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Streamline Civil Proceedings with Online Pleas Solution

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Contrary to what some may believe, there is greater demand than ever for online access to local courts. According to a study by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), over 80% of citizen respondents said that having the ability to manage cases and connect with court staff online would improve their experience. Court staff are similarly known to want online tools that alleviate some of the stress of their work.

Those citizens and clerks are getting what they want, thanks to an emerging solution called online dispute resolution (ODR) that uses technology to reach agreements. ODR technology can streamline administrative and judicial workflows, as well as facilitate payment processing. But what makes ODR better than traditional methods of dispute resolution?

What is online dispute resolution?

The development of ODR technology pulls from existing methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and transposes them to a fully digital space. Through mediation, negotiation, and/or arbitration, citizens can settle disputes with each other or with the court in a way that serves all parties effectively and painlessly. ODR platforms frequently employ asynchronous communication tools and online portals that also enable citizens to pursue justice outside of business hours.

While ODR can be implemented differently from region to region, it is known to be most effective at resolving small-scale disputes and “inconvenient” infractions, such as traffic citations. However, ODR can also be used to resolve property, taxation, and domestic relations cases; much of its value comes from the fact that it can be applied to multiple judicial settings. By allowing citizens to serve themselves, ODR technology streamlines the court process and reduces the strain on court resources.

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nCourt’s Online Pleas Solution

nCourt brought ODR technology to the public in the form of its innovative Online Pleas Solution (OPS). The nCourt OPS enables citizens to work with the courts that serve them from anywhere at any time and helps them resolve their cases reliably and easily.

With nCourt’s OPS, courts and citizens alike enjoy a range of features, including:

  • Negotiation of domestic relations cases — Citizens can negotiate pre-decree cases (such as divorce or child support) as well as post-decree cases online with or without the help of the court or a third-party mediator.
  • Secure and private payments — Citizens can resolve outstanding fees with confidence that their data is protected.
  • Quick resolution of traffic and misdemeanor cases — Citizens can see their minor infractions resolved painlessly, from parking tickets to city ordinance violations.
  • Warrant and amnesty management — Citizens can track, prevent, and resolve failure-to-comply warrants; courts can also extend amnesties with the click of a mouse.
  • Civil claims resolution — Courts can use the solution to resolve small-claims, landlord-tenant, civil debt, and other cases; citizens can work with the court with or without the involvement of a mediator.

Benefits of OPS — “Virtual Court in a Box”

Virtual mediation has far-reaching benefits, one of which is streamlining administrative and judicial dispute workflows. OPS is a “Virtual Court in a Box” — it changes the paradigm between court representative and citizen, empowering citizens to take a more active role in their interactions with the court which promotes a willingness to pay and resolve matter quickly.

Today’s citizens are tech savvy and expect self-service options to engage with service providers. OPS supports this desire and satisfies the demand. In fact, by offering citizens a self-service option to resolve small-scale disputes (e.g., traffic citation), citizens can settle fines from anywhere, even outside of business hours, and communicate with court staff privately.

Additionally, OPS helps the court shorten lines and reduce the time needed to close cases. Robust functionality allows clerks to spend less time manually processing payments for minor infractions and decreases the need for law enforcement officers to track down late payments.

OPS presents a wide range of benefits for both court staff and citizens. ODR platforms such as nCourt’s OPS take advantage of the latest technology to expedite the processing and resolution of most minor infractions. By bearing the bulk of the administrative load, this solution relieves the pressure on administrative staff and equips them to do what they do best — bringing procedural justice to every citizen.

With nCourt, you can gain faster results, improve civic engagement, and boost your court’s bottom line. Learn more about our solutions, including nCourt OPS, by getting in touch today.

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Make Secure Online Tax Payments with Paylocalgov

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What makes a good tax payment solution? The answer may differ from person to person. Tax professionals may require a more comprehensive solution that offers robust functionality and security on the back end. Citizens, on the other hand, may ask for a streamlined end-user process that takes the headache out of paying taxes. The challenge for payment providers is to create a solution that will most effectively serve both parties. With the help of a secure, data-backed online payment platform, courts can make tax payment and processing easier and safer than ever.

What is an online tax payment solution?

An effective tax payment solution will feature a cohesive platform of services for local and state tax offices. These services may include those for billing, collections, and reporting, in addition to convenient tools for citizens. Because these features are based online and take advantage of new technologies, they offer greater flexibility and scalability than locally hosted systems.

