By Erin King, Customer Success Manager, equivant Supervision and Pretrial
With more than three decades of experience as a criminal justice practitioner, supervisor, and administrator, Erin has led transformative work in community corrections, reentry, evidence-based practices, and pretrial operations across multiple states and systems.
In community corrections and pretrial work, decisions never stop.
- Who needs a higher level of supervision?
- Is it time for a reassessment?
- Can this case safely step down—or even close early?
None of these decisions are theoretical. They affect staff workloads, individual outcomes, and public trust. And they’re rarely made under ideal conditions. More often, they happen amid full caseloads, competing priorities, incomplete information, and policy guidance that continues to evolve.
That’s where Automated Decision Support comes in.
At equivant Supervision, Automated Decision Support isn’t about replacing professional judgment. It’s about supporting it—by putting the right information in front of the right people at the right time, improving consistency, and helping agencies apply policy and evidence-based practices more reliably across cases.
What We Mean by Automated Decision Support
Automated Decision Support refers to system-driven tools and logic that help guide decisions using data, policy rules, assessment results, and workflow context.
Just as important is what it doesn’t mean.
It does not mean:
- Automated decisions with no human involvement
- “Black box” logic no one can explain
- One-size-fits-all recommendations
Instead, Automated Decision Support in equivant Supervision is designed to:
- Surface relevant information users might otherwise miss
- Prompt consideration of policy-aligned actions
- Reduce reliance on memory, workarounds, or informal practices
- Support consistency—especially in high-volume, high-pressure environments
Think of it as decision scaffolding, not decision replacement.
Why Automated Decision Support Matters in Supervision
Supervision decisions are rarely about a single data point. They require balancing multiple inputs at once, including:
- Risk and needs assessment results
- Case history and behavior patterns
- Court orders and agency policy
- Available programs and services
- Professional experience and judgment
Without system support, that balancing act often relies on individual memory or informal norms. Over time, that can lead to inconsistency—between officers, units, shifts, or even identical cases.
Automated Decision Support helps bridge that gap by:
- Bringing assessment results into everyday workflows
- Reinforcing policy expectations at key decision points
- Making it clearer why certain actions are flagged or recommended
- Supporting continuity when staff change or caseloads shift
The goal isn’t rigid decision-making. It’s more intentional decision-making.
How equivant Supervision Approaches Automated Decision Support
equivant’s approach to Automated Decision Support is grounded in three simple—but critical—principles.
- Decision Support, Not Decision Automation
Our tools are built to support human decisions, not make them in isolation.
Automated prompts, flags, and recommendations are designed to:
- Provide context
- Encourage review
- Surface relevant information
- Keep final decisions with trained professionals
This preserves discretion while reducing the risk that something important gets overlooked.
- Embedded Where the Work Happens
In equivant Supervision, Automated Decision Support is embedded into:
- Case management workflows
- Assessment and reassessment processes
- Supervision level reviews
- Alerts and tasking logic
- Reporting and review functions
That integration matters. It ensures decision support is timely, practical, and usable—rather than another feature staff have to hunt for.
- Transparent and Explainable by Design
Automated Decision Support should be understandable not just to users, but also to supervisors, leadership, courts, and other stakeholders. That’s why equivant prioritizes:
- Clear, explainable logic
- Transparent outputs
- Alignment with documented policy and practice
- Auditability and review
Users should know why a question appears and how information is being used.As agencies modernize, Automated Decision Support becomes less of a “nice to have” and more of a foundational tool.
It also supports broader system goals, including:
- Equity and fairness
- Staff efficiency and sustainability
- Transparency and accountability
- Continuous improvement
Automated Decision Support isn’t about predicting outcomes or removing human judgment. It’s about making better use of the information agencies already have—and supporting staff in applying it consistently, thoughtfully, and transparently.
At equivant Supervision, our dedication to Automated Decision Support reflects a simple belief:
Technology should make good practice easier—not harder.
And when decision-making is supported, consistent, and explainable, everyone benefits—staff, agencies, courts, and the individuals under supervision. For more information or to see how it works in practice, please contact us.
