Application Instructions

Introduction

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in collaboration with The Pew Charitable Trusts’ public safety performance project (PSPP), invites courts in the United States interested in improving their appearance rates in criminal and traffic matters to engage with NCSC for technical assistance for one year. Through this initiative, NCSC and PSPP will help courts better understand barriers to appearance in their jurisdictions, learn how to address those barriers in ways that support individuals and promote better engagement with the court, and develop constructive responses to nonappearance. NCSC and PSPP will select up to six jurisdictions to participate in this initiative, at no cost to participating courts.

Key Dates for the Appearance Rate Project

What will courts get for participating in this project?

• Focused technical assistance to improve appearance rates in criminal and traffic cases, at no cost to the court;
  • This could include, on-site and virtual meetings with project staff and external experts, assistance with data collection and analysis, development of policy options or practices tailored to jurisdictions needs, and future planning
• A court user feedback survey developed specifically for their jurisdiction to inform the court about reasons for nonappearance;
• A network of peers similarly working to address appearance rates; and
• Expenses-paid attendance at the Appearance Rate Summit in early 2023, a 3-day event for each participating court to learn from experts and their peers.

NCSC asks participating courts to:

1. Change a policy or practice with the goal of increasing appearance rates or reducing harmful consequences of nonappearance, either by implementing a new innovation or expanding an existing program; and
2. Use data to make informed decisions about methods for increasing court appearance rates.

What does NCSC need from courts to participate in this project?

Build a stakeholder team of two or more individuals (maximum of six) who have an interest in increasing appearance rates and supporting court users, and who have policy making authority in your jurisdiction.

• This team must include at least one judge and a project coordinator.
  • The judge must either be the chief judge or a judge who hears criminal or traffic cases (or both);
  • The project coordinator should be someone designated by the court to be responsible for: implementing any selected innovations locally, liaising with NCSC staff, other technical assistance providers, and project coordinators from other participating sites; and collecting and reporting project-related data to NCSC.
• Suggested team members include the chief prosecuting attorney (or designee); the public defender (or designee) or if no public defender office exists, a representative from the defense bar;
• Additional team members could include anyone responsible for setting policy, who has particular expertise, or who is a stakeholder in the local justice system. Examples include but are not limited to: a representative from the funding unit (municipal, county, or state), the local criminal justice coordinating committee, or a community impacted by missed court appearances; court administrator; pretrial services; the clerk of court; the sheriff; or local law enforcement.

Teams selected for the project will meet with NCSC’s technical assistance team approximately once every other month for the duration of the project, and send team members to participate in the Appearance Rate Summit in early 2023.

Evaluation of Applications

NCSC and PSPP will evaluate the applications based on criteria regarding the jurisdiction’s needs and capacities relating to addressing court appearance barriers. NCSC and PSPP are committed to selecting a diverse group of applicants, with a range of different jurisdiction characteristics, who are all committed to making improvements to court appearance rates. While the application seeks information on data collection and other initiatives currently in place, courts not currently collecting data on appearance rates and/or not currently engaging in programs designed to increase appearance rates will not be disqualified from consideration.

In evaluating applications, NCSC may request a preliminary virtual visit with your team. NCSC and PSPP will select up to six jurisdictions to participate in the technical assistance project. NCSC will notify all applicants of the outcome of their application by early November, 2022.

How to Apply

Identify the local team members you want to participate, and fill out an application here. The application should take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Submit your application by September 30, 2022. NCSC and PSPP will review the applications and select up to six sites to participate in this initiative. NCSC will notify all applicants of our decision by November 7, 2022.

To preview the application, please click here.

FAQs

For more information, contact:

Mike Tartaglia or Shelly Cern.