Holistic Defense Team Project to Achieve Better Outcomes and Reduce Reoffending for Youth in the Hamilton County Juvenile Justice System.

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 Hamilton County Public Defender, Juvenile Division, will develop and implement training for staff and community stakeholders on creating a participatory defense network for children in the juvenile delinquency system; develop a data collection system to track youth in need of post-adjudicatory services, including record sealing and registry removal, and implement an educational program to help youth and families proactively access post-adjudicatory representation; track case outcomes, identify dispositional service needs, and identify gaps in services to reduce reoffending; and address the need for support services within the Juvenile Division to enhance representation in the areas of disposition and transfer to adult court. CA/NCF