Online payment technology also enables courts to accept multiple methods of payment, including direct pay through a dedicated account or via debit or credit card. In many cases, payments can be made on mobile devices, meaning citizens can verify what they owe and pay their taxes and other fees from anywhere, at any time.

Of course, these expanded capabilities mean tax offices have more to consider than convenience alone. Online tax payment platforms — particularly when accessed from mobile devices — are susceptible to security breaches. This has become a priority for many payment providers in the wake of several high-profile attacks, and any good online tax payment platform will feature strong protective measures for financial data.

What is the role of data integration?

The most important attribute of any online tax payment solution — perhaps more so than the payment itself — is how the platform handles financial data. Some features tax professionals should look for include:

  • Seamless integration with backend software — This helps ensure taxes are processed efficiently and privately.
  • Ability to process data-backed payments — This is crucial today, since a considerable portion of finances are digital.
  • Securely hosted data on the agency’s website — A good solution provider will develop and maintain this website on behalf of agency staff.
  • Payment files posted back into the agency’s software — Data remains up-to-date and in the hands of those who need it most.
  • Payment files logged and accounted in a client admin portal — Files are easily accessible from a central digital space.
  • Data backup and disaster recovery capability — This is critical to protect and/or restore data that may be compromised due to unforeseen circumstances such as ransomware or other cybersecurity attacks.

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What is Paylocalgov?

Paylocalgov is a component-driven platform that may be custom-tailored to local or state agencies for a range of tax payment needs. It offers access to real-time data reporting through its own dashboard, including time-saving analytics and filters for detailed account activity. Paylocalgov accepts multiple payment options, including digital and mobile payments, making tax payment a breeze for tech-savvy citizens. Most importantly, it features multiple layers of security at the highest level of PCI compliance, meaning citizens can rest easy knowing their data is safe.

A powerful online tax payment solution is about more than just the payment. Security, flexibility, and data integration all factor into making an effective payment platform. With Paylocalgov, local and state agencies can take advantage of the latest technology, and citizens — no matter where they are — can take comfort in knowing their payments will be filed easily, safely, and on time.

With features that can be customized to fit any agency’s needs, Paylocalgov makes it easier than ever for citizens to make tax payments and for governments to collect those payments. To learn more contact us at paylocalgov.com.

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Modular Court Technology: The Court Component Model

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There is an alarming trend among court managers — the tendency to acquire technology without fully understanding how it works, or if it will translate to success in their specific court. They may also fail to recognize that their newly adopted suite of court management services will likely no longer meet their needs in a few short years. With new technology hitting shelves every day, court managers may feel overwhelmed when deciding on a solution to meet their business requirements. Fortunately, courts can take a modular approach to technology adoption, called court component modeling, that will equip them to adapt to new challenges.

What is court component modeling?

One way to define court component modeling (CCM) is to compare it to the traditional approach to court technology. Most case management systems (CMSs) are applied as monolithic, one-size-fits-all suites; while comprehensive in some cases, this approach is known to be ineffective in a rapidly evolving market. In contrast, the component model is highly modular and allows courts to mix and match programs for their individual needs, even if the programs come from multiple vendors. With CCM, courts can adopt technology based on their business strategy — rather than the other way around — and meet emerging business requirements by adjusting or supplementing their components instead of replacing an entire suite.

Components are also designed to be platform-agnostic in their interactions with other programs, independently deployable, and highly scalable. When combined with guidance from a trusted technology provider such as nCourt, these components will be easier to adopt and use than full, restrictive suites.

How is a court component model implemented?

In order to begin the adoption process, court managers should assess their business needs by asking themselves and their team a range of questions, including:

  • What tools will allow us to meet our current needs without restricting us in the future?
  • What are the gaps in our technological environment, and what technologies exist to help us fill those gaps?
  • What are the needs of our citizens, and how will the tools we select improve their access to procedural justice?

It may also help for court leaders to view their computing environment as an array of technological building blocks, rather than a consolidated CMS. From there, they can decide which components to use.

Components often are categorized as either case management or supplemental components. Case management components may include the central case manager many courts are accustomed to, as well as a financial manager and a document manager. Supplemental components may include e-filing tools, evidence management, and ePayment services. There are many more, depending on the provider, but the beauty of the component model is that it allows courts to exclusively pick and choose the tools they need to manage cases.

What are the benefits of court component modeling?

By creating a modular technological environment that can evolve with the market, CCM positions court professionals to be ready for the future. It also enables them to fill the gaps in service that may have existed under the traditional approach to technology. Courts that adopt CCM-based systems will be free to create a best-in-class solution composed of components from diverse vendors.

