NLADA will encourage public defender participation in the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation program.
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As a part of the expansion work, NLADA will work to educate and share information about the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) program with the defender community. NLADA will collaborate with the BCJI TTA partner Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to foster a two-way information exchange that seeks to educate and engage defenders about BCJI. NLADA will provide defenders with information about BCJI through webinars and presentations. A concrete objective of this engagement will be inclusion of defender programs in subsequent proposals to BJA for BCJI project funding.
BCJI is one of BJA’s most expansive grant programs to address crime, engaging cross-sectors partnerships that bring multiple strategies, including enforcement, prevention, and intervention, to address identified crime drivers and improve communities. However, the indigent defense function has not been actively integrated into this initiative. There is strong potential for public defender organizations, particularly those that take a community-oriented approach to practice, to be important partners in BCJI projects. A key hallmark of community-oriented defender practice is the belief that representation of people charged with crimes is more effective when it is “holistic,” serving not just the charged criminal matter but also addressing underlying factors leading individuals to become involved in the justice system. Community-oriented defenders (COD) seek to have a deep engagement with clients and their communities, and COD will be the focus of NLADA’s outreach to the defender community.
During this grant period, NLADA made initial contact with BJA lead staff Alissa Huntoon, who shared more information about BCJI and connected NLADA to key stakeholders. Specifically, NLADA accomplished the following tasks from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016:
• November 30, 2016: NLADA had a meeting with BJA to discuss expansion work. Alissa Huntoon provided a comprehensive BCJI overview, and we discussed NLADA’s new role in promoting BCJI.
• December 16, 2016: NLADA shared information about the Community Oriented Defender Network with Alissa Huntoon, which was shared with LISC.
• December 20, 2016: NLADA sent email announcements for the new BCJI solicitation to the Community Oriented Defender Network
• December 2016: During the month of December, NLADA engaged with Alissa Huntoon and LISC to schedule an introductory conference call between the two groups for January 2017.
During this reporting period, NLADA held start-up meetings and calls with the Local Initiatives Service Corporation (LISC), the TTA provider for BCJI, and with BJA to discuss to leverage our initiatives and to get defenders more involved.
In March, NLADA attended a BCJI symposium on Capitol Hill called Building Partnerships for Crime Reduction, and posted about the event on NLADA’s social media accounts.
In September, 2017, the Federal Resources Specialist attended a stakeholder conference hosted by TIDC in Austin, Texas to share information related to project, innovation, and funding sources available to public defenders. BCJI, Innovative Solutions in Public Defense, and the yet to be awarded Sixth Amendment funding sources were all discussed with public defenders and judges in attendance. Additionally, the Federal Resources Specialist launched and executed a 5-part web series in partnership with NLADA Civil Legal Services. The series reached more than 700 registrants overall. In particular, 2 of the web series sessions focused on identifying and vetting federal funding opportunities, including BCJI, and on methods for creating community partnerships which is critical to competing for BCJI opportunities.
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Please submit a signed letter of support from your agency’s executive or other senior staff member. The letter can be emailed to or uploaded with this request. The letter should be submitted on official letterhead and include the following information:
- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
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