To: Board of Supervisors
From: Ellen McDonnell, Public Defender
Report Title: APPROVE and AUTHORIZE a Grant Agreement with the Board of State and Community Corrections
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Public Defender, or designee, to execute on behalf of the County, grant Amendment Agreement #5227-BSCC32221-A2 with the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), to amend Grant Agreement #5227-BSCC33221-A1 to extend the term from an end date of March 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026, and to accept receipt of $1,310,737 for year three, increasing the total grant amount for years one through three of the Public Defense Pilot Program to $4,249,474 to continue post-conviction relief services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If approved, the additional grant funds will increase the Department’s State revenue by $1,310,737, with no County match requirement.
BACKGROUND:
The BSCC Public Defense Pilot Program dramatically expanded access to post-conviction relief services for indigent individuals in Contra Costa County. This grant-funded project expands the post-conviction unit at the Public Defender and Alternate Defender offices and enables many eligible individuals to receive critical legal relief provided by recently enacted reforms in the areas of immigration vacatur, felony murder resentencing, youthful offender parole, and prosecutor-initiated resentencing. Multi-disciplinary teams including attorneys, a social worker, law clerks, and clerical staff will work to support eligible clients throughout the legal process and will work to rectify inequitable sentences and to promote just outcomes for these individuals.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this second amendment to Grant Agreement #5227-BSCC32221 is not approved, Contra Costa County will not receive an increase in grant funding for year three of the Public Defense Pilot Program.