Inflexible courtroom technology can create challenges for clerks and professionals alike. With the help of the court component model, however, court leaders can make real change in this area. When court leaders do the proper research and choose the components that will have the greatest impact in their court environment, they will be better equipped to face coming changes in the industry.

The market for court technology is evolving faster than ever. Fortunately, nCourt is here to help local and state courts adapt to these changes and serve their citizens. Contact us today to learn more.

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Digital Payment Solutions for Child Support

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For parents and children in the child support system, nothing is quite as important as ensuring payments are delivered on time and with regularity. A missed payment may create an undue financial burden on custodial parents and their children. Delays can similarly cause unwanted strain on court professionals; the time and energy they spend tracking down payments could be better used serving citizens. What are parents, children, and clerks to do?

What are the drawbacks of the traditional system?

The traditional methods of collecting court-ordered child support payments rely on factors that are too often unreliable. These include payments delivered in-person or by mail in the form of cash, check, money order, or bank draft. The risk of a late or even missed payment increases when courts and citizens are restricted to these methods, which may, in turn, cause challenges for all parties involved.

The traditional system also requires extensive resources from the court; the cost of paper checks, supporting documents, and postage can add up quickly. In addition, the court’s reliance on human clerks to manually process each payment increases the risk of data entry errors, which cause even more delays. The issue is that regular child support payments are expected within a system that cannot guarantee regularity. The question we are left with is, “How can providers ensure that regularity?”

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How can a digital payment solution help?

Modern technology means modern solutions in the form of digital child support payments. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the precedent for digital payment options has been in place for some years. The challenge for courts lies in implementing this digital technology.

In many cases, digital payment options include direct deposits to a custodial parent’s bank account or payments deposited into a stored value card account. Some payment providers even allow citizens to use online services such as PayPal. With tools designed to make the process as efficient as possible, digital payment solutions offer benefits across the board at little to no extra cost to state governments.

  • Recurring payments — This helps reduce the financial strain on families that may not be able to deliver cash payments on a timely basis. Thanks to options such as automatic recurring payments and guaranteed funds options, citizens can follow plans that suit their circumstances.
  • Fewer delays — When citizens can pay from anywhere, at any time, and in minutes, they have a greater incentive than ever to be on time. Similarly, digital payments help court professionals cut down on processing time, and custodial parents are guaranteed to receive their payments much faster.
  • Lower burden on clerks — Court professionals can track payments more easily and face shorter lines. Likewise, they can spend less time manually logging payments, allowing them to focus their efforts on helping citizens face-to-face.
  • Reduced financial impact — Although some citizens will prefer to pay in person or by mail, courts will pay less overall for paper checks, documents, postage, and processing.

Courts that offer a spread of digital payment options, including one-time, recurring, and partial payments help citizens make payments on time and without undue hardship. Having these options in place increases the likelihood that payments will be made on time and in full.

It pays to go digital

With the help of digital payment options for child support, citizens will have greater confidence in their court and can take comfort in knowing that their access to justice extends to child support services. Digital payments help reduce the financial strain on custodial parents and children, helping all parties achieve a new peace of mind.

nCourt offers digital payment solutions for child support at the local and state levels. To learn more, contact an nCourt expert today.

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Cash Payments at Retail Locations Enable Convenient Access to Justice

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In this third part of our series in the “Justice for All” forum — an exploration of the ways to ensure justice is accessible to all individuals regardless of income level — we delve into the principle that “convenient payment options and reasonable time payment plans should be provided and based on a defendant’s ability to pay.” Of particular concern is how to provide payment solutions for unbanked and underbanked defendants who need access to cash-only options. These individuals deserve the same convenient access as their “banked” counterparts to pay for court-related fees and fines.

What is unbanked/underbanked and why does it remain an issue?

According to a recent FDIC National Survey, 20% of all consumers are considered underbanked. This equates to 1 in 5 American consumers that are dependent on cash transactions and totals more than 51 million adults. The term unbanked refers to a household in which no one is served by a bank or similar financial institution. Underbanked is when households do not have sufficient bank services to meet the market demands.

The reasons individuals remain unbanked and underbanked vary:

  • Negative background check results
  • Not enough credit history
  • Don’t trust financial institutions
  • Undocumented resident
  • Avoid collections
  • Avoid bank fees
  • Dependent on government assistance
  • Jobless or low income

Let’s look at how courts can provide flexible payment options to this mixed group, without additional burden for courts and the defendants.

