AUTOMATED BAIL REFUND PROGRAM

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Each year, the Los Angeles Superior Court issues in excess of 50,000 refunds worth over $40,000,000. The Court’s refund process, prior to full implementation of the new program which was completed in September, 2014, was not automated, required upwards of 5 employees to process each refund, and took 6 to 8 weeks for the customer to receive their refund check. This procedure was labor intensive, required an extraordinary amount of staff time and caused unnecessary delays to the litigants eager to have their money returned. In May, 2014, The Los Angeles Superior Court began implementing the Automated Bail Refund program. This program, developed entirely by the Court’s own Court Technology Services (CTS) unit, automated the refund process. The results of this program were even greater than anticipated. The new process requires fewer employees and reduces the processing time to approximately 1 week. Staff formerly involved in processing refunds are now able to devote more time to other statutory tasks and customers are receiving their money far more expeditiously.