Some find it so inconvenient and decide not to pay, resulting in lost revenue to the Navajo Nation. JusticeWeb would prove to be a convenient way to pay their fines. A fee for making an online payment can also be assessed. 8
D. Project Activities, Objectives and Measures. Program Narrative Activity Project Objective Measurement NNIJISP Technology Oversight Committee Planning Meeting Establish preliminary JusticeWeb Execution Plan Hire JusticeWeb Applications Consultant Establish Standards Training on JusticeWeb Implement JusticeWeb To discuss and agree on a plan for JusticeWeb procurement and rollout. To establish a timeline of short term priorities toward JusticeWeb procurement and rollout. To design and build the Navajo Nation JusticeWeb site. To ensure JusticeWeb fits business processes of each justice community entity To ensure Navajo Nation employees and the general public are trained in the use of JusticeWeb To advertise availability of JusticeWeb Increase access to information Improve public safety Establishment of a JusticeWeb Ad Hoc committee Attendance of committee members at meetings Number of meetings in grant period Priorities identified Timeframes established Written plan Sole Source Contract for JusticeWeb secured. Consultant hired within days of signed contract for JusticeWeb. Bid and contract within Budget. Meetings held between stakeholders to reach business compromise Standard processes and forms established Number of attendees at trainings Number of trainings Number of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) trained as trainers Newspapers announcements Radio announcements Press Releases Number of hits NNIJISP website gets % reduction in phone calls from public and others requesting for information % of increase in number of payments received Reliable data for reports and funding agencies % decrease in public complaints about Navajo Nation justice community % increase in closed cases with information readily available to public % decrease in number of warrants with information readily available. 9
SECTION III: CAPABILITIES/COMPETENCIES Program Narrative The core competencies of the NNIJISP project are in the capability of the NNIJISP Technology Oversight Committee to set policy, priorities and pursue funding; in the Judicial Branch to manage funds and run performance reports; in the Project Manager to driver the project; in the Justice Applications Consultant to implement the project; and in existing Navajo Nation DIT staff to provide on-going maintenance support to the project. The project has been given top priority by the Navajo Nation Council. Committee members are the Chief Justice, Division Directors, Department Directors, Chiefs and IT specialists of Navajo Nation criminal justice entities who are stakeholders in the accurate, timely and accessible collection and distribution of justice information. Because it is driven by the legislature and because the Committee is staffed by the lead members representing the various entities rather than subordinate representatives, the mechanism for inter-agency coordination, compromises and communications is already in place for project success. The ability of the Committee to set policy, priorities and make technical and management decisions is maximized due to the high level governmental involvement. Furthermore, the committee members are specialized in and intimately knowledgeable of, and well-positioned to address the specific business needs of their constituent entities. The member entities are assured that individual entity interests which may be and often are competing are accounted for in the process. The Committee members are uniquely positioned to make decisions for their constituent entities. Each Committee member is able to call upon established resources within the Navajo Nation tribal government. The divisions, departments and branches headed by the committee members are fully equipped to administer their respective units. 10
The Project Manager serves as a driver, project coordinator and facilitator of inter-agency communications. She informs and educates the Committee, performs public outreach and reports to the Committee, Council and public. The Project Manager works closely with New Dawn Technologies, Inc. and will have a hand in the Consultant s contract. The Project Manager works with all of the IT staff both at the Navajo Nation and branch levels to create the hardware/network configuration and RFPs. New Dawn Technologies, Inc. will be responsible for planning (in concert with the Project Manager and Committee), designing and implementing JusticeWeb within project time frames. As the lead agency in this funding request, the Judicial Branch Budget Analyst will be responsible for managing funds. The branch fiscal office consists of the director, a financial specialist, three financial technicians and the budget analyst. The Judicial Branch Grant Administrator will be responsible for managing the grant and (in concert with the Project Manager), ensuring goals and timelines are met and reports are submitted in a timely manner. A central Navajo Department of Information Technology (DIT) and two smaller divisional IT units, situated within the Judicial Branch and the Division of Public Safety is on hand to maintain and perform future modifications on JusticeWeb. 11
SECTION IV: BUDGET A. Equipment Item Computation Cost Technology software and licenses 1 site license of JusticeWeb $71,121 $224,000 in software cost that is designed to interface with the Navajo Nation s JustWare case management system. JAG grant will cover $71,121. Excess software costs will be obtained from the Navajo Nation Council. TOTAL: $71,121 B. Indirect Costs Description Computation Cost 10% cap per JAG requirements $78,233 X 10% IDC rate $7,112 TOTAL: $7,112 Budget Summary Budget Category A. Equipment B. Indirect Costs Amount $71,121 $7,112 TOTAL PROJECT COSTS $78,233 Federal Request $78,233 12
Budget Narrative A. EQUIPMENT $224,000 is needed for software and licensing fees. The FY 2013 JAG Grant will provide $71,121. The NNIJISP plan is for a New Dawn Technologies to design and build public access software for use by stakeholders and the general public. Any additional technological procurement funding needed will be requested from the Navajo Nation Council. The Council is already deeply invested in NNIJISP and has issued a directive to make criminal justice information sharing a reality, the project expects to have a positive Council response to any request for supplemental funding for this purpose. B. INDIRECT COSTS The indirect cost based on JAG requirements is 10%. We have applied this rate to the base of $78,233 that we are requesting in direct costs through this grant application, resulting in an indirect cost amount of $7,112. The remaining costs for the project will be funded by the Navajo Nation Council. C. TOTAL PROGRAM COSTS The total direct costs are $71,121. Indirect costs are $7,112. We are requesting federal assistance of $78,233 which consists of $71,121 in base costs and $7,112 in indirect costs. 13