The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) has issued the FY2023 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 (mm/dd/yyyy): 05/02/2022
Size of the Grant:: $50,000
Grant Duration: 1 year
Details:
The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (Commission) provides financial and technical support to counties to develop and maintain quality, cost-effective indigent defense systems. The Commission may provide Improvement Grants for any program that improves the provision of 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 managed 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.
Preferred Applications will have the following characteristics:
- Demonstrate how the proposed activity will be a model program or can be duplicated in other jurisdictions.
- Involve coordinated multi-county submissions.
- Demonstrate a county’s long-term commitment to the program.
- Contain a cash match from the county or other non-governmental source.
- Have minimal or no indirect costs requirements.
- Serve small counties (population less than 50,000) or mid-sized counties (50,000 to 250,000).
Categories
- Multi-Year Improvement Grants
- Minimum of $50,000 per application.
- Funding for direct client service programs serving indigent defendants.
- Provides funding over four years.
- Typically pays up to 80% of total 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 programs are made each fiscal year, with funding of eligible expenses provided on a reimbursement basis. Grantees will be required to re-apply for continued funding each grant year.
- Require a cash match as described above
- Single-Year Improvement Grants
- Minimum of $5,000 per application.
- Funding for indigent defense process improvement projects including technology projects.
- Counties with a current multi-year grant award must submit a brief online Continued MultiYear 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 Multi-Year applications.
- Rural Regional Public Defender Sustainability Grants
- Counties with populations less than 100,000 participating in a multi-county regional public defender office are eligible to apply for sustainability grants beyond the regular 4-year support offered under the multi-year grant program.
- Technical Support Grants
- Special projects including indigent defense research, program assessments, or pilot projects that build the knowledge base about indigent defense and explore 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.
Grant Period
Period for Funding and Program Operation October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
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.
For more information, visit Indigent Defense Grant.
