UpTrust

CHALLENGE/OPPORTUNITY

$10B is spent incarcerating individuals with technical, non-criminal violations, one of the most common of which is the “failure to appear” violation. This violation occurs when a person is a no-show for their hearing and results in a string of consequences including unnecessary warrants for arrest, fines and increased costs for court systems as well as increasing peril for defendants more deeply entangled in the criminal justice system. These costs and subsequent repercussions disproportionately impact low-income defendants.

Result

Using UpTrust to increase support for defendants reduces the failure to appear in court, ultimately decreasing administrative bench warrants and unnecessary jail time, which reduces the burden on the defendants and the system.

There are 1 million missed court dates in the U.S. each year. UpTrust has been shown to reduce this failure to appear by 50%. Importantly, this also breaks the cycle of worsening outcomes for people caught up in technical violations that are easily resolved.

 

 

Note: NewView and its employees have worked with the company.

Multi-Sector Approach
Private Sector

Provide technology to increase communication between public defenders and defendants and facilitate delivery of assistance and services.

Public Sector

Defense attorneys deploy UpTrust for their clients to increase communication and positive outcomes.

Social Sector

Connect users to existing social services to remove barriers to appearing.

Breaking Down the Process

See the problems differently

The missed court dates happen for a plethora of reasons as simple as making a mistake writing down their court date or as complicated as needing childcare. UpTrust focuses on the specific chokepoints that lead to a missed court date and identifies clear, technology-enabled solutions to address them.

Break Siloes

Who has the resources to solve this problem?

Courts and defense attorneys have the data of who and when people need to appear in their court. Many non-profits and companies have services that may be appropriate to help address the challenges to appearing. UpTrust breaks down the siloes by identifying the defendants’ needs and utilizing their technology to improve access to necessary interventions or services.

Repurpose

How can assets be given new life?

UpTrust repurposes resources that were already available and reconfigures them to be delivered to the client at the most impactful and relevant moment. Software to text message clients for reminders or checklists of needed items can be repurposed for this use. Tangibly, UpTrust is able to send resources such as “tokens” for transportation. Government and nonprofit services already exist but are largely unknown or challenging to disseminate.

Engage Self-interest for sustainable fuel

How do we create sustainable fuel?
  • The government is able to save thousands of dollars each time they are able to prevent a “failure to appear”.
  • Using UpTrust provides the defendants with tools to stop the damaging cycle that administrative bench warrants create. UpTrust makes the system work better for public defenders, courts, and their clients.
  • The success of the clients, increases uptake of UpTrust. It is in their self-interest to improve on their service and tri-sector support.
  • Nonprofits increase their utilization of services they provide, increasing their own sustainability and magnifying their impact.

Re-align

What business model changes create the win?

The courts, with the use of UpTrust, have the opportunity to see their role differently. They can more easily facilitate defendants’ engagement, thereby reducing the future burden on their system.

 

Learn more about UpTrust.