National Legal Aid And Defender Association

THE NATIONAL LEGAL AID AND DEFENDER ASSOCIATION (“NLADA”) AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS (“NACDL”) WILL RUN AN INTEGRATED TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TTA) PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES 21ST CENTURY SUPPORT CENTERED ON EQUITABLE ACCESS TO COUNSEL. NLADA AND NACDL OFFER A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO DEVELOPING AND MANAGING A ROBUST TTA STRATEGY FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR AGENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THE PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS UNDER THE SIXTH AMENDMENT. NLADA AND NACDL WILL ENSURE THE COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH-BASED, DATA-DRIVEN INFORMATION AND RESOURCES, AND BUILD COLLABORATION ACROSS THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. THIS PROGRAM WILL EMPLOY THREE INTEGRATED APPROACHES: 1) IN-DEPTH TTA TO FOUR TO EIGHT SITES DESIGNED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO COUNSEL IN RURAL AREAS AND LEGAL DESERTS, 2) ON-DEMAND TTA ASSISTANCE THROUGH AN ONLINE COMMUNITY PORTAL WITH ACCESS TO A CURATED LIBRARY OF TOOLS AND RESOURCES, SYNCHRONOUS AND ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING TECHNOLOGY, AND A MODERATED PRIVATE COMMUNITY SPACE FOR PROGRAM COHORTS, AND 3) RACIAL EQUITY CENTERED TTA TO ADDRESS BARRIERS IN ACCESS TO COUNSEL THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.

BECAUSE THE QUALITY OF JUSTICE IN AMERICA SHOULD NOT DEPEND ON HOW MUCH MONEY A PERSON HAS, NLADA LEADS A BROAD NETWORK OF ADVOCATES ON THE FRONTLINES TO ADVANCE JUSTICE AND EXPAND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL BY PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WHO CANNOT AFFORD COUNSEL. THE PROPOSED VISTA PROJECT ALIGNS WITH THE CAPACITY BUILDING FOCUS AREA. THE VISTA PROJECT WILL SEEK TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS AND DATA SYSTEMS AND PRACTICES THAT ALLOW PARTICIPATING PUBLIC DEFENDER OFFICES TO MORE HOLISTICALLY SUPPORT COMMUNITIES IN NEED, AND EXPECTS TO BENEFIT 3,000 COMMUNITY MEMBERS NATIONALLY. TWO VISTA LEADERS AND EIGHT VISTA MEMBERS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT BY PERFORMING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS BUILDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WITHIN THEIR HOST COMMUNITIES AND DEVELOPING DATA SYSTEMS AND ANALYSIS METHODS TO DRIVE EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES BY THEIR HOST ORGANIZATIONS OVER THE COURSE OF THE 18-MONTH PROJECT.

SAFEGUARDING THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL- THE SIXTH AMENDMENT INITIATIVE

PUBLIC DEFENSE IN ACTION - TURNING PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE

2008 ANNUAL CONFERENCE