Workload Assessment

Many courts are finding workload assessment models to be valuable in meeting increased demands for accountability. Building on NCSC’s research-based methods, CCS can assist by:

• Conducting judicial workload assessments for courts at any level

• Assessing staff workload for courts at all jurisdictional levels

• Evaluating existing workload measurement standards

A workload assessment study generates a model which is a quantitative representation of the inter-related variables that work together to determine court resource needs. Workload assessment models are typically used to assess court judicial officer and/or court staff resource need. However, the methodology has been applied other criminal justice groups including public defenders, prosecutors and probation officers. The two primary analyses used by the weighted workload assessment are:

• Workload assessment—workload calculation is based upon the average amount of time study participants needs to resolve a case and the annual number of cases

• Resource assessment—this is a series of calculations that compare the current available resources to the predicted resource demand

The core of the workload assessment model is a time-study whereby study participants keep track of the amount of time spent working on each of the case types under investigation. When the time-study data are joined with case filing data for the same time period, it is possible to construct a “case weight.” The case weights represent the average time required to handle a case from filing to disposition. Once developed, case weights can be used to calculate the current or projected workload of the court. These workloads values are then divided by the amount of work time available for an individual study participant (e.g., judicial officer, court staff, probation officer, etc.), resulting in an estimate of required resources needed. Finally this estimate of need is compared to the current resource levels to determine the resource need of the court. This approach is straightforward and sufficiently rigorous to measure resource needs and evaluate resource allocations.

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National Center for State Courts
Court Consulting Services
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Denver, CO 80202-3429

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