Unbanked defendants gain immediate benefits with cash-only payments

As we explored in “5 Ways to Create Visible Public Access to Justice,” the ability to conveniently make payments is a crucial factor in ensuring justice is available for all, including unbanked individuals. Courts offering cash payment options create an effective means for the unbanked defendants to pay; regardless of why they’re unbanked.

A cash payment platform enables millions of people without access to traditional banking tools to utilize a physical cash transaction with a mobile phone, SMS text messaging, email or the web, with retailers that act as the “transaction facilitator” between the consumer and biller. Individuals can simply walk in with cash on hand to pay court citations, without the higher-cost compared to check-cashing services.

This approach offers many benefits to cash-paying individuals as well as to the courts where their fees and fines are owed. This convenient payment method allows individuals to “SCAN-PAY-GO” to quickly and easily pay their citations, ensuring fast payment to courts.

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The solutions generate receipts either by smartphone or email, and everything is tracked electronically via a unique quick reader code (QRC) or barcode, and allow defendants to set reminders, guaranteeing them that their payment has reached the court and helping eliminate late payment fee.

Justice for all through payment flexibility

Through payment flexibility, defendants can also reduce the inconvenience of driving to a courthouse to pay their fees. In some cases, unbanked or underbanked defendants lack their own mode of transportation, forcing them to work around public transit schedules.

Flexible options allow defendants to pay with cash in the communities where they live, as well as take advantage of the longer-extended hours that are typical with retail stores – including the weekends. The retail payment locations will not only help reduce foot traffic at the courthouse, this additional convenience can increase the chances that the fees will be paid — on time — which has a positive impact on all parties.

It’s also important that these payment options are available through recognizable, easily accessible, trusted retailers. When defendants feel comfortable using services at these types of retail locations, the likeliness they will actually use them greatly increases.

These flexible payment options work like — and are as simple as — credit and debit payment transactions, and offer like services such as real-time processing, payment confirmation and receipt (both paper and electronic). Traditional money gram methods are time-consuming and can be harder to trace a cash payment if the record is mishandled or lost. Traceable payment history is very important to the public sector, including but not limited to the courthouse or agency records.

As the 2015 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice reveals, cash remains the most frequently used payment method regardless of age group or income level. Thus, cash payment processing solutions are a win-win for courts and court users, unbanked and underbanked, or otherwise. Flexible payment options that include cash-pay solutions improve relationships between courts and the individuals they serve and facilitates efforts to bring justice to all.

To learn more about flexible cash-only payment solutions for your court, contact a nCourt expert today.

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5 Ways to Create Visible Public Access to Justice

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The nationwide “Justice for All” forum is examining ways to ensure justice is accessible to low-income individuals, those facing social injustices and hardship, and citizens with a lack of payment options. This second part of the series provides 5 ways to create visible public access to justice for the citizens you serve.

Accessible Justice Initiatives

Crucial to the success of the Justice for All forum is the need to spread the word and ensure initiatives and services meant to help modest and low-income individuals are visible and known to the citizens that can benefit from these programs. Consider the following initiatives, many of which have been highlighted by the Center for Court Innovation, each ensuring public access to justice is within reach:

  1. Provide representation for those facing eviction. Stable housing is recognized as a major contributor to a family’s well-being. However, many families face eviction without legal representation. In New York City, Poverty Justice Solutions is addressing this problem by offering legal help from recent law school grads.
  2. Offer an arena to solve disputes cooperatively. Peacemaking programs in Brooklyn and Syracuse use traditional Native American practices in which trained volunteers help parties involved in a dispute not only resolve the problem at hand but also work to heal and strengthen the relationship of those involved. This approach builds community through collaboratively “talking it out.”
  3. Ensure the underrepresented have access to legal services. In both Harlem and Red Hook, courts are taking unconventional approaches to ensure increased access to legal services for underrepresented litigants in an effort to spur neighborhood renewal, reduce crime, prevent eviction, and more.
  4. Link parents with support programs. To help non-custodial parents pay child support and improve parenting skills, a partnership of legal and community-based programs offer these parents services to help them be better parents—a win-win for the parents, children, and community.
  5. Let citizens know they can conveniently make payments. Offering payment options that include one-time, recurring, late, and partial payment gives citizens the best chance to make payments in a method that is most convenient and doable for them. This approach prevents undue hardship and greatly improves the likelihood of courts receiving payment.

