On September 7, 2017, American University contacted the National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) and National Governors Association (NGA) about hosting the roundtable in the early fall of 2018.in partnership with NCJA and NGA. The purpose was to convene a small group of SAAs to discuss opportunities and challenges for building stronger partnerships between SAAs and defense providers. Planning for the Roundtable exchanges started in early October, 2017 and NCJA and NGA invited respective policy-leaders (SAAs and CJPAs) to attend the Roundtable that was scheduled in conjuction with the 2018 Policy Institute. Attendees were: Joe Thome, Director of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice Services; Dave Murtaugh, Executive Director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute; Fran Ecker, Director of the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services; Ross Caldwell, JRI Liaison for the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission; Julie Ebato, Agency Head of Hawaii's Office of the Attorney General; and Scott McLaren, Deputy Director, Delaware Criminal Justice Council. (AU have submitted a summary report for this event as part of their grant reporting). NCJA is helping to plan the follow-up webinar that will help take the information and lessons learned from the Roundtable out to the wider defense provider community. The roundtable was held prior to the webinar so that discussions that came out of the roundtable could inform the content and format of the webinar.
The webinar on strategic planning and indigent defense, hosted with American University, will focus on the opportunities for collaborative partnerships between the SAAs and defenders, how the defense bar can engage with their SAAs in support of their policy goals, and share an example of how a defense organization was able to access SAAs’ grant funding. Special emphasis will be given to the changes to the Justice for All Act (JFAA) and the requirement for inclusion of defense in criminal justice system planning. Deb Matteucci from NCJA will provide an overview of the new JFAA language, introducing defenders to the SAAs and the role the SAA plays in policy development and funding. She will discuss how the grant-making process works in states and what strategies a defender might want to consider when pitching a grant. Nancy Becker Bennett, division director for the Michigan SAA and Jonathan Sacks, Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will showcase a successful program in Michigan, the partnerships that exist, the role of the SAA in facilitating program implementation and share insights to their program evaluation and outcome measures. The Michigan SAA and the Indigent Defense Commission have not always collaborated, and they will discuss the shift to the new relationship. A fact sheet has been developed and will accompany the webinar. The fact sheet outlines the new JFAA requirements and includes examples of collaboration. Zoë Root, Esq., Senior Policy Counsel, Justice Programs Office, School of Public Affairs, American University, will serve as the moderator. The webinar presenters are: Deb Matteucci, Strategic Planning TTA Program Manager, NCJA; Nancy Becker Bennett, Division Director, Michigan Sate Police; and Jonathan Sacks, Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Executive Director. Planning for the event began September 7, 2017. The one-hour event will be held February 20, 2018.
State Administering Agencies (SAA)
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