832 - Office of indigent legal services. - New York Statutes

§ 832. Office of indigent legal services. 1. There is hereby created within the executive department the office of indigent legal services, hereinafter referred to in this section as the "office". The purpose of such office is to monitor, study and make efforts to improve the quality of services provided pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law. The office shall report to the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article, provided, however, that administrative matters of general application within the executive department shall also be applicable to such office. 2. (a) Following the initial appointment of the members of the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article, such board shall promptly nominate a full-time director of the office and notify the governor of such nomination. After approval or disapproval of the first nominee as director of the office, or at any time thereafter when a vacancy shall exist or is anticipated in the position of director of the office, the indigent legal services board shall promptly nominate a full-time director of the office, and notify the governor of such nomination. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit the board from appointing an interim director if there is a vacancy. (b) The governor, within thirty days after receiving written notice of any nomination of a director made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, may approve or disapprove the nomination. If the governor approves such nomination, or fails to act on such nomination within such thirty day period, the nominee shall thereupon commence his or her term as director of the office. If, within such thirty day period, the governor serves upon the chair of such board a written notice disapproving such nomination, the nominee shall not be authorized to serve as director of the office provided, however, that such board may authorize an interim director appointed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision to serve or continue to serve as interim director until such time as a director of the office is approved, or not timely disapproved, by the governor. Following any disapproval, the board shall have sixty days to submit another nominee, although such period may be extended, upon request of the board, by the governor. A person appointed as interim director may exercise all of the powers available to the director of such office. (c) The director of the office shall serve full-time and for a term of five years. The director may be removed during this term for good cause shown, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, by a vote of two-thirds or more of the nine members of such board. The person serving as director shall, upon assuming such position, be admitted to practice law and shall have not less than five years professional experience in the area of public defense services, and have a demonstrated commitment to the provision of quality public defense representation and to the communities served by public defense providers. (d) The director shall appoint employees and perform such other functions as are appropriate to ensure the efficient operation of the office within the amounts available therefor by appropriation. 3. Duties and responsibilities. The office shall, in consultation with the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article, have the following duties and responsibilities: (a) to examine, evaluate and monitor services provided in each county pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law; (b) to collect and receive information and data regarding the provision of services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law including, but not limited to:(i) the types and combinations of such services being utilized in each county; (ii) the salaries and other compensation paid to individual administrators, attorneys and staff providing such services; (iii) the actual caseloads of attorneys providing such services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law; (iv) how the caseloads of attorneys providing such services compare with the caseloads of attorneys providing prosecution-related services in each county; (v) the types, nature and timing of dispositions of cases handled by attorneys providing such services and attorneys providing prosecution-related services; (vi) the actual expenditures currently being made in each county on such services and prosecution-related services; (vii) the time, funds and in-kind resources currently being spent on such services and prosecution-related services and the amount being spent on ancillary services such as investigators, support staff, social workers and expert witnesses, including consideration of all funds received for such services from all sources; (viii) the criteria and procedures used to determine whether a person is eligible to receive such services, the number of persons considered for and applicants denied such services, the reasons for the denials