Lakewood Municipal Court Is Recipient Of Top Grant Award Of $425,000

I am thrilled for our community and the court to have received $425,000 in grant money through the Office of Criminal Justice Services, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, in partnership with the Ohio Supreme Court.

It is an amazing opportunity for me to significantly advance many facets of the court: from providing more efficient operations, to improving technology, modernizing, decreasing case backlog, and allowing broader access to the court and its services. This award benefits the court, and more importantly the users of the court, which I will explain later in the article.

In July 2022 the grant application process began. It was stressful, tedious work, with very significant obstacles. We were able to overcome the challenges to meet the grant application deadline of July 29, despite the short turnaround time from the date we were made aware of this opportunity. I was determined because I knew an award would greatly impact the court on many levels.

Having never been intricately involved in the granular details required to write a robust grant, I had to scramble to pull a team together to assist in the endeavor. A special shout-out to my court administrator, Maria Russo, who worked tirelessly, and to the city’s Finance Department for connecting us with experienced and court knowledgeable grant writers. Together we pulled it off, and the application, with supporting documents, was submitted on July 29 a few hours before the deadline.

We anxiously waited during the remainder of the summer and into the fall to hear about the status of our grant application. Finally, on October 29, 2022, the Governor DeWine's office announced the lucky recipients.

Lakewood Municipal Court is one of 51 Ohio courts in 36 counties to share in the 10.2-million-dollar Ohio Court Backlog Reduction Program Awards. We are incredibly excited to be among the few courts in the state to receive the maximum grant award in the amount of $425,000!

Our spending plan, which is comprised of two years, was just approved on November 30. Here are some of the innovative projects that will be paid from the grant funds: One, fully implement and launch the new case management system. This will drastically increase case flow efficiency and alleviate most of the current paper and pen daily processes. Also, it will allow for e-signing, e-filing, better access to the court dockets, and allow for accurate data collection, which has been an existing problem. Two, hire an IT staff to assist with the case management project for internal oversight and training of staff. Three, install an interactive self-help kiosk for court users and the public. The goal is to integrate the kiosk with the new case management system to allow individuals to easily search for their case, ask questions, pay any costs, and sign necessary documents via the kiosk. Four, maintain an on-site public defender during peak court times. This will allow for attorney representation at the initial court process through sentencing for indigent individuals, when appropriate. It will promote consistency in case treatment, assist in resolving cases in a timelier fashion, and promote fairness in the judicial process.

Thank you for taking the time to read about this exciting news. I happily look forward to updating the citizens as we continue to make the court a more accessible and user-friendly place to visit.

Tess Neff is a 35-year Lakewood resident. She and her husband Rich raised their three children here and love being a part of the community. Her public service career expands 29 years and she is grateful for the opportunity to continue to help people and have a positive impact on their lives.