In a Request for Information (RFI) released May 12, the Judicial Council of California (JCC) is looking for “new tools and technology” to help it make the forms, now in PDF format, “more intelligent, adaptive and user-friendly.” (Earlier this year, JCC sought information from vendors on extracting financial data from queries and flat reports, and on a new Integrated Workplace Management System Project.) Among the takeaways:
• JCC has “sole authority to build, change and publish” all its mandatory court forms to local courts and third-party form publishers. Many of these forms are now fillable PDFs, and some have improved formatting to enable better access and understanding for those filing. JCC’s form developer team uses Adobe Experience Manager Forms Designer and templates to build new PDF forms. Reviewed by JCC in May and September and made effective Sept. 1 and Jan. 1, the forms are published on courts.ca.gov. Approved forms are kept “in a secure restricted repository on an internal, shared drive,” per the RFI. Users either fill forms electronically on their systems, then file a printout at a court, or complete printed forms by hand. Local courts keep a scanned copy of completed forms locally, then manually update the court case management system.
• The agency “intends to move along an evolutionary path” of modernizing forms progressively, it said in the RFI. It envisions a three-stage project that would move the process off paper, letting system guest users complete and save forms locally as PDFs in the first stage, even working on them offline. The second stage would still let users complete forms as a guest, but would let logged-in users save forms online to finish over time. Users would be authenticated via JCC’s Azure Active Directory (AD). The third stage would enable the integration of forms with an electronic filing manager and user-provided data would be managed by JCC. An API/middleware layer including data analytics tools, intelligent chat and a case management system would have interface capabilities.
• Needs for the intelligent forms project “cover multiple business and technical requirements,” including a webform builder; adaptive forms, e-signature capability, document management, API integration and security compliance. Among more specific needs, the product must be able to “integrate and authenticate” using the Judicial Branch’s identity management system, to include single sign-on for JCC and Judicial Courts. It should have e-stamp features, and court users should be able to “insert custom-made or dynamic” stamps on PDF forms. It must also be compatible with existing forms, which are built in AEM forms 6.3 (FXA). It should “facilitate workflow-based approval” by authorities, as well as security administration activities around user IDs, profiles and privilege. Must-haves include integrating with Azure AD, supporting private network connections or VPN tunneling connectivity; and supporting automated failover, load balancing, backup and recovery.
• Questions on the RFI are due by 12 p.m. Tuesday, and questions and answers will be posted here by June 9. Response packages are due by 2 p.m. June 23. However, there’s no set timeline beyond that, JCC Public Affairs Analyst Blaine Corren told Techwire via email. Neither is there an estimated value or duration for an eventual contract as, in all these instances, “(much) depends on the state budget for FY 2020-21 and potential reductions to judicial branch funding,” Corren said.
“The RFI is just intended to provide general information about the vendor landscape, technologies, and pricing. There will be no RFP until funds are available,” he said. The Legislature must approve a state budget by June 15, per the terms of the state Constitution.
