Case Closure & Record Sealing (End of Pipeline)

Pipeline 11

Transparency note: sealing/expungement processes can remove historical records unevenly across cohorts. We annotate series breaks and apply small-n suppression where post-sealing counts become sparse.

Overview

The end of a youth’s formal involvement is marked by case closure and, in many jurisdictions, eventual eligibility for record sealing or expungement. Closure can follow successful completion, early termination for compliance, administrative dismissal, or revocation pathways that lead to new orders. This page documents observable closure criteria and the steps required to restrict public access to records, emphasizing implications for time-series and longitudinal studies.

What We Track

Closure Status

Status coded: successful completion / early termination / neutral exit / revocation
Program completion verified (provider confirmation attached)
Restitution status recorded (paid/plan/waived) at exit

Documentation

Final case plan review completed (goals met/partially met/unmet)
Discharge summary filed (services, outcomes, recommendations)
Outstanding obligations logged (fees, community service) with next-step instructions
Youth/caregiver notification delivered (date, method, language)

Sealing / Expungement Pathways

Eligibility criteria captured: age, offense class, waiting period, no new adjudications
Pathway type: petition-based vs. automatic; required forms & timelines listed

Access Controls

Scope of sealing recorded: court / law enforcement / education systems
Dissemination limits enforced (who can view; purpose restrictions)
Retention/destruction schedules applied (dates, system owners)

Data Implications

Recidivism and follow-up indicators adjusted for sealed/expunged cases (censoring flags)
Cohort linkage rules updated (privacy-preserving IDs; match failure rates noted)
Public reporting baselines documented; series breaks marked when sealing laws change

Typical Flow

Pre-closure review of conditions, restitution, and program completion
- Prepare discharge summary; confirm outstanding obligations & instructions
Case closure recorded with status code; notify youth/caregiver
- Provide documentation in preferred language; schedule optional exit conference
Eligibility clock for sealing/expungement starts per statute
- Track waiting period and disqualifying events; send reminders when eligible
Petition & order (or automatic sealing)
- File petition (if required); implement access restrictions across systems on order
Post-closure follow-up for analytics (as allowed)
- Use privacy-preserving linkage; annotate coverage gaps from sealing or migration

