Participant Case Management System (CMS) Matches

CMS participant matching is an automated function that notifies you when a guardian in your county matches the primary participant on a case docketed in Pennsylvania's Common Pleas Case Management System (CPCMS) or the Magisterial District Court System (MDJS).

How Matches are Made

As of October 2023, all active guardians using the GTS must maintain the following in their GTS Profile:

  • Social Security Number (SSN)

  • Driver's License Number (DLN)

  • Date of Birth (DOB)

These identifiers allow accurate matching of guardians to any participants with corresponding information in CPCMS and MDJS. CPCMS and MDJS use similar, but not identical, criteria to establish matches due to differences between the two court levels.

All the following criteria must be met for a GTS to CPCMS participant match:

Criteria

Details

Guardian Status

A person guardian in your county, proposed or appointed. Includes individuals working independently or as an agency employee.

Name & Identifier Match

A person guardian matching a defendant with same first and last name (aliases included), and at least one identifier (SSN, DLN, or DOB)

Docket Type

Criminal or Summary - Non-Traffic (cases that are sealed or expunged are excluded)

Case Status

  • The individual is the primary participant on a new case

OR

  • A non-pending case disposition is added to an existing case indicating the individual’s guilt or entry into a diversionary program

 

All the following criteria must be met for a GTS to MDJS participant match:

Criteria

Details

Guardian Status

A person guardian in your county, proposed or appointed. Includes individuals working independently or as an agency employee.

Name & Identifier Match

A person guardian matching a defendant with same first and last name (aliases included), and at least one identifier (SSN, DLN, or DOB)

Docket Type

One of the following:

  • Criminal

  • Non-Traffic

  • Civil

  • Landlord/Tenant

  • Miscellaneous (see note below)

(cases that are sealed, expunged, or where the physical case file was destroyed are excluded)

Case Status

  • The individual is the primary participant on a new Criminal, Non-Traffic, or Miscellaneous case

OR

  • A case disposition is added to an existing case indicating the individual’s guilt or entry into a diversionary program

Note: MDJS Miscellaneous cases are limited to: abuse of the elderly, adult protective services, emergency protection from abuse (PFA), emergency protection from sexual violence or intimidation (PFSVI), or indirect criminal contempt (ICC) violation of protective order.

 

 

What Participant Matches Mean for Participant Records

When a match is found, it affects the guardian’s participant record in two ways. First, the Participant Match Found icon displays when their participant record returns in search results or on any applicable case through the Guardians tab of the GTS Case screen. This icon likewise appears for guardianship agencies when a match has been found for at least one member of agency personnel.

Second, if you open the guardian’s participant record in the Edit Person/Organization or Edit Guardian screen, the details of the participant match display in the CMS Matches tab. Each case meeting the established criteria appears for the guardian, the county in which the case is filed, and information on the lead offense. Whenever this information is updated in the GTS, the system applies any new or updated information from CPCMS and MDJS to the applicable guardians.

This recurring process also removes participant matches that no longer meet the established criteria. For example, when the system initially matched a guardian to a new Common Pleas or Magisterial District Court case, the match is removed when the case is resolved with a not guilty, withdrawn, dismissed, or nolle prosequi disposition. In such cases, any applicable case information is removed from the CMS Matches tab. Further, if there are no other matches remaining, the system removes the Participant Match Found icon from the guardian’s GTS participant record. Other events, such as case expungements or the destruction of a physical case file, can also trigger the removal of applicable participant match information.

 

 

Notification of Participant Matches

When the recurring match process is completed, you will receive a Participant CMS Match Notification e-mail and system notification for each applicable guardian in your county. Notifications may indicate a new CPCMS or MDJS case, an updated case disposition, or the removal of a match. This notification includes the guardian’s name, GTS case numbers, and a list of matching Common Pleas or the Magisterial District Court cases. In the instances in which a match is removed, the removal date is displayed.