The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) has issued the FY2024 Request for Applications for programs that improve indigent defense services in Texas.
Donor Name: Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC)
State: Texas
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/08/2023
Size of the Grant: $50,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) provides financial and technical support to counties to develop and sustain quality, cost-effective indigent defense systems. TIDC’s Improvement Grant Program provides program specific funding awarded on a competitive basis. The Commission may provide Improvement Grants for any program that improves indigent defense services.
Priority Program Areas
Applications for the following program types shall be given funding priority:
- Managed indigent defense programs that put in place mechanisms to ensure quality representation. This includes but is not limited to manage assigned counsel and public defender programs.
- Regional indigent defense services.
- Specialized (mental health, juvenile, etc.) indigent defense services.
- Programs that serve rural areas.
- Programs that measure the quality of representation for indigent defendants.
- Online indigent defense process management systems.
- Other programs that implement cost containment initiatives designed to limit local indigent defense cost increases or reduce county operating costs with respect to indigent defense.
Grant Categories
- Multi-Year Improvement Grants
- Funding for programs providing indigent defense representation, including public defender offices, managed assigned counsel programs, and indigent defense coordinator programs.
- Provides funding over four years.
- Typically reimburses up to 80% of total approved project costs for the first year; 60% for the second year; 40% for the third year; and 20% for the fourth year.
- Awards for multi-year grants are made each fiscal year, with funding of eligible expenses provided on a reimbursement basis. Grantees will be required to submit a brief continuing grant application form for continued funding each grant year.
- Minimum of $50,000 per application.
- Require a cash match as described above.
- Rural Regional Public Defender Sustainability Grants
- Regional programs must cover three or more counties.
- Counties with populations less than 100,000 are eligible. (Counties that exceed this threshold may request a variance based on special considerations.)
- Provides reimbursement of 80% of approved program costs in the initial year, transitioning to ongoing sustainability funding covering 2/3 of eligible costs in subsequent years.
- May be operated directly by counties or contracted to eligible nonprofit public defender organizations.
- Single-Year Improvement Grants
- Funding for indigent defense process improvement projects including technology projects.
- These projects require a cash match.
- Minimum of $5,000 per application. Routine equipment replacements or upgrades are not eligible.
- Technical Support Grants
- Special projects including indigent defense research, program assessments, or pilot projects that build the knowledge base about indigent defense and test processes that can be applied in other counties.
- All technical support projects must result in a project paper that describes the implementation, the benefits the county may have received, a brief commentary from participants, and a brief discussion on implications or suggestions for other similar projects.
- Continued Multi-Year Improvement Grants
- Counties with current Multi-Year Improvement Grant awards and Rural Regional Public Defender Sustainability Grants must submit a brief online Continued Multi-Year Improvement Grant form for each subsequent year of eligible funding.
- A new Commissioners Court or governing board resolution must be submitted with the application each year.
- Requests for scope changes, amendments or budget adjustments may be submitted with Continued Multiyear applications.
Other Funding Opportunities
- Extraordinary Disbursement Grants reimburse counties for extraordinary indigent defense costs in a case or series of cases causing an extraordinary financial hardship for the county.
- Compliance Assistance Grants are awarded for a specific program designed to promote and assist a county’s compliance with the requirements of state law relating to indigent defense. These grants may be initiated by TIDC following monitoring visits.
- Extraordinary Disbursement and Compliance Assistance Grants follow separate application procedures.
Funding Information
- Single-Year Improvement Grants: Minimum of $5,000 per application.
- Multi-Year Improvement Grants: Minimum of $50,000 per application.
Grant Period
Period for Funding and Program Operation: October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
Eligibility Criteria
The following entities are eligible for Improvement Grants:
- Texas counties. Counties may apply jointly for funding but must designate one county as the grant recipient.
- A law school’s legal clinic or program that provides indigent defense services for Texas counties as described in Section 79.037, Texas Gov’t Code.
- A regional public defender formed under Article 26.044, Code of Criminal Procedure that provides indigent defense services for Texas counties and meets the requirements of Texas Gov’t Code Section 79.037.
- An entity described by Section 791.013, Texas Gov’t Code that provides to a county administrative services under an interlocal contract entered into for the purpose of providing or improving the provision of indigent defense services in the county.
- A nonprofit corporation that provides indigent defense services or indigent defense support services in a county. Nonprofit applicants must document support from and coordination with the county or counties and courts served. Nonprofit applications should contact TIDC staff early in the process online grant application account setup and for guidance on documentation of county support and coordination.
For more information, visit TIDC.
