 | PROBATION ON-LINE AUTOMATED REPORTING INFORMATION SYSTEM (POLARIS) PROJECT | POLARIS Project Overview Presently, the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts (AOIC) collects aggregate-level data on probation caseloads from each county probation department. The POLARIS Project involves the planning and design of a centralized data warehouse for collecting individual-level data on probationers from across the state. In this way, POLARIS is expected to provide an opportunity for individual departments and AOIC to analyze trends, perform group comparisons, and provide an empirical basis for evaluating probation programs, strategies, and practices. How POLARIS Works The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) Center for Legal Studies (CLES) is subcontracting with AOIC to perform a dual role that includes: 1) technical assistance; and 2) facilitation of an advisory group made up of probation directors, supervisors, officers, and information system personnel representing 22 probation departments in Illinois. During the first year of the project, UIS staff administered two surveys. The first was designed to gather information about the technical capacity of different probation departments to collect and transmit data to the centralized warehouse that will be designed and established by AOIC. The results of the survey and supplemental interviews suggest that most counties have the ability to modify their systems to collect the new data elements and transmit data to the centralized database. Other counties will need to modify existing software and improve their technical capacity to comply with the new system. The second survey was also directed to probation departments and was part of the overall effort to propose new data elements for POLARIS. The survey asked which data elements were necessary for analyses relating to five goals of probation: 1) achieving effective court-ordered dispositions; 2) enforcing court-ordered conditions of probation; 3) community protection; 4) restoring offenders to useful and productive lives; and 5) repairing harm to victims and the community. UIS consultants have now drafted a POLARIS implementation guide for the next steps in the project. There are three primary components to the implementation. The first is a site impact investigation component, which is intended to test the impact of proposed changes on individual probation reporting systems - such as the feasibility of inserting new data elements into those existing systems. The second component will focus on the system architecture, equipment and transmission processes for the new database. AOIC will work with the UIS project team to examine database requirements and develop a plan to upgrade their existing system capacity and to provide for the long-term maintenance of POLARIS. The third component involves technical and content review to ensure that the proposed system and its subcomponents meet the needs of its stakeholders. AOIC, the advisory group, other probation liaisons, and the UIS project team will review the proposed design, including the data dictionary, and confirm their willingness to commit resources needed for implementation. Participants POLARIS was originally conceived to serve the needs of AOIC and each of the county probation departments in the State. As a result of AOIC staff involvement in the IIJIS project, preliminary discussions have taken place concerning the possibility of making POLARIS data available to other justice system decision makers. In terms of the various automated probation systems that exist in Illinois, 37 (43%) of the 86 probation departments responding to the technology survey reported having Tracker, 29 (33.7%) have JIMS, 12 (14%) have Prober, seven (8.1%) have a system developed by their county MIS department, three have PROMIS, two have JANO, three use other software, and one reported having no automated system. POLARIS Data Recommended Data Elements: Demographic, Social and Case Specific Data Elements - Defendant Name (Last, First, MI)
- Court Case Number
- County
- Circuit
- Department
- Social Security Number
- Criminal History ID (SID#)
- Interstate Compact Case Designation
- Date of Birth
- Age at Referral/Sentence
- Sex
- Race
- Ethnicity
- # of Prior Convictions by Type
- # of Prior Post-Conviction Incarcerations by Type
- Adjudication Date (Juvenile)
- # of Prior Referrals (Juvenile)
- Taxes Withheld (while on probation)
- Administrative Caseload (transfers out)
- Pre-sentence Investigation Ordered, Pending and Completed
- Intakes Completed
- Investigations Completed by Type (Social History, Adoption, Custody)
Recommended Data Elements by Goal Area - Goal #1: Effective court-ordered dispositions.
- Type of conditions ordered by the court
- Goal #2: Enforce court-ordered conditions of probation and administrative sanctions.
- Date of disposition
- Disposition by court
- Disposition by officer
- Type of disposition
- Type of treatment/services completed
- Amount of fines ordered
- Amount of fines paid
- Amount of supervision fees ordered
- Amount of fees paid
- Date of initial risk assessment
- Risk level at assessment
- Date of reassessment
- Risk level at reassessment
- Date of discharge risk assessment
- Risk level at discharge
- Date of drug/alcohol tests administered
- Date of positive drug/alcohol tests
- Type of substance detected
- IPS termination status
- Type of technical violation
- Goal #3: Community protection.
- Disposition of new offense
- Type of new offense
- Goal #4: Restore offenders to useful and productive lives through the most effective probation case management strategies and practices.
- Type of substance abuse identified at intake
- Employment status at intake
- School enrollment at intake
- School enrollment at termination
- Highest grade completed at intake
- Last grade completed at termination
- School attendance (juvenile) at intake
- School attendance (juvenile) at termination
- Employment status at termination
- Goal #5: Repair harm to victim and community.
- Restitution ordered
- Restitution Paid
- Community service hours completed
- Community service hours ordered
[MS Word, 4 pp.]
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