##Rhode Island Motion to Expunged or Sealed App Biography – Camy Ruck

I created an app that allows people to apply to expunge or seal their criminal records.  The Rhode Island Public Defenders provide a form for clients to fill and I used that form as the template for this app.  The last section provides helpful information for what to do after clients have filled out the motion, and helpful links where they can get more useful information.  The stakeholders will be any individual who has a criminal record in the state of Rhode Island.  This app will be used by Anchor Recovery Community Center who served an underprivileged community who do not have the resources to pay a lawyer for this service.  In addition, the Rhode Island Public Defenders can use this app to expediate the process and be able to serve more people when they do their community outreach.
The app can be found at: https://cruck.community.lawyer/interview?i=docassemble.playground1%3AILEOoB4TgkOlKYx1.yml#page1

##Framing
Gary St. Laurent works for the Anchor Recovery Community Center helping people who are in recovery.  One of his tasks is to help his clients obtain jobs by giving them the avenues to which they can obtain employment.  However, many of his clients have criminal records and because of that, they are not able to apply to obtain jobs.  Mr. St. Laurent mentioned that even if his clients get all the training and do community service hours, they will still have a criminal record, and that will prevent them from getting a job.  Mr. St. Laurent connected me with Evan Rosin-Pritchard who works at the Rhode Island Public Defender office.  Together, we worked together in a way to implement the paper form available to expunge/seal records, in an easy to use app that will facilitate the process. 

##Research
I visited Gary St. Laurent and Evan Rosin-Pritchard at the Anchor Recovery Community Center in Providence, RI.  I went there to meet Evan and Gary and discuss the project further with them.  While I was there, I was able to job-shadow Evan while he had a community outreach at Anchor.  We were there for three hours and were able to see around 10 clients.  While there, I took notes on how the form is done, and the required information that clients need to have.  The time there was very helpful because it gave me first-hand knowledge of the process to apply for expungement/seal and the great need the community has for this type of services.
I also did further research on expungement law in Rhode Island.  I had to look up the waiting period for felonies, misdemeanors, and other charges.  I also wanted to define ‘convictions’, ‘expungement’, ‘seal’ for those who might not be familiar with those terms.  As a whole, I had to familiarized myself with the state law because that helped setting up the app in an efficient manner.  Before starting this project, I did an internet search to see if any other institutions had some something similar to this app, and I was not able to find any.

##Ideation & Prototyping
I used community.lawyer to this app because I found it very user-friendly, they provide excellent help guide, and also live interaction with the people who worked there.  Since I was using user input to fill out the template, community.lawyer seemed as the best way to facilitate this process.  I thought about using QnA but I felt that I had more flexibility with community.lawyer, including the fact that users can input their signature into the template.  Docassemble was another option, which would have work just as good as community.lawyer, but I felt more comfortable using community.lawyer and more user friendly.

##User Testing
The first tester was Gary.  He provided excellent feedback as to how to make the app more user-friendly for people with no legal background.  He made the app more easy to follow and I was able to update it like by moving the disclaimer to the bottom and giving more info as to how to get the case number/BCI.
The second tester was Brittney.  She is a child clinician who works with mothers in recovery in Rhode Island.  Some of her clients have criminal records and she mentioned that that getting her clients’ criminal record expunged helps them get jobs and better financially support their children.  She stated the app was “very cool” and will recommend it to her clients.  She said it was easy to use and understandable.  She corrected minor spelling mistakes.
The third tester was Alexi.  He works is a yeoman in the Navy.  He provided helpful insight into the layout and accessibility of the app.  He said it was easy to follow and understand.

###Refinement
I worked closely with Gary and Evan on the initial aspect of the testing.  Gary provided a lot of good feedback in order to create the app more user friendly and understandable.  I updated the app with his comments and suggestions.  
I also implemented the feedback Brittney and Alexi provided, specially the grammatical errors.

##Intro Pitch
Powerpoint presentation to the class.

##Complexity/Robustness
This is a robust application with has multiple choice selection, signature input, definitions, and external links.  The information the client provides is introduced into a PDF file that they are able to print at the end of the assessment.  

##Impact & Efficiencies
Anchor Recovery Community Center had no way to actively help clients who needed help in this matter.  They would book Evan, once a month, for three hours and he was able to see an average of 10 people.  With this app, Anchor will be able to help clients whenever they need it and as many as they need.  Gary commented that the last time Anchor did a community outreach with other community centers for people to expunge/seal their records, over 75 people signed up but Evan only had 3 hours to help them.  With this app, those problems can be alleviated.  This app will also help with the people who had to do this by hand.  This application can be done in less than 5 minutes if you have the information beforehand.

##Fit/Completeness
This application will enable people to apply to expunge/seal their criminal records.  As of now, there is no other app available for the state of Rhode Island, so this will be a great tool that many people can use.  

##Documentation
I have updated the app with the feedback from users.  I also provided external links that people can get more outside information and “notes” where I write either definitions or helpful information that allows people to fill out the application in a clearer form.  I added the ‘waiting period’ requirement at the very beginning so people who do not qualify, do not waste their time doing the application.  I also sited to the website where people in Rhode Island can obtain their criminal records (and case number!), which is a requirement to fill with form out.  I also provided a link to where people can get their BCI at the end.  In addition, at the beginning, I told users around how long the process will take and that they will need access to a printer, so they know that before starting the application.

##Real World Viability
This app can be used today! 

##Sustainability
I am good friends with Gary, so in the future if there are any concerns regarding the app, I told him to tell me about it.  I thought about adding a ‘user feedback’ where people can send me messages, but I decided against that because I think people would ask me questions about their case/application, and I don’t think I should be providing those type of services.