Indigent Defense Grant Program


Background

The Budget Act of 2020 (Senate Bill 74) opens PDF file established the Indigent Defense Grant Program and appropriated $10,000,000 in funding. Per the Budget Act, $9,800,000 is available for grants to county Public Defenders and up to $200,000 may be allocated for an evaluation of the Indigent Defense Grant Program. Funds awarded under the Indigent Defense Grant Program must be utilized to address the staffing, training, case management needs, or other attorney support of Public Defender Offices.

 

Grantee Orientation

The BSCC held a virtual Grantee Orientation on April 29 & 30, 2021. This two-day gathering was a chance for Indigent Defense Grantees and the BSCC to review administrative and programatic responsibilities, invoicing, and other grant related activities. Below are resources from the Orientation.

Day 1 Recorded Presentation

Day 2 Recorded Presentation

Section 1:  Welcome and Grant Overview – PowerPointopens PDF file

Section 2:  Administrative Overview – PowerPointopens PDF file

File 1: Grant Admin Guideopens PDF file

File 2: Grant Application & Agreement Sampleopens WORD file

Section 3:  Fiscal Responsibilities – PowerPointopens PDF file

File 1: Salaries and Benefits Worksheetopens EXCEL file

File 2: Supporting Document Checklistopens PDF file

File 3: Desk Review Instructionsopens PDF file

Section 4:  Data Collection & Evaluation Requirements – PowerPointopens PDF file

File 1: LEP LER Guidelinesopens PDF file

File 2: Race & Ethnicity Formopens PDF file

File 3: AB 1998opens PDF file

File 4: Evaluator Rolesopens PDF file

File 5: Data Collection Tipsopens PDF file

File 6: Evaluation Resourcesopens PDF file

File 7: Important Due Datesopens PDF file

File 8: Sample Progress Reportopens PDF file

Section 5:  Program Responsibilities – PowerPointopens PDF file

File 1 CMV PDF

 

Request for Applications

In February 2021 the BSCC released the Indigent Defense Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA).opens PDF file This grant made $9.8 million available to public defenders in the 19 counties with populations of 550,000 or fewer residents. Funds must be used to address the staffing, training, case management needs, or other attorney support.

 

Indigent Defense Grant Funding Allocations

# County Total Allocation *PDO / ADO Split
1 El Dorado $347,900
2 Humboldt $416,500 $323,400 to PDO
$93,100 to ADO
3 Imperial $347,900
4 Lassen $274,400
5 Marin $347,900
6 Mendocino $416,500 $323,400 to PDO
$93,100 to ADO
7 Merced $984,900
8 Monterey $637,000
9 Napa $323,400
10 Nevada $323,400
11 Santa Barbara $637,000
12 Shasta $347,900
13 Siskiyou $274,400
14 Solano $852,600 $637,000 to PDO
$215,600 to ADO
15 Sonoma $882,000
16 Stanislaus $1,127,000
17 Tulare $637,000
18 Tuolumne $274,400
19 Yolo $347,900

*PDO - Public Defender Office
ADO - Alternate Defender Office