Link to County Indigent Defense Grant Data to generate data reports.
The Commission distributes funds to counties under seven funding streams (see descriptions of each at the end of this page):
Formula grants:
- Formula grants
- Direct disbursements (links to Policy and Application Form)
- Equalization disbursements (link to Policy)
Discretionary funds:
- Discretionary grants
- Targeted specific funding
- Technical support funding - Procedures and Application Form (MS Word doc)
- Extraordinary disbursements - Procedures and Application Form
Resources for Grantees
- FY2014 Discretionary Grant RFA, cover letter, courtesy letter - ISA due Feb. 1
- FY2013 Formula Grant Request for Applications (RFA), cover letter, courtesy letter, summary of revisions to grant rules - Grant application, resolution deadline December 3
- Informational Brochure re Discretionary Grant Program
- Grant Program Archives see all grants awarded for previous fiscal years
- Permanent Grant Rules
- Uniform Grant Management Standards (UGMS)
- Grants and Reporting Committee members
Discriptions of each funding stream
Formula grants. The Commission distributes funds to counties through its population-based Formula Grant Program and provides funding that must be used to improve counties’ indigent defense systems. The funds are allocated by a formula that sets a $5,000 floor per grant, with the remaining portion of the grant based on a county’s percent of state population (estimated by the Texas Data Center in the preceding year) multiplied by the Commission’s remaining budgeted amount for Formula Grants. Counties must meet minimum spending requirements and maintain a countywide indigent defense plan that complies with statutes and standards requirements set by the Commission to qualify.
Direct disbursements. The Direct Disbursement grant category gives small counties that have low incidences of crime and low indigent defense costs a way, if needed, to receive funding apart from applying for a Formula Grant. Small counties often do not have sufficient indigent defense expenses to earn grant funds using the formula grant methodology. Two-thirds of the funds that would have been allocated to counties that do not apply for a formula grant are budgeted for direct disbursement. If a county has indigent defense expenses above its baseline year amount, that county is eligible to receive funding based on requirements set by the Commission, subject to availability of funds.
Equalization disbursements.
The equalization disbursement provides additional state payments to counties with the lowest percentage of state disbursements compared to overall increased indigent defense costs. While the population-based Formula Grant Program and Direct Disbursement Program ensure that some funds are available to every Texas County, the equalization disbursement policy distributes based on the percentage of increased costs. In FY 2010 the Task Force on Indigent Defense (now the Texas Indigent Defense Commission) awarded $12 million in funding to 99 counties that had less than a 25.86% rate of state disbursement compared to indigent defense expenditures. This funding strategy is used when budget conditions are favorable without adversely affecting other funding methods. The Commission encourages counties to use this money to help pay for something on their indigent defense “wish list,” a project or plan that may have remained unrealized without this extra funding. Disbursement of this fund is subject to the availability of funds.
Discretionary grants. Discretionary grants are awarded on a competitive basis to assist counties to develop new, innovative programs or processes to improve the delivery of indigent defense services. A county can apply for a single-year or a multi-year grant. Single-year grants pay up to 100% of an awarded activity on a reimbursement basis. Multi-year grants require a cash match, and funding for a grant project is available for up to four years. Applications for discretionary grants are reviewed and scored by a select committee prior to being presented to the Grants and Reporting Committee and the Commission. Types of programs identified as priorities by the Commission are:
- programs that provide direct services to indigent defendants;
- programs that establish of public defender offices;
- programs that establish of regional public defender offices;
- programs that provide mental health defender services;
- programs that provide juvenile defender services.
Targeted specific funding. The Commission uses this solutions-based program to promote compliance and encourage counties to quickly address issues raised in compliance monitoring. A county may request assistance to address specific issues identified in site visits or compliance monitoring visits. The Commission staff works with counties to develop appropriate program elements and evaluation measures to address compliance issues related to the Fair Defense Act.
Technical support funding. The Commission coordinates with counties to develop technical support projects to improve indigent defense services. Many types of technical support projects may be initiated, but all projects must raise the knowledge base about indigent defense or establish processes that may be replicated by other jurisdictions.
Extraordinary disbursements. To qualify for extraordinary disbursement funding, a county must demonstrate that indigent defense expenses in the current or immediately preceding fiscal year constitute a financial hardship for the county. Each request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis against other requests and the amount of funds available, with $100,000 historically being the maximum amount a county may receive. In past years issues such as hurricanes, capital murder cases and other types of cases impacted counties and made them eligible for extraordinary funding.
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Updated: July 3, 2012
