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Thursday, March 09, 2006
Ind. Courts - Still more on: Failure to submit paperwork to Indiana Public Defender Commission costly to many counties, including Marion
Updating this ILB entry from Tuesday on Wells County's looking to pursue funding from the Public Defender Council is this story today in the Columbia City Post & Mail, by TJ Hemlinger, headlined "Judge takes blame for missing grant." Some quotes:
Whitley County missed out on getting reimbursed by the state for its fees for public defenders because it missed the application deadline when it wasn't notified by the state that the funds were available.Whitley County received $41,000 toward its public defenders salaries in the first year the program was in effect, but that figure fell to $26,000 the second year as more counties participated. It had dropped to $9,000 during part of the third year. * * *
Whitley County did not make a request for the funds in the most recent disbursement.
Circuit Court Judge James Heuer said the county would apply for reconsideration for 2005 funds and took responsibility for the missed application.
Requests go to the Indiana Public Defender Commission, which reimburses up to 40 percent of public defender expenses incurred by eligible counties per quarter.
If the requests exceed the funding provided by the state legislature, the commission prorates the requests, giving each participating county the same percentage of its request.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 9, 2006 06:52 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts