Human Resource
Development and Management

Recognizing Court Employees

The Director's Awards Program recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding Judiciary employees whose creativity, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and dedication have benefited the Judiciary. In FY 2007, three employees received the Award for Outstanding Leadership:

Michael Dobbins

Kenneth S. Gardner

Gary H. Wente

Luis Dimagiba

Wallace Johnson

Jonivonn B. DeGuzman

Nam Q. Huynh

Dzung B. Pham

Karen Hillebrand

Marc Pearce

Michael Pentangelo/ Eric D. Odegard

• Michael W. Dobbins, clerk, District Court, Northern District of Illinois, was recognized for leading development of a software program that helps read judges' annual financial disclosure reports into the CM/ECF Financial Conflict Checking program; working with GSA to repair and alter public areas of the Illinois-Northern district courthouse to increase public safety and improve the court's image to the public; enhancing public service by expanding hours and training of employees in customer service; facilitating the district court's transition to e-filing; and improving assistance to pro se litigants.
• Kenneth S. Gardner, clerk, Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Illinois, received his award for major contributions related to advising the Administrative Office as it addressed changes required by the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA) and then serving on an ad hoc committee to consider staffing impacts of the law. He was a member of the Court Compensation Study Working Group, and has served as president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Clerks, where he established a program to provide mentoring by retired clerks and chief deputies. Gardner's contributions include realizing significant budget savings, improving customer service, increasing employee development, and helping develop national best practices in court administration.
• Gary H. Wente, circuit executive, Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, was recognized for a wide array of contributions related to cost containment and increased efficiencies throughout the Judiciary. He served on the AO Budget Finance Advisory Council (BFAC) that advises the AO on court financial management issues, and on the FAS4T working group that helps optimize use of the application in the courts. He also served on the Information Technology Systems Delivery Alternatives Group (SDA), which has looked at several decentralized Judiciary automation systems to determine where server consolidation would save money and staff effort.

Awards for Excellence in Court Operations (Court Technology, Court Support, and Mission Requirements) were awarded to:

• Court Technology: Luis Dimagiba, director of information technology, Pretrial Services Office, Central District of California; Wallace Johnson, systems manager, United States Pretrial Services Office, District of New Jersey; Jonivonn B. DeGuzman, director of information technology; Nam Q. Huynh, systems manager; and Dzung B. Pham, automation programmer, U.S. Probation Office, Central District of California. These individuals were recognized for their innovative use of cutting edge technologies in supervising defendants and offenders. Their most recent success was development of kiosk-based reporting for defendants and offenders, which is especially helpful to supervising officers who work in remote locations and cover wide-ranging geographic areas.
• Court Support: Karen Hillebrand, secretary to Judge Nancy G. Edmunds, Eastern District of Michigan, was recognized for her creative and energetic efforts as an essential court team member and support provider. As one key example of her drive and self-motivation, she demonstrated creativity and self-initiative in developing pdf and web forms that helped court staff use CM/ECF with greater ease and in less time.
• Mission Requirements: Marc Pearce, law clerk to Senior Judge Warren K. Urbom, District of Nebraska, was granted an award for developing one of the courts' earliest indepth analyses of potential avian flu-impacts on court operations. His work became the basis for the AO's pandemic template now on J-Net.

In addition, the following employees were commended for Extraordinary Actions:

• Michael Pentangelo, probation officer specialist and Eric D. Odegard, supervising probation officer, Probation Office, District of Alaska. The two officers were recognized for their exhaustive efforts to successfully track down and assist an offender under their supervision who failed to show up for drug testing, and had a history of depression and had threatened suicide.

Recognizing AO Employees
Allen Brown, chief of the AO Policy and Strategic Initiatives Office, Office of Human Resources and Nick DiSabatino, chief of the Probation and Pretrial Services Technology Division, Office of Probation and Pretrial Services, are the recipients of the 2007 Leonidas Ralph Mecham Award for Exemplary Service to the Courts. The Judicial Conference Committee on the Administrative Office Committee selects the recipients. The award recognizes individual Administrative Office staff for specific accomplishments that have improved court administration, internal controls, program effectiveness, communications, or efficiency in the courts or the AO.