Operational Benefits to the Court

By making these types of initiatives available and visible to citizens and embracing technology to help make these programs possible, courts not only improve access to justice for all but also gain operational benefits for the court. For example, with the right initiatives and tools, courts can:

  • Implement workload tools to assists judges when making case assignments
  • Enhance reporting capabilities
  • More efficiently manage and resolve cases
  • Adopt case processing time standards
  • Put in place performance, customer service, and case management measures that help citizens while lessening the load on court staff

(Source: Arizona Supreme Court, Advancing Justice Together)

An Approach for All

Unconventional programs and initiatives combined with technology that enables flexible payment options helps bring justice to all while easing court processing. This approach facilitates the reallocation of court efforts and funds from timely manual processing to programs that visibly improve public access to justice.
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Access to Justice: The Future of Court Payment Processing

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As a result of the national attention gained by Ferguson, Missouri, a nationwide forum is beginning to take shape. This forum, called “Justice for All,” explores how to provide access to justice for those who cannot pay fines as a result of hardship, social inequities, or lack of payment options available to them as citizens. This first part in our series explores how to look beyond payment as a transaction and focus on how payment options can be enhanced to meet the best interest of both the court and its citizens.

What Policies are Recommended to Improve Access to Justice?

The “Justice for All” forum stresses that fines and fees are meant to be a deterrent, not a catastrophic financial burden. As such, the forum provides suggestions and policies for courts to adopt in an effort to help mitigate judicial and financial risk. Examples of policies that support access to justice include:

  • Enabling the judge’s discretion to set reasonable penalties
  • Basing a defendant’s payment options and plans on their ability to pay
  • Offering alternatives to paying fines, such as community service or participating in treatment programs
  • Promoting the defendant’s voluntary appearance in court by sending reminders via phone and text to avoid the issuance of failure to appear (FTA)
  • Using the suspension of driver’s licenses as a last resort rather than a first step, as doing so often has a negative impact on a defendant’s ability to pay
  • Establishing non-jail enforcement alternatives to avoid the costs and associated implications of jail time
  • Handling special needs (ADA) offenses appropriately in addition to addressing potential mental health issues

Evaluating the Relationship Between Courts and Citizens

Many courts and government agencies have begun evaluating their relationship with citizens by examining the payment process within the judicial ecosystem. Opening multiple payment channels provides an opportunity for courts and government agencies to better and more effectively serve citizens as well as extend service offerings beyond the transaction itself. This approach has long-term rewards, ranging from increased operational efficiency to minimized occurrences of late payments and case closures.

Each judicial system will have to determine which services and payment options best fit their processes, serve their citizens, and reduce the court’s burden. For instance, by offering recurring payment plans, citizens can make timely automated payments for restitution, which enables citizens who do not have the financial means to pay the full compensation as a single one-time payment. In addition, if courts provide only on-premise payments, it can put a burden on citizens that live in rural areas, potentially causing loss of payments and delay in case closures.

As courts and government agencies make these choices, they will need help tracking community service and other non-financial items (e.g., tracking consequential payments that are not monetary in value, such as community service). And if the government is not funding new legislative mandates, courts will be left carrying the financial burden, which could have a negative impact on revenue for the courts. To aid courts, a reputable payment service provider can act as a trusted advisor to the court and its administrators, helping them reshape their approach to payment acceptance, by implementing long-term solutions that drive positive results for the judicial systems and its citizens.

How nCourt is Shaping a New Perspective on Payments

Every court grapples with decisions around implementing the best payment processing services and case management system (CMS) to support its ever-changing operations. Even courts with access to sophisticated technologies can quickly become entangled with a complex application process. Helping courts streamline their payment process and move towards greater access to justice is a relatively new concept with many payment providers for judicial systems; however, it’s not new to nCourt.

Limited public access to justice, fragmented court processes, reduced financial resources, delayed notification between key personnel in the judicial and enforcement divisions, coupled with roadblocks to obtaining affordable cutting edge technology, are typical challenges for courts, especially if they lack integration between their payment and CMS solutions. Most important, without a solid interface linking these core platforms, courts may unknowingly increase greater risk exposure, that can be damaging and reduce the public’s trust in the judiciary.

nCourt believes that the future of payment processing looks beyond the payment transaction, and how government agencies can improve service to citizens, rather than merely collecting payments. Therefore, one of the best ways to enhance services to citizens is to provide payment options conveniently accessible inside and outside of the courthouse.

With the growing technological advancement in judicial and governmental practices, nCourt has helped thousands of courts alleviate the pressure of falling behind in adopting innovative payment solutions and services. We partner with the courts, to deliver well-designed, easy and secure integration methods, and together we provide timely information and payment options to all citizens.

Please contact nCourt for an initial consultation and evaluation of your current payment processing program. We’re here to help!
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