Fields

Field	Type	Required	Codeset	Description
pipeline_place_id	uuid	✅	—	Unique identifier for this case closure / sealing record.
pipeline_stage_id	enum	✅	stages.yml#stage_key(8) intake detention adjudication disposition supervision commitment_and_placement reentry closure	One of the canonical stages; here = reentry_aftercare.
pipeline_place_key	enum	✅	pipeline_places.yml#place_key(45) intake pre_petition_diversion_and_deflection diversion youth_assessment_tools prosecutorial_screening status_offenses adjudication case_planning family_engagement case_timeliness language_access restorative_justice detention_screening community_atds electronic_monitoring court_appearance_and_fta initial_hearing pretrial_supervision probation intensive_supervision …and 25 more	Canonical key for this place (maps to route/slug).
youth_id	string	✅	—	Salted/hashed or state UID. No plaintext PII.
staff_id	string		—	Closing officer / coordinator (ID only).
occurred_datetime	datetime	✅	—	Timestamp of closure action (or sealing order if that is the anchor).
jurisdiction_code	string	✅	—	County/parish/circuit or standardized local code.
legal_case_id	string		—	Court case/docket identifier, if tracked.
source_system	string	✅	—	Origin system name.
source_file	string		—	Source batch/file id if flatfile.
extract_run_id	string		—	ETL run id for lineage.
series_break_flag	boolean		—	Comparability break applies to this row.
series_break_reason	enum		series_breaks.yml#reason(4) definition_change vendor_change coverage_change policy_change	Reason for break (statute/policy/system change).
case_exit_date	date	✅	—	Date of formal case closure or end of jurisdiction.
closure_status_code	enum	✅	closure_statuses.yml#status(4) successful_completion early_termination neutral_exit revocation	successful_completion, early_termination, neutral_exit, revocation.
program_completion_verified_flag	boolean		—	True if provider completion confirmation is attached.
restitution_status_code	enum		restitution_statuses.yml#status⚠️ using restitution_statuses.yml#outcome(4) goals_met partially_met unmet not_applicable	paid, active_plan, waived, outstanding, not_applicable.
final_plan_outcome_code	enum		❌ missing in _index.yml	goals_met, partially_met, unmet, not_applicable.
discharge_summary_filed_flag	boolean		—	True if discharge summary filed to case record.
outstanding_obligation_codes	array<string>		outstanding_obligation_types.yml#type(5) fees community_service treatment_sessions equipment_return other	Unresolved items (fees, community_service, other); semicolon-delimited.
notification_method_code	enum		communication_modalities.yml#modality(9) in_person phone video sms email mail portal text home_visit	Method used to notify youth/caregiver.
notification_date	date		—	Date notification delivered.
notification_language_code	enum		❌ missing in _index.yml	Preferred language for closure notification.
sealing_eligibility_status_code	enum		sealing_eligibility_statuses.yml#status(4) eligible not_yet_eligible ineligible under_review	eligible, not_yet_eligible, ineligible, under_review.
eligibility_basis_codes	array<string>		sealing_eligibility_bases.yml#basis(5) age offense_class waiting_period no_new_adjudications other	Basis satisfied (age, offense_class, waiting_period, no_new_adjudications); semicolon-delimited.
pathway_type_code	enum		sealing_pathway_types.yml#type(2) petition_based automatic	petition_based, automatic.
waiting_period_end_date	date		—	Date when statutory waiting period ends.
petition_filed_date	date		—	Date sealing/expungement petition filed (if required).
sealing_order_date	date		—	Date court issued sealing/expungement order.
sealing_scope_codes	array<string>		sealing_scope_entities.yml#entity(9) court law_enforcement education_systems probation_cms prosecutor_cms detention_mis public_portal data_warehouse other	Systems covered (court, law_enforcement, education, other); semicolon-delimited.
dissemination_limit_role_codes	array<string>		dissemination_limit_roles.yml#role(7) court_officer prosecutor defense_counsel probation_officer data_steward none_public research_restricted	Who may view sealed records and for what purpose; semicolon-delimited.
retention_action_code	enum		retention_actions.yml#action(4) seal expunge archive_restricted destroy_after_date	seal, expunge, archive_restricted, destroy_after_date.
retention_action_date	date		—	Date the retention action was applied.
retention_scheduled_destruction_date	date		—	Date scheduled for destruction if applicable.
access_log_reference_id	string		—	Reference to access/transport log entry for sealing action.
censoring_applies_flag	boolean		—	True if post-closure data must be censored due to sealing/expungement.
censoring_effective_datetime	datetime		—	Timestamp after which outcomes are censored.
privacy_linkage_id_available_flag	boolean		—	True if privacy-preserving linkage (hashed UID) remains available.
linkage_match_method_code	enum		matching_methods.yml#method(3) deterministic probabilistic clerical_review	deterministic, probabilistic, clerical_review.
linkage_match_score	number		—	Probabilistic score (if applicable).
linkage_outcome_code	enum		match_outcomes.yml#outcome(6) auto_match auto_no_match clerical_queue confirmed_match confirmed_no_match merged_duplicate	auto_match, clerical_queue, confirmed_match, confirmed_no_match.
Download CSVwhat_we_track.csv

Data & Methods

Closure metrics use disposition- or supervision-based denominators with time-at-risk adjustment to the date of closure. Sealing/expungement indicators are captured as status flags with order dates. When access restrictions remove historical records, we mark series breaks and provide footnotes on coverage loss. Cross-system linkage follows governance and disclosure rules; see Data Governance & Ethical Integration, Data Privacy & Disclosure Control, and Longitudinal Tracking & Cohort Linkage. Series-break handling and small-n rules follow Series Breaks & Definition Changes and Suppression & Small-n.

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