Decatur, Georgia
The DeKalb County State Court Probation Office relies on JustWare to manage its complex financial processes and help the agency better serve the victims and civil protectors of DeKalb County, Georgia.
AGENCY IMPACT
The DeKalb County State Court Probation used to manage its financial records using an internally developed software system that could collect money, but was limited in its ability to distribute funds to appropriate recipients before the final balance of an account was paid in full.
JustWare has provided us with a complete financial package that allows us to allocate payments according to court or legislative mandates. We are able to better track and account for funds collected and disbursed.
Kevin Bayte, Chief Probation Officer, DeKalb County State Probation
As a result, a significant amount of money was being held in “floating funds” that needed to be allocated to individuals, departments, and other budgets throughout the county–but due to the system’s design, the money could not be distributed.
The court probation office knew something needed to change.
JustWare | Probation & Parole was chosen by DeKalb County State Court Probation to help alleviate the financial management concerns of the agency.
Did it work?
“JustWare has provided us with a complete financial package that allows us to allocate payments according to court or legislative mandates,” said Kevin Batye, Chief Probation Officer. “We are able to better track and account for funds collected and disbursed.”
Not only did JustWare bring the court probation office into compliance with state law, relative to the collection and disbursement of fees, but it also streamlined the accounting and financial processes, reduced redundancy in check creation, and made accounting and financials more accurate through automated, customized business rules.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
According to Batye, “the most positive impact to this point is the disbursement of restitution and child support in a more timely manner. Restorative justice has always been a priority for us. Providing victims the restitution they are owed and the custodial parents of children the funds needed to support them are probably the greatest impact for our citizenry.”
JustWare has made it possible for these funds to be paid and these valuable community members to receive the help they need.
Along with providing greater financial management for the court probation office, JustWare also, “provides the ability to manage cases in a more timely manner, increasing our ability to monitor offenders’ compliance with court mandates, such as education, intervention or treatment programs,” said Batye. “Our hope is that this increased ability to effectively supervise cases will result in enhanced public safety for the community at large. Making DeKalb County a safer place to live and work has been one of our primary objectives.”