Freedom Link: Advocate For Your Loved Ones
• Front-End Software Developer
• React
• JavaScript
• SCSS
• Agile Development Class
Freedom Link is a project I worked on for an Agile Development course. I worked in a small team as a
software developers
with six other students. After the end of the year, I continued to work on the project with two other
members of the original team.
Freedom Link is a platform that offers a simple way for the early release of loved ones from the Illinois
Department of Corrections.
As of April 2020, more than 15% of all documented novel COVID-19 cases in Illinois could be linked to just
one facility - the Cook County Jail.
Freedom Link offers the chance for people to petition for the early release or furlough of their loved ones
in the system, so that we may
help flatten the curve and ensure the safety of inmates.
For a quick overview of this issue, check out John Oliver's piece on Coronavirus in Prisons & Jails.
Check out this link to the Final Product!
Need to Understand Release Criteria
With COVID-19 rampant in 2020, there was an increased need for people to petition for early release,
furlough, or house arrest for their loved ones.
However, this proved difficult as an inmate must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible (i.e. they
must be vulnerable to COVID-19).
We needed a way to help users find out what their loved one is eligible for. The idea was that the user
would lookup their loved one using their
government-issued IDOC number, and then see what release criteria they were eligible for.
The story of a potential user of Freedom Link
An Accessible Design
We wanted to make the interface accessible and easily readable. I collaborated with a couple of my teammates to create these
wireframes in Figma. The designs featured very large text, especially on the mobile version.
First Demo: Export an Email
For our first demo with our client, a Northwestern Law Professor, we built a simple application where the user could input
their loved one's IDOC number and see the different release criteria they were eligible for. Afterwards, they could fill out a form
to petition to release their loved one, and the application would export this text so that the user could draft an email.
Although our client liked the application, it only showed the user what release criteria their loved one was eligible for, copy text for an email, and didn't
offer any direction for next steps. The client wanted the user to actually be able to email the IDOC officials from the application and file a petition to get their loved ones released.
We spent the rest of the quarter implementing this functionality.
Implementation
Although we were assuming that the users knew how to use the IDOC number they were given, we added an extending onboarding process for the user.
This included FAQs, and more information on eligibility criteria. We also included an example email so that the user would know what to put in their
message to IDOC officials.
Like before, the user could enter in the IDOC number to see their loved one's eligibility for release. After
seeing this, they could draft a petition for release in the web app, and the app will connect to their gmail account to
send the email to the IDOC officials.
Reflection
At the end of the project, we updated out 4-panel story for a user of Freedom Link.
After working with a Northwestern law professor as our client, we came up with some lessons learned and defined some things
that we would have wanted to do with the project given more time.
Check out the
Github Repository to see
our project! Go to this link to see
the final product!
