The new york state office of court administration (OCA) will use FY 2025 consolidated national criminal history improvement program (CNCHIP) funding to modernize the case management and…

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics awarded $2.22 million in Cooperative Agreement 15PBJS25GK02277NCHI to the Unified Court System of New York State, Office of Court Administration, on July 1, 2026, under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (CFDA 16.554).

The recipient will modernize case management and disposition reporting for New York's 1,174 town and village justice courts, which collectively handle one-third of the state's caseload. These courts currently operate the Courtroom Program (CRP), a decentralized legacy system constrained by technical limitations, inconsistent data standards, and delayed transmission of criminal history information to state and federal partners including the Division of Criminal Justice Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, Office of the State Comptroller, National Crime Information Center/Interstate Identification Index, and National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The award funds comprehensive analysis of the current CRP environment, documentation of functional and technical gaps, development of new system requirements, and creation of detailed design and implementation specifications. This planning phase will establish the foundation for replacing CRP with a modern, centralized case management solution modeled on the Universal Case Management System platform successfully deployed in state-paid courts. The resulting unified statewide system will standardize data collection, automate validation and sealing, enable real-time reporting to state and federal partners, improve firearm-eligibility determinations, and reduce administrative burden on local courts.

Performance occurs in New York, NY. The period of performance runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029.

The new york state office of court administration (OCA) will use FY 2025 consolidated national criminal history improvement program (CNCHIP) funding to modernize the case management and dispositionreporting processes of the states 1,174 town and village justice courts. These locally funded courts handle onethird of new yorks statewide caseload but rely on an outdated, decentralized case management systemthe courtroom program (CRP). Although prior nchip and narip investments improved electronic disposition reporting and reduced missing records, significant challenges persist due to crps technical limitations, fragmented local hosting, inconsistent data standards, and delayed transmission of criminal history information to the division of criminal justice services, the department of motor vehicles, the office of the state comptroller, and national systems including the national crime information center/interstate identification index and the national instant criminal background check system. OCA will replace the legacy CRP with a modern, centralized case management solution modeled on the successful universal case management system platform used in statepaid courts. FY 2025 CNCHIP funding will support a comprehensive analysis of the current CRP environment, documentation of functional and technical gaps, development of new system requirements, and creation of detailed design and implementation specifications. This work will provide the foundation for a unified statewide system that ensures accurate, complete, and timely reporting. Key benefits include standardized data collection, automated validation and sealing, realtime reporting to state and federal partners, improved firearmeligibility determinations, reduced administrative burdens on local courts, and enhanced public safety through reliable criminal history records. Ocas division of technology and court research, with more than 400 staff and decades of experience managing statewide court technology, will oversee the project as part of new yorks ongoing commitment to strengthening national criminal record systems.