How can the NC Office of Indigent Defense Services develop an evidence-based long-term plan for high quality and cost effective indigent defense services throughout North Carolina’s 100 counties?

Project started: September 30, 2021
Department or Agency: NC Office of Indigent Defense Services

Share this project

Topics
Civil RightsCrime And Law EnforcementIndigent Defense

Project Overview

Summary

The NC Office of Indigent Defense Services (NCIDS) is responsible for providing lawyers to indigent defendants and others entitled to counsel in adult and juvenile criminal cases; involuntary commitment cases; abuse, neglect, and termination of parental rights proceedings; and other cases where counsel is a statutory or constitutional right. NCIDS is seeking assistance with its efforts to develop and publish a long-term strategic plan for the provision of high quality and cost effective indigent defense services throughout North Carolina’s 100 counties, which should cover an eight-year period, by December 2022.

Anticipated deliverables

  • Forecast of population trends, poverty rates, attorney availability, and crime rates by county over the next 8 years.
  • Comparison of jail populations in public defender counties versus non-public defender counties, and differences in pre-trial release rates and/or length of time for cases to be disposed.
  • Comparison of outcomes for juvenile offenders between counties where defense is provided by court-appointed counsel and counties where defense is provided through contract counsel or public defenders.

Planned use of results

The results can assist NCIDS in developing and publishing a long-term strategic plan for the provision of high quality and cost-effective indigent defense services throughout North Carolina’s 100 counties.

The project is in progress.

We plan to post results and deliverables when the project is complete. In the meantime, we welcome questions about the project.

Project point of contact

NC Office of Strategic Partnerships

partnerships@osbm.nc.gov


Project Team

Office of Indigent Defense Services

UNC Charlotte

University of South Carolina

This project portal was developed by the NC Office of Strategic Partnerships and The Policy Lab at Brown University. If you have ideas for how to improve it, please let us know!