Brown was selected for his efforts in designing and coordinating the Court Compensation Study. The study examined compensation and classification policies for 27,200 employees across the court system, and involved nearly 600 judges and employees, along with the Court Compensation Study Working Group and the Judicial Resources Committee. This extensive effort has resulted in recommendations to the Judicial Conference that have the potential to achieve a cost savings of approximately $330 million between 2009 and 2017.

DiSabatino's nomination for the 2007 award was endorsed by 86 chief pretrial services officers. He was instrumental in the enhancement of the national Probation/Pretrial Services Automated Case Tracking System (PACTS), which has saved the courts hundreds of thousands of dollars in operating and maintenance costs by warehousing data in one location. He also improved communication by establishing an Information Technology Working Group, which brings together probation and pretrial services officers from around the country to develop innovative strategies to accomplish the work of the probation and pretrial services offices.

Exemplary Service to the Courts

Allen Brown, chief of the AO Policy and Strategic Initiatives Office, Office of Human Resources, right, and Nick DiSabatino, chief of the Probation and Pretrial Services Technology Division, Office of Probation and Pretrial Services, left, received the 2007 Leonidas Ralph Mecham Award for Exemplary Service to the Courts. Judge Roger L. Gregory, center, chair, Conference Committee on the AO, presented the award.

Electronic Personnel Transactions
The Administrative Office upgraded the Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS), the Judiciary's online personnel records management system. In close partnership with court representatives, the AO provided nationwide face-to-face training for over 600 court users for the product release. The new product is user friendly and offers automated options for most personnel transactions. Data quality has improved; fewer transactions are lost; and processing of actions is quicker. Court users enthusiastically began using remote data entry during FY 2007, with 6,200 actions entered during a three-month period. The AO piloted automated leave tracking through HRMIS, along with the Eastern District of Michigan.

At the request of the Human Resources Specialist Advisory group of court HR managers (HRSAG), the AO developed and added a feature allowing designated human resources staff to view judge data, enhancing local HR support to judges.

In addition, any AO hires are now completed using the automated recruitment and hiring system that is a component of the Office of Personnel Management's USA Jobs web site.

Flexible Benefit Program
More than 11,600 judges and employees enrolled in the Flexible Benefit Program for 2007, marking the seventh straight year of increased enrollment since the program began in 2000. The Judiciary's participation rate of 36 percent jumped from 33 percent in 2006, and it continues to far exceed rates for other employers. Judges and employees realized nearly $36 million in tax savings in 2007 through this program, with an average increase in take-home pay of $3,150 for judges and $2,400 for Judiciary employees.

Work Measurement
The AO has begun implementing the refined work measurement process approved by the Conference Committee on Judicial Resources (JRC) at its December 2006 meeting. Work measurement formulas guide the formulation of court budget requests. The process revision emphasizes transparency,

Telework
Administrative Office staff assisted the courts and their colleagues at the AO in developing telework programs as part of COOP and pandemic preparations. Two Federal Judicial Television Network broadcasts were completed this year: Telework: It's about the "Work" Not the "Commute" which focuses on criteria used to determine telework eligibility; and Telework: Simple Steps to a Practical Program, which features a variety of telework pilot models for use in establishing or expanding a telework program.

Buyout and Early Retirement Program
The buyout and early retirement program assists court units and federal public defender offices in their efforts to retool and streamline operations and lessen the impacts of restructuring on their staff. During FY 2007, a total of 193 plans were approved, covering 223 actual buyout and/or early retirement separations, with buyout costs totaling approximately $3.8 million. This program will continue in FY 2008.

Background Checks and Investigations
Background checks and investigations help ensure that court unit and federal public defender organization employees, contractors, and volunteers meet the appropriate standard of trust and confidence. During FY 2007, 8,403 background check and investigation report results were completed. The AO manages a contract for courts to purchase electronic fingerprinting equipment to improve fingerprinting quality and efficiency; fingerprinting makes up approximately 90 percent of all checks and investigations. To date, 106 court units and federal public defender organizations have purchased the equipment.