The Center for Holistic Defense Announces 2013 Grant Awardees
The Bronx Defenders’ Center for Holistic Defense selected six public defender offices in 2013 to receive training in holistic advocacy techniques.
New York – The Bronx Defenders’ Center for Holistic Defense, in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation (CCI), chose six public defender offices to receive its Training & Technical Assistance Grant in 2013. The Center for Holistic Defense and its technical assistance grants are supported by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Since 2010, the Center for Holistic Defense has trained nine offices across the country in holistic advocacy.
The following offices will receive training in the holistic defense model: The Alameda County Public Defender Office in Oakland, CA; The Arch City Defenders in St. Louis, MO; the Jefferson County Public Defender in Birmingham, AL; the Office of the Public Defender in Atlanta, GA; the Santa Clara County Public Defender in San Jose, CA; and the Shelby County Public Defender Office in Memphis, TN.
Holistic Defense is an innovative, client-centered and interdisciplinary model of public defense, pioneered by The Bronx Defenders, which addresses both the circumstances driving poor people into the criminal justice system and the devastating consequences of criminal justice involvement by offering criminal and related civil legal representation, social work support and advocacy in the client community. Through its multidisciplinary approach, Holistic Defense yields better outcomes in court, and, in helping to stabilize clients’ lives, better life outcomes for clients.
Grantee offices will receive eight months of step-by-step guidance and concrete assistance in the practice of holistic defense. In addition to regular communication between offices by e-mail and phone, attorneys and advocates from The Bronx Defenders will visit grantee offices to train their staff in holistic techniques, and staff from the grantee offices will visit The Bronx Defenders to see holistic defense in action.
“For the third year in a row, we are thrilled to be working with a diverse group of public defender offices in how to incorporate the principles of Holistic Defense into their offices,” said Robin Steinberg, Executive Director of The Bronx Defenders. “Fifty years after the landmark Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright, holistic representation is absolutely crucial for clients and the communities that public defenders serve.”
Contact: Alex Sierck, The Bronx Defenders, alexs@bronxdefenders.org