The Mahoning County Courts are recipients of the Supreme Court of Ohio Technology Grant for the second time in five years. The announcement of the grant came from Mahoning County Clerk of Courts, Daniel Dascenzo and Mahoning County Area Court Judges, Joseph Houser, Scott Hunter, Molly Johnson and Joe Schiavoni.

The 2024 grant is for the amount of $76,676 and will be used to implement electronic filing for civil cases in Austintown, Boardman, Canfield and Sebring Courts. This process is already being used by the Clerk of Courts in the Common Pleas Court and Court of Appeals.

"This grant will expand the existing footprint of e-filing in Mahoning County," said Clerk of Courts Daniel Dascenzo. "The benefits of e-filing are dramatic. We are able to move away from paper and use a process that is more timely and transparent as civil filings will be readily available on our public website."

Dascenzo also noted that the county's area courts handle over 3,200 new civil cases per year and that the efficiency of e-filing will improve the courts' administrative operations.

Grant monies will be used to install new hardware and supplement the current e-filing and case management systems. The project must be completed by June of 2025. Dascenzo believes there will be no problem in meeting that deadline.

The Mahoning County Area Court Judges say they are grateful to the Supreme Court of Ohio for the ability to continue to bring much-needed court technology to Mahoning County.