Did you know the TechShare.Indigent Defense project is 100% grant-funded? The grant covers implementation, support, and technical migration for nine counties over a 3-year timespan.
Inspired by Bell County’s Fair Indigent Defense Online (FIDo) System, the solution ensures compliance with key measures, automated reporting, electronic payment processes, and enhanced transparency among other critical system features.
Congratulations to the team and each of the counties for all of their efforts on this endeavor:
- Bell
- Brown
- Coryell
- Medina
- Mills
- Real
- Uvalde
- Victoria
Here’s what some of the counties had to say about the new system:
Data Management “Prior to TechShare.Indigent Defense, there was no electronic system for managing indigent defense data; the process was very manual and paper based. Pieces of the results of the indigent defense process (such as attorney appointments and affidavits) were stored in other county departments but were not otherwise electronically processed or stored. While the information was accessible manually, it was not easy to analyze or provide any type of reporting for compliance purposes. There was little control over the consistency of the data collected. The voucher process for court appointment was also manual and required the paper voucher to be handed from department to department. As with any such manual process, there was the potential for information to be lost or misplaced.”
Indigent Defense and Pre-Trial Services Coordinator, Medina County
Reporting “Reporting to the state, which used to take days of labor, now take hours because of the reporting that comes straight from the system with all the demographic information included. All information around appointments and payments are in one system that can easily be reported on. Attorneys are now paid weekly.”
County Auditor, Bell County
Cost Savings “We have seen a decrease in both our jail population and pretrial bond services with the new system in place. Additionally we have seen a reduction in the number of felony first appearances without court-appointed representation if desired by the defendant.”
Indigent Defense Coordinator, Uvalde County