Developing and piloting a specialized training and certification program for attorneys who represent youth in juvenile delinquency proceedings and transfer hearings.

This program provides funding to states and localities to enhance juvenile defense in one or more of the following areas: training of staff, data collection and analysis, juvenile defense delivery system analyses, and/or a specific need(s) that has been identified by the state or locality related to providing juvenile defense services to youth offenders. This program is authorized pursuant to the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115–141, 132 Stat. 348, 423).

The Maryland Office of the Public Defender’s Maryland Juvenile Defender Certification Project, in collaboration with the National Juvenile Defender Center, will develop and implement a certification and training program for juvenile defenders to ensure that all youth in delinquency proceedings are represented by an attorney with base competencies in juvenile proceedings and working with young clients. Targeting public and appointed defenders who represent indigent youth in delinquency hearings and related matters, this project will develop and pilot the processes and materials needed to establish a certification and training program that is appropriate for all attorneys who represent youth in juvenile delinquency proceedings and transfer hearings for juveniles charged as adults. CA/NCF