Pretrial services asks for staff and an analytics database to improve supervision and reduce detention

Director Michaelides described Pretrial Services' FY25 priorities: staffing to fill critical case-management gaps, implementation of an ARPA-funded analytics database to enable evidence-based supervision, and centralization of state-required public safety report (PSR) production.

She said the agency currently has "approximately 47 open PCNs" mainly in enhanced supervision, and that many processes — notably the PSR used for bail decisions — are manual, taking five to ten minutes per report and sometimes requiring staff to hold back one or two people daily for report generation. Michaelides told the court the unit seeks seven FTEs to centralize PSR production and reduce the need to pull staff from other duties. The database work aims to standardize coding across courts so pretrial can automate assessments and provide more precise performance measures for supervision and recidivism-reduction strategies. "At this time, the agency has approximately 47 open PCNs," she said, adding that a longer-term staffing plan and compensation adjustments are needed to improve retention and capacity.

Commissioners asked about timelines and whether automation would replace staff; Michaelides said automation would augment work and that building vendor-supported mirroring systems and standardized court coding is a short-to-medium-term focus. The office will return with more detailed staffing plans and the projected impact on caseflow metrics.