FIRST COURT STAFFING MODEL STUDY
RELEASED
BY CHIEF JUSTICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT
Boston, MA --- Calling the
Trial Court Staffing Model Study "a significant milestone
in our efforts to improve the administration of justice, "Chief
Justice for Administration and Management Robert A. Mulligan
today issued the first Staffing Model Report produced by
Trial Court judges and staff from all seven departments
of the Trial Court in conjunction with the National Center
for State Courts. The Report will be used by Chief Justice
Mulligan to assess staffing needs for trial courts throughout
the state and to allocate necessary resources to court
divisions.
The
need for an objective, systematic, data-driven basis for
allocating resources to the court divisions in a fair and
equitable manner was highlighted in the 2003 Visiting Committee
on Management in the Courts (Monan Committee) Report, which
recommended systemic court management improvements. In
response, Chief Justice Mulligan established the development
of a court staffing model as a top priority when he assumed
the position of Chief Justice for Administration and Management
in October 2003.
"This
Staffing Model Report is a tremendous achievement by many
judges, clerks, and employees in all seven departments
of the Trial Court who enthusiastically undertook the painstaking
process of developing a rational staffing plan to help
us allocate resources equitably to courts statewide," said
Chief Justice Mulligan.
Supreme
Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall said, "The
Staffing Model provides a vital management tool to guide
us in allocating critical resources to trial courts in
need and for submitting budget requests to the Executive
and Legislative branches. With the completion of this Study,
we have now achieved two major management goals that we
set out to accomplish in the wake of the Monan Report -
the establishment of time standards in every trial court
department and the formulation of a staffing model. With
Chief Justice Mulligan's guidance, the Trial Court judges
and staff should be enormously proud of their achievements
thus far, as we continue to pursue other important management
initiatives."
Under
the leadership of the departmental Chief Justices, Court
Staff Model Working Groups were established in each trial
court department to coordinate the development of the staffing
models. Based on the recommendations of the National Center
for State Courts, the working groups adopted the Delphi
method for developing the staffing models. This approach
is based on the expert opinions of experienced court employees,
along with objective data on the volume and type of case
filings, for the development of a staffing model that takes
into account both the volume of cases and the varying complexities
of different types of cases.
Chief
Justice Mulligan praised the members of the Working Groups "for
rolling up their sleeves and tackling head-on the challenges
associated with producing the staffing models." He said
that he was particularly pleased that the District Court
and the Boston Municipal Court Departments were able to
collaborate in the development of a joint court staffing
model. Chief Justice Mulligan also acknowledged the "behind
the scenes" hard work of the AOTC Human Resources staff
in providing technical assistance, helping to maintain
consistency across trial court departments in the assumptions
underlying the staffing models, and otherwise supporting
the working groups in completing their work.
Chief
Justice Mulligan thanked Christopher Ryan, the national
court staffing model expert from the National Center for
State Courts in Denver, Colorado, for his guidance and
insights throughout the process and particularly for his
expertise in helping to produce such an excellent court
staffing model report in a timely manner.
Mr.
Ryan said that he was impressed with the positive attitude,
energy and professionalism of the Working Groups in developing
the staffing models. He specifically recognized the cooperation
of the clerks, assistant clerks, and clerical staff whose
contributions were essential to the development of the
model.
Mr.
Ryan said, "The information presented in the final report
is a testament to the taxing detail-oriented work that
the departmental committees and AOTC staff performed. It
is truly an amazing achievement."
Chief
Justice Mulligan said that he has already begun to use
the staffing models in consultation with the departmental
Chief Justices as a framework for assessing requests and
making decisions regarding critically needed positions
in trial court departments. He also said that the Model
Staffing Report will be used as an empirical basis for
supporting the Trial Court Fiscal Year 2006 budget
request in his upcoming appearance before the Joint Ways
and Means Committee of the Legislature.
The
Staffing Model Report can be found at http://www.mass.gov/courts/staffingmodelreport.html.
