Your Time Matters!

One of the easiest ways to show people you care about them is to value their time.

Have you ever been to the DMV and lost your temper? No, not you. We’re all saints when dealing with such an efficient and well-organized government agency….I know. But do you remember the last time you went to the DMV? What happened? You took a number, stood in line and waited until your number was called. When it was your turn, you leisurely walked up to the counter with a smile on your face ready for a pleasant conversation with the DMV employee. Thankfully, you had all of your paperwork in order so you were in and out of there in 30 minutes with a renewed driver’s license.

OK, now that this little fantasy is over, let’s get real. The more likely scenario is that you sat patiently for 10–15 minutes before getting antsy and then walked up to the counter to ask what was taking so long, or why a number after yours had already been called before yours. During one of your many visits to the counter, the employee likely told you to make sure you had your insurance ready when your number was finally called. But you were so annoyed and angry for having to wait that you completely missed what was said. You then returned to your seat one final time and waited…… and waited…and waited. Your phone was your only respite. Let’s now finish this scenario and see how it concludes.

Finally, your number is called and you sprint to the counter fuming. You quip that you’re in a bit of a rush because you have to pick up your kids or get to work on time. The employee, used to you and so many like you, asks for your insurance card. You, of course, left it in the car.

You look at the floor in despair as the employee yells NEXT! (The number, of course, is not sequential, but, who cares). By the time you retrieve the card, you’re at the back of the line again, have already waited three hours, and are unable to wait any longer. As a result, you drive around with an expired license for the next few months because you dread going back to the DMV. Eventually, you go to a for-profit/private DMV and pay double or triple the amount you would have paid that day if you had just heard the employee tell you to make sure you had your insurance card. Thankfully, you were not pulled over with an expired DL. No harm no foul.

Unfortunately, probationers experience the same frustrations in the criminal justice system that we face with the DMV all of the time. But the end result may be far more serious than someone driving around with an expired driver’s license.

One of the goals of probation is to get people healthy so that there are no more victims.

If we don’t value the time of probationers and show them that the system, and the people in it, care about them, then we have little chance of helping them succeed in life. And without valuing their time, probationers are less likely to receive the critical information probation officers and counselors need to give them.

As you may know, defendants who are placed on probation have a number of weekly requirements, which may include meeting with a case manager, counselor, probation officer or all three. But they too may have to sit and wait for hours before getting to see anyone. During their wait, they may have to miss work or find someone to pick up their kids from school. By the time they are finally called back, they are upset (like us at the DMV), in a rush and not able to work through some of their struggles with the counselor, which is the whole point of the session. And if they leave before seeing their counselor, there is a good chance they will receive a sanction. So they start popping their heads in to the counselor’s offices or texting them to see what’s taking so long, which distracts the counselors from working with their other clients who are sitting in front of them. No one wins in this scenario. There has got to be a better way.

Online Calendars to the Rescue.

Thankfully, your court purchased an online calendar after reading my first post so you only need to ask your counselors/case managers how many participants they can see per hour and get started today. Once your counselor provides a number, create an “appointment type” for each counselor and limit each hour time slot to a specific number of appointments. Sure, there will still be a wait sometimes — waiting is a part of any service industry — but hours in line, or in a lobby, is not acceptable. But this time, the probationers will be in a much better place to receive the information and better prepared to make positive changes in their lives.

If you have already built your court website, you can embed the online calendars on each different program’s specific webpage (see previous post about creating “apps” with webpages) so that participants can schedule their own appointments. Or you can keep the calendar internal so that the counselors can do it themselves. Either way, by using an online calendar with probationers, they will receive text and email reminders so the failure to appear rates for these critical meetings should decline as well. No more victims!

By the way, if you’re keeping track, this won’t cost you another dime — it’s the same online calendar license. We simply created a few more appointment types.