Triage & Service Portal

The “Legal Navigator” is an online platform designed to be used by individuals alone or with non-legal providers with whom they may already be working to address a variety of other issues.  We are automating self-help in a new way that replicates the questions someone may be asked if interacting directly with a facilitator at the court self-help center.  Based on their answers, the result will be a plan tailored to the individual’s needs, including relevant forms, explanation about the process, practical tips and referrals to legal and other providers.

Year published: 2021

Document Author: SRLN

In May 2018, the Florida Justice Technology Center’s FloridaLawHelp.org website conducted short user tests of the same legal content in four different formats with 26 Floridians, the majority of whom (over 80%) reported earning less than 250% of the federal poverty level. Legal information, covering eligibility criteria for Florida’s Extended Foster Care program, was presented in flowchart, video, short narrative, and Frequently Asked Questions formats.

Year published: 2018

Document Author: Jessica Rae, Laura Quinn

In May 2018, the Florida Justice Technology Center’s FloridaLawHelp.org gathered feedback and input from community members, social services organizations and legal services providers. Through a series of focus group discussions as well as individual user tests, we explored ways to present content on FloridaLawHelp.org, gaps in legal content, and methods to reach low income clients and social service organizations with this information.

Year published: 2018

Document Author: Jessica Rae, Laura Quinn

In 2019, the Florida Justice Technology Center, conducted user tests of the new FloridaLawHelp.org/triage staging website. The user testing participants were provided with a hypothetical legal problem and asked to navigate the site to get the help they wanted. In addition to asking structured questions at key points, the researchers documented what the participants did, what they said, and where they seemed to have trouble throughout the process. Key Findings

Year published: 2019

Document Author: Jessica Rae

 

Year published: 2016

Document Author: Alex Smith Davis

 

Year published: 2016

Document Author: Alex Smith Davis, News, SRLN

With funding from State Justice Institute, Thomas Clarke of the National Center for State Courts assembled two advisory committees – one to develop the business requirements for a litigant portal, and another to examine the technical requirements necessary for a litigant portal. These meetings began in early 2015 and this report shares the commitees' findings.

Year published: 2015

Document Author: Thomas M. Clarke

The National Center for State Courts(NCSC) provides numerous resources for court personnel who contemplate triage through the lens of case management, which is a critical step towards simplification, use their search feature for "triage". Many of the resources cited are repeated here, but be sure to check the NCSC Information and Resource page for updates (ncsc.org).

Year published: 2015

Document Author: National Center for State Courts (NCSC)

In this article in Slaw, Canada's on-line legal magazine, Kari Boyle reviews some of the triage activity in Canadian Civil Justice Reform.  About the author:

Year published: 2013

Document Author: Kari D. Boyle

Over the years, legal aid programs developed complex intake protocols and decision trees to help manage their crushing caseload. Initially, these screening tools were simply paper documents that intake staff could use. Then, as telephone hotlines developed, far more complicated decision trees were developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of hotline attorneys. And today, many programs are creating on-line intake and triage systems that are integrated into their informational webpages and/or case management systems.

Year published: 2015, 2016

Document Author: Self-Represented Litigation Network