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Expanded Public Defense Grant (Holistic Defense)

Grantor:
Office of the State Public Defender
Portal ID:
145587
Status:
Active
Opportunity Type:
  • Grant
Last Updated:
Categories:

Details

Purpose:

The grant goal is to expand public defense services, specifically holistic defense, in California.

Holistic defense is a client-centered approach to public defense that addresses client needs beyond their immediate criminal case, including drivers into the criminal legal system and collateral consequences of legal system involvement. It generally relies on multi-disciplinary teams.

 

Description:

Allowable uses of the funding include:

·  Hiring social workers, mental health professionals, housing specialists or similar staff who can support holistic defense for clients.

·  Establishing or expanding holistic defense initiatives.

·  Specialized training for defense attorneys and interdisciplinary staff in holistic defense implementation.

·  Data collection and independent evaluation on the impact of holistic defense as it relates to client outcomes and public safety

Applicants are encouraged to review evidence-based literature, talk to stakeholders, and utilize their institutional expertise when creating their proposals. 

 

Funding Limits

Applicants will self-select into the small scope, large scope, or multicounty category.

  Small scope projects aare limited to requests of up to $450,000.

  Large scope projects are limited to requests of up to $850,000.

  A multi-county proposal will be capped at $1.8 million.

Small and large scope projects will be scored using the same criteria and scoring matrix but will be compared only to those proposals in their same category. 

Applicants may apply for any dollar amount up to and including the maximum grant amounts listed but applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for only the amount of funding needed to implement the project during the 26-month grant period. Proposals will be scored, in part, on the reasonableness of the proposed budget.

Indirect costs shall not exceed 10% of the overall budget proposal request.

 

 

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

  • Other Legal Entity
  • Public Agency

Eligible applicants are restricted to:

Public Defender Offices/Alternate Defender Offices: Defined for this grant as agencies where the majority of staff are county employees.

Qualified Entities Providing Indigent Defense: Entities providing public defense at the behest of the county.

One Application Per County: Only one application per county will be accepted.

Collaborative Proposals: Multi-county proposals are permitted. 

Eligible Geographies:

California counties.

Important Dates

The date (and time, where applicable) by which all applications must be submitted to the grantmaker. Time listed as “00:00” equates to midnight.
The date on which the grantor expects to announce the recipient(s) of the grant.
December 2025
The length of time during which the grant money must be utilized.
26 months

Funding Details

The total projected dollar amount of the grant.
$14,250,000
A single grant opportunity may represent one or many awards. Some grantors may know in advance the exact number of awards to be given. Others may indicate a range. Some may wish to and wait until the application period closes before determining how many awards to offer; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Grant opportunities representing multiple awards may offer awards in the same amount or in varied amounts. Some may wish to wait until the application period closes before determining per-award amounts; in this case, a value of “Dependent” will display.
Dependent
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) provide a letter of intent.
No
Certain grants require that the recipient(s) be able to fully or partially match the grant award amount with another funding source.
No
The funding source allocated to fund the grant. It may be either State or Federal (or a combination of both), and be tied to a specific piece of legislation, a proposition, or a bond number.
  • State
The manner in which the grant funding will be delivered to the awardee. Funding methods include reimbursements (where the recipient spends out-of-pocket and is reimbursed by the grantor) and advances (where the recipient spends received grant funds directly).
  • Advance(s)

How to Apply

State agencies/departments recommend you read the full grant guidelines before applying.

Resources

For questions about this grant, contact:
1-510-267-3300, ospd.grant@ospd.ca.gov

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