Indigent Defense Grant and Report Training

1. Indigent Defense Grant and Report Training Bryan Wilson, Grants Administrator Carol Conner, Fiscal Monitor

2. Agenda Formula Grants Direct Disbursements Indigent Defense Expenditure Report Discretionary Grants Other Funding and Assistance Monitoring Countywide Judicial Plans

3. Why We Do What WE DO When loss of liberty or life are at stake, the Constitution and laws of this state require government to provide an attorney and other defense costs on behalf of adult defendants and juvenile respondents who are financially unable to employ an attorney or pay other defense costs.

4. The Texas Constitution Article 1 - BILL OF RIGHTS Section 10 - RIGHTS OF ACCUSED IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS In all criminal prosecutions the accused .......... shall have the right of being heard by himself or counsel, or both, shall be confronted by the witnesses ....... (Amended Nov. 5, 1918.) CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA � AMENDMENT 6 Rights of the accused. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to .............., and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

5. Indigent Defense Costs Covered by the Counties and the StateFY2002 through FY2005

6. Formula Grants Formula Based on Texas State Data Center Population Estimate Floor $5,000 $12 Million Available Statewide Deadline to Apply October 23, 2006 Automatic On-line Application Only One Two Part Form to Submit Resolution/Internet Submission Form

7. Funds based on Court Cost Collections of Counties and Surety Bond Fees Amount may increase or decrease based on collections Must meet minimum eligible expenses Meet OCA electronic reporting requirements Formula Grants

8. Authorized Official Program Director (receive all notices unless otherwise indicated in application) Financial Official Grant Officials

9. Who Is Eligible to Apply? All Texas Counties Countywide Judicial Plan documents on file and meet FY07 grant requirements

10. Baseline County Indigent Defense Expenses in 2001 Purpose: Assure non-supplanting requirements of the Fair Defense Act Tex. Gov't Code � 71.062 (d) A county may not reduce the amount of funds provided for indigent defense services in the county because of funds provided by the Task Force on Indigent Defense under this section

11. Direct Disbursements Non-applying Counties� Formula Grant Allocation Pooled Eligibility County did not apply for formula grant Counties with both low incidence of crime and low indigent defense costs are asked to volunteer for pool Counties not applying in the current year and did not spend grant funds in previous year may be eligible for twice their allocation Lipscomb grant amount $6,601 - actual received $12,885 -last pay FY02 Crockett grant amount $7,094 - actual received $14,188 �last pay FY04

12. Direct Disbursements Reimbursement for direct indigent defense costs above an amount equivalent to the county�s baseline (FY01) expenses Subject to availability of funds Send in Application no later than August 15 each year Countywide Judicial Plan documents on file and meet FY06 grant requirements

13. Steps in Formula Application Process

14. Indigent Defense Expense Report(IDER) Required by Statute From County Auditors Tex. Gov't Code � 71.0351. Indigent Defense Information Treasurers, if no auditor All Counties must submit regardless of whether they receive grant funds Due November 1 of each year

15. Serves as Annual Formula Grant Report Basis for Task Force�s Annual report to the Governor and Legislature and for Research Helps identifies risk factors for monitoring Used by counties to compare their activities to other counties and state. IDER - Uses

16. Submitted on-line Increased administrative costs over FY2001 Equipment used exclusively for indigent defense or have allocation schedule available for review. Report Reimbursements � Pre-trial and Community Supervision IDER - Issues

17. FY2006 Report Changes Counties Must List Reimbursements for 11.071 Writs and Other Funds Expense Categories Now Match Case Categories All Indigent Defense Expenses Reported � Even Discretionary Grant Expenses

18. IDER Data Collection Process

19. IDER � Assigned Counsel System Must have a payment instrument Itemized bill submitted by attorney Approved by the judge Date and service Must have basic case information Misdemeanor, Felony, Juvenile, Appeal, No charges filed Number of cases disposed

20. IDER � Contract /Term Assignment Must have a payment instrument (Tx CCP Section �26.05(c)) Itemized bill submitted by attorney Approved by the judge Date and service Must have basic case information Tx GC � 71.0351 Misdemeanor, Felony, Juvenile, Appeal, No charges filed Number of cases disposed

21. IDER � Public Defender System No payment instrument Must have basic case information Tx GC � 71.0351 Misdemeanor, Felony, Juvenile, Appeal, No charges filed Number of cases disposed or closed

22. Calculation for Grant Expended

23. The Statute Requires That Every County Report the Following: Attorney fees for indigent defendants accused of crimes and juvenile respondents; Expenses for licensed investigators, experts, forensic specialists, or mental health experts related to the criminal defense of indigent defendants/juvenile respondents; and Other direct litigation expenses Expenses allowed by a grant RFA or necessary for the operation or improvement of an indigent defense system. Allowable Costs

24. Unallowable Costs Adopted the Uniform Grant Management Standards (UGMS) to determine allowable costs. In accordance with UGMS and/or the grant rules the following apply: General government costs are unallowable; Costs of law enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration are unallowable; Replacing existing county funding with grant funds is unallowable; and Funding previously existing positions is unallowable.

25. Unallowable Costs Court reporters (Except Transcript Fees on behalf of an indigent defendant) Court Interpreters Civil case attorney fees (e.g. CPS cases)

26. Unallowable Costs Civil case expenses for investigators, expert witnesses, or other litigation expenses Civil case court reporters� and interpreters� fees Expenses, including equipment, used for county offices not involved in the provision of indigent defense services Indirect costs are not allowed.

