Greene County court looking at text message system to reduce failure to appear arrests
Apr. 23—Greene County Juvenile Court is pursuing funding for a text-message system that may reduce failure-to-appear rates in the county and subsequent arrests.
Not showing up to a court date without notice usually results in a warrant being issued for the offender's arrest, even for minor offenses, per Ohio law. In the last two years, Greene County Juvenile Court has issued an average of 313 Failure to Appear warrants annually, said Tashina Levy, Legal Program Manager for the Juvenile Court.
The Greene County Juvenile Court handles juvenile delinquency, custody, child support, child civil protection orders and some traffic cases. While some people that miss their dates in court are a true flight risk, some risk imprisonment because they don't have reliable transportation, reliable access to internet or limited financial resources. Others simply forget.
"People that come to us usually already have something going on," Levy said. "Barriers the majority of our families already face are only exacerbated by jail time."
Many of these warrants are for adults, but some are for juveniles as well, depending on the severity of the offense, Levy said.
Being jailed for failure to appear can have further consequences, risking employment and custody of children, among other things.
"If you're caring for a child and you have no one to care for the child and you go to jail, it just makes it 100 times worse," Levy said.
Ohio in recent years has invested millions in improving court technology, in some was to make them current with the times. The Ohio Supreme Court last year awarded $3 million in grants for modernizing Ohio courts, and last year, the state designated $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to reduce the state's court backlog.
Studies from around the country indicate text reminders are an inexpensive and effective way to reduce missed court dates, and subsequent delays in the case that cost time and taxpayer money.
"If our court is awarded this grant, the positive impact on the public will be invaluable," Levy said.
