Gavel
Gavel Case Management System - Accountability Court Updates
Gavel Information Series for Accountability Courts #4 (September 9, 2026).
As we prepare Accountability Courts for the transition to Gavel, we want to continue providing you with necessary information to support this change. We have three important updates to share with you this week, so please review this Gavel Information Series for Accountability Courts #4 in full. If you’ve missed prior editions of these updates, you may quickly come up to speed using the link above, as all previous updates are archived.
1. Drug Testing Results Can Automatically Load into Gavel.
What you need to know and next steps. Time is of the essence.
In last week’s Gavel update, we shared contact information for laboratory information systems (LIS) and analyzers that are already Gavel-integrated, meaning they allow drug test results to load automatically into Gavel. If your court is not currently using one of those Gavel-integrated vendors and is interested in drug lab results automatically loading into Gavel at go-live, or would simply like more information on this functionality, please do the following by no later than Friday, September 25, 2026:
- Contact Ben Luke, Judicial Council/AOC Chief Technology Officer, and
Kristy King, Judicial Council/AOC Assistant Division Director of IT. - Feel free to share Ben and Kristy’s contact information with your current vendors, if you would like those vendors to become Gavel-integrated.
- Please advise Rachel Gage, CACJ Director of Data and Research, if you decide to switch drug lab analyzers or LIS and that information differs from the information you submitted in your recent drug testing survey.
New drug lab integrations will take time to establish, test, and will require staff training. It is important that you take the steps outlined above immediately to prepare for go-live. If you choose to wait, you risk a disruption in integration services or a postponement of your go-live date.
2. Onboarding Outreach
Shortly, you will hear from our Gavel team partners at Slalom about scheduling onboarding activities, including a one-hour Onboarding Meeting. Precisely when your court will go live will vary based on a variety of factors, including current case management system, drug testing vendor, and geographical location.
3. Introductory User Training for Gavel Coming Soon
Over the next several weeks, you will receive information on our training schedule for Gavel and your role in such training. Here’s a sneak peek:
- Your training class will last up to 4 hours.
- All classes will be conducted virtually.
- Classes will be offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the morning and afternoon and many dates spanning many weeks will be available.
- Optional hands-on practice sessions will also be available on Friday mornings.
You will receive additional information such as course registration links and a detailed course schedule shortly. You will be able to choose a training date that best fits your schedule, but class sizes are limited so we encourage you to register as soon as registration links become available. A calendar invitation will be sent after registration is complete.
Gavel Information Series for Accountability Courts #3 (September 1, 2026)
As we work to transition all Accountability Courts to Gavel—Georgia’s new case management system—we remain committed to ongoing transparency and communication to ensure a smooth transition for all stakeholders. We are excited about what Gavel means for the future of Georgia’s Accountability Courts and the people they serve. Please take a moment to read this Gavel Information Series for Accountability Courts #3.
Readiness Resources
Gavel Court Onboarding Meeting & Readiness Workbook: As part of the onboarding activities, your court will participate in a one-hour Gavel Court Onboarding Meeting and receive a Court Readiness Workbook to complete. During the meeting, the Gavel implementation team will review onboarding activities, walk through the workbook requirements, and discuss key milestones and activities leading up to go-live. At a minimum, the court’s director/coordinator and presiding judge should be in attendance, but all team members are welcome.
The Court Readiness Workbook will be the primary tool your court will use to provide information needed for setup, data validation, training, and go-live preparation. The Workbook is an Excel file that includes 10 tabs with court-specific information to be provided. Examples of information that will need to be filled in on the Workbook include but are not limited to: (1) court’s user list – their role and permissions preference, (2) phase-specific program requirements for creation of program plan templates, (3) case management and treatment requirements that are not scheduled events, (4) treatment requirements for creation of treatment plan template, (5) fees and fines required by the court, (6) online or in-person payment requirements, and (7) drug testing structure for routine and confirmation testing. Each court will also identify a primary point of contact who will help coordinate implementation activities and communications and who will be responsible for uploading the completed Workbook using a provided link.
Gavel Court Readiness Checklist: As part of the Gavel implementation journey, your court will receive a Court Readiness Checklist that outlines the activities and milestones required to prepare for onboarding, data validation, training, go-live, and ongoing system support. The goal of this Checklist is to serve as a roadmap and tracker for both the court and implementation team. Completing these activities and keeping the Checklist updated will help ensure a smooth transition to Gavel.
Laboratory Information Systems
As detailed in our Gavel Information Series #2, from August 11, 2026, today we provide further information about Gavel-integrated laboratory integration systems (LIS). If you are considering switching to a Gavel-integrated LIS vendor, please reach out for more information to:
Abbott
Cheryl Young at [email protected]
J.R. Peare at [email protected]
Paracelsus, ACT Innovations
Jeremy Demers at [email protected]
Thermo Fisher Scientific, an analyzer that provides an LIS of your choice
Tobb Fernandez at [email protected]
Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, an analyzer that provides an LIS of your choice
Amy Adkins at [email protected]