31. Discretionary Grants Competitive Reimbursement $ Amount Available Statewide Not yet set by Task Force Maximum one program per county

32. Discretionary GrantsPurpose Develop programs or processes to improve indigent defense services Support policy initiatives of Task Force

33. FY2008 Discretionary Grants Application Cycle RFA in December 2006 Intent to Submit in February 2007 Full Application in April 2007 Award in May 2007

34. Funding Cycle � October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008 Quarterly Fiscal and Progress Reports Countywide Judicial Plan documents on file and meet FY08 grant requirements FY2008 Discretionary GrantsFunding Cycle

35. Programs or processes that: Improve indigent defense services.  Develop a model program or can be duplicated in other jurisdictions. Involve multiple counties coordinating their submission. Discretionary Grant Priority Funding

36. Programs or processes that: Show a county�s (ies�) long term commitment to the program. For example: a seed program that requests funds from the Task Force to start a program the county will maintain over time

37. Programs or processes that: Contain a cash match from the county or other non- governmental source Have minimal or no indirect costs requirements Are from jurisdictions less than 250,000 in population.

38. Additional Multi-year Discretionary Grants Requirements Provide direct services to indigent defendants Establish a public defender office Establish a regional public defender office Establish a mental health defender service Programs that provide juvenile defender services.

40. Minimum application of $TBD FY07= $50K Maximum application of $TBD FY07= $500K Cash Match Required On-line application Application Resolution and supporting documents New Multi-year Discretionary Grants

41. Pays up to: 80% -- year one 60% -- year two 40% -- year three 20% -- year four Multi-year Discretionary Grants

42. Application MUST: Include a plan on future funding. Distinguish in the budget narrative between startup cost and operating costs. Note: An application must be submitted each year to continue program Multi-year Discretionary Grants, Cont.

43. Complete ALL sections Complete ALL sections in the manner indicated Double check work before submitting Make sure to submit before deadline Call ME if you need help! Grant Writing Tips

44. Writing a Discretionary Grant Application � Name the grant and the officials Title and Introduction �Summarize the program (100 Words) Problem Statement - Clearly state the issue in your county that the program would correct

45. Objectives - outcome of proposed activities. Answer what do we hope to accomplish? Methodology or Project Design - Describe the specific activity the county will conduct if funded Answer what are we going to do. Writing a Discretionary Grant

46. Evaluation � Develop reporting methods on how the proposed activity goals are measured. Answer What did we do for all this money? Future Funding- Include information on how the proposed activity fits into the county�s long-term indigent defense systems Answer How committed are we? Writing a Discretionary Grant

47. Personnel Salary Fringe Include FTE Information Travel and Training Equipment Supplies Contract Services Indirect Rate if approved Budget

48. Single-year - cover all cost associated with implementing a program Multi-year - Identify clearly in narrative what are start-up costs and what are operating costs Writing a Discretionary Grant  Budget

49. General Review Process Each section is scored separately Scored by independent reviewers Decisions made by Task Force after staff recommendations Task Force may offer substitutions or negotiate final program

50. Technical Support Projects that increase the knowledge base about indigent defense in Texas Must result in a paper about the process and the outcome May include indigent defense evaluation or actual application of a plan or process Subject to availability of staff time or funds Submit requests to Task Force Director

51. Technical Support Projects and Studies Lubbock County Mentoring Program Wichita Public Defender Office Evaluation Dallas Public Defender Office Evaluation Blueprint for Establishing a Public Defender Office in Texas Harrison County Indigent Defense Process Review Indigency Verification Project PD Document Development Project Your project

52. Research Wichita Public Defender Office Evaluation Dallas Public Defender Office Evaluation Cost impact of FDA on Counties Impact of Direct Filing

53. Extraordinary Expenses Counties may seek reimbursement for direct indigent defense costs above an amount equivalent to the county�s baseline (FY01) expenses plus their current formula grant award Subject to availability of funds at the end of the state fiscal year Countywide Judicial Plan documents on file and meet FY06 grant requirements

54. Extraordinary or Emergency Expenses Extraordinary Funds FY2004 $200,000 to four counties FY2005 $316,000 to six counties FY2005 91,000 to two counties Demonstrate why this increased expense is constituting a financial emergency

55. Monitoring Fiscal (Since 2003) Baseline Expenses related to indigent defense Capital / Equipment Program (NEW) Court processes consistent with plan and statute Local plan implementation tracking

56. Fiscal Monitoring

58. Contract Defender System Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Self-monitoring and internal reviews FY05 Fiscal Monitoring

59. FY 2006 Fiscal Monitoring Results Accuracy of Indigent Defense Expenditure Report (IDER) Approval of Qualified Attorneys Attorney Application CLE training documentation

60. Purpose: 1) Legislatively Required/Directed; 2) Promote Local Compliance and Responsibility with the Core Requirements of the Fair Defense Act through Evidence-Based Practices FY2006 Program Monitoring

61. FY2006 Program MonitoringCORE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS Timeframes for appointment of counsel Minimum attorney qualifications Fair, neutral, and non-discriminatory attorney selection process Standard of indigence Standard attorney fee schedule and payment process

62. These are the Timelines for Appointment of Counsel FDA Requirements

63. FY2006 Program MonitoringRECENT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Local jurisdictions would benefit from: Improved Record Keeping; Periodic Self-Assessment; Uniform Magistrate Forms. Processes encouraging/requiring appointed attorneys to make timely contact with clients.

64. Countywide Judicial Plan Must Include: Local Indigent Defense Process Core Legal Requirements (Fair Defense Act) Standards Adopted by Task Force Submitted By: Local Admin District and Statutory Judge Juvenile Board Due: Annually by November 1st in Odd Numbered Years

66. www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/tfid PO Box 12066 205 W. 14th Street � Suite 700 Austin, Texas 78701 512-936-6994