Tulsa Country,OK Public Defender's OfficeTulsa County had a history of high incarceration rates related to its pretrial population. As of 2018, the rate of incarceration had grown 43% since 1999, and since 2012 this rate exceeded the national average. Of the nearly 26,000 jail admissions in Tulsa County in 2017, 14% resulted from FTA, and of these 14 percent, nearly one-third involved no new charges.
The majority of these people were from low income communities who did not miss court because they were fleeing but needed help. Common barriers include lack of transportation, daycare, or the means to pay for public transportation.
Holding people not convicted of a crime cost the state approximately $8.9 million annually. With this in mind, the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office (TCPD) and Family & Children’s Services (F&CS) implemented the UpTrust app in 2019 to address failures-to-appear, decrease pretrial detention, and increase critical court appearances. The intent was not only to lower FTA rates, but to also reduce cost and the multiple collateral consequence of jail incarceration.
The UpTrust app used text messages to remind individuals about court dates and helped to obtain information regarding barriers preventing them from making it to court. Using the app, individuals could reach their attorney regarding any issues, mitigating barriers by connecting with case managers from F&CS, Oklahoma’s largest outpatient behavioral health provider. This resulted in significantly positive results for individuals with mental health, addiction and basic needs services to make their court appearance dates.
During its first year of operation, the UpTrust app sent 14,480 messages to clients. 75% of messages were successfully delivered to clients. The most common type of assistance requested by clients involved transportation, which was typically then fulfilled. Other assistance included employment information, general court information, child care, housing, and mental health referrals.
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