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Education Debt Relief for Public Defenders |
Update: JRJ Prosecutor and Defender Incentive Act Funding - New Deadline: July 27, 2010
States and the District of Columbia Must Apply By July 27, 2010 (extended from July 13)
NACDL has been working to ensure swift and fair implementation of the John R. Justice Prosecutor and Defender Incentive Act, which would provide up to $10,000 per year (with a lifetime cap of $60,000) in student loan repayment assistance for public defenders and prosecutors who agree to maintain those jobs for at least 3 years. Congress approved $10 million in FY 2010 funding for this program.
The Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance has posted the grant solicitation, and state applications, including the District of Columbia, are due July 27. This means the states need to act very quickly to appoint an agency to oversee the program so they can get their application in on time. Several states have already designated agencies to operate the program; to see if your state has taken this step, please click here.
States without designated agencies are below (as of July 21, 2010):
- Alaska
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
Additional information is available online at the BJA Website, including a direct link to the states' 2010 share of the funding. Note that your state’s money will be forfeited unless it files a timely application.
In addition, CLICK HERE to see the plan Illinois has developed for implementing the program. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission has also created a Website with information about the program, which can be viewed here.
Missing at this point is the application that individuals will use to apply for benefits. ISAC hopes to have it available on their Website in late July.
Please arrange for someone to contact your state’s governor’s office to ensure that they designate an agency to apply for funding by July 27 and administer the program. Unless you have easy access to your governor or high-level staff, it might be best to coordinate with your local chief public defender, prosecutor and bar leaders to select a point-person.
Please help NACDL make this program a success in its first year. We want to continue and expand this program, increasing the funding over time, but that won’t be possible if the states don’t apply this year.
If you have any questions, please contact NACDL's Associate Executive Director for Policy Kyle O'Dowd at kyle@nacdl.org.
On This Page:
| Media Coverage | "Public Service Deserves Public Support," The Champion, June 2007
"Student Loan Repayment: A Wise Investment," National Law Journal, May 22, 2007
"House Bill Offers Student Loan Incentive," Associated Press, May 15, 2007
"Legislative Preview; Bill Would Lighten Load for Overtaxed Public Defenders," New Orleans City Business, April 30, 2007
"Lure of Higher Salaries in Private Arena Hurts Retention Efforts," Miami Herald, May 1, 2007
"Bills Would Ease Student Loan Payments for Public Sector Attorneys, The National Law Journal, April 16, 2007
Debt Relief May Be In Sight For Lawyers, Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 27, 2006
Debt Follows Attorneys Long After Law School, Long Island Business Review, Feb. 25, 2006
Public Defenders Face Low Pay, High Turnover, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 7, 2005
Public Service Jobs Becoming Viable for Law School Graduates, St. Louis Daily Record, Jan. 21, 2005
The Case for Well Paid Public Defenders, By Lawrence S. Goldman, Washington Post, Nov. 28, 2002
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National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
1660 L St., NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036
(202) 872-8600 • Fax (202) 872-8690 •
assist@nacdl.org
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