KSU, Technovative AI sign pilot agreement with Moultrie Police Department for AI-powered behavioral health detection tool
KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 20, 2026
CaseFinder was developed by Professor of Information Systems Dominic Thomas and his team at KSU. The agreement marks a significant milestone in translating over six years of the team鈥檚 research into a real-world public safety tool 鈥� and signals growing momentum in technology-enabled co-response programs across Georgia.
The Problem CaseFinder Solves
Law enforcement officers across the country respond to tens of thousands of behavioral health calls each year, yet studies suggest that the vast majority of people in crisis are never identified as needing follow-up care. In Cobb County alone 鈥� population 750,000 鈥� KSU researchers estimate approximately 10,000 behavioral health-related police incident reports are filed annually. Co-responder teams cannot manually review that volume.
CaseFinder addresses this gap directly. Powered by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms developed and validated by KSU researchers, the platform automatically scans incident report text to surface potential behavioral health cases, providing officers and co-responder teams with a prioritized shortlist for follow-up 鈥� without adding burden to frontline staff.
"Law enforcement's role in behavioral health has changed,鈥� said Moultrie Police Chief Chad Castleberry. 鈥淥ur officers aren't just responders 鈥� they're often the first point of contact for people in crisis, and we have a responsibility to make sure that contact leads somewhere. CaseFinder helps us honor that responsibility at a scale we couldn't manage before."
The underlying technology was peer-reviewed and published in Smart Health (Brown et al., 2024, 100475) and has been validated through research in cooperation with the Cobb County Police Department.
The Role of KSU's Office of Research
KSU's Office of Research played a pivotal role in bringing CaseFinder from the research lab to the law enforcement community. The office managed the intellectual property developed through KSU's multi-year collaboration with Cobb County Police Department, evaluated the commercial potential of the underlying AI algorithms, and structured the exclusive commercialization license granted to Technovative AI, Inc.
That licensing agreement 鈥� negotiated and executed by the KSU Office of Research 鈥� established the legal and operational framework that allows Technovative AI to deploy, support, and scale CaseFinder beyond KSU's academic environment, while ensuring KSU researchers remain actively engaged in installation, technical support, and continued development of the platform.
About the Pilot Agreement
Under the terms of the pilot agreement, the Moultrie Police Department will deploy CaseFinder on department-owned hardware at no license fee during the pilot period. Technovative AI and KSU will provide installation, technical support, and ongoing assistance. The department will contribute structured feedback to help refine the platform. Technovative AI retains the right to reference the deployment as a customer engagement.
A Community Partnership
The pilot agreement was made possible in part through the support of Georgia Pines Community Service Board, which connected Technovative AI with the Moultrie Police Department and serves as a critical community partner in this work. Georgia Pines co-respondents work directly alongside Moultrie officers, providing on-the-ground behavioral health expertise within the department. Their firsthand knowledge of the community鈥檚 needs shaped the deployment and underscores the real-world impact CaseFinder is designed to deliver.
About Georgia Pines Community Service Board
Georgia Pines Community Service Board is a community service board serving southwest Georgia, providing behavioral health, developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases services across a multi-county region. Georgia Pines partners with local law enforcement agencies to embed co-responders within departments, bridging the gap between public safety and behavioral health care. Their co-responders work side-by-side with officers to ensure individuals in crisis are connected to appropriate services and follow-up care.
About Technovative AI, Inc.
Technovative AI, Inc. is a Georgia-based company commercializing AI-powered tools for public safety and behavioral health applications. Its flagship product, CaseFinder, is built on peer-reviewed research developed in partnership with Kennesaw State University and is actively deployed with law enforcement agencies in Georgia. Technovative AI holds an exclusive commercialization license from KSU for the underlying technology.
The company was co-founded by Rong Parnas, a McKinsey alum, engineering and product leader, and Neil Rivenburgh, former Innovation Leader at Honeywell, bringing together deep expertise in strategy, commercialization, and enterprise technology to advance AI-driven solutions for public safety.
About the KSU Office of Research
The Kennesaw State University Office of Research works closely with faculty to identify funding opportunities, build collaborative teams, develop competitive proposals, and translate discoveries into meaningful societal and economic impact. KSU's research enterprise emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships with industry, government, healthcare organizations, and community stakeholders.
About Kennesaw State University
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 色色啦. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 色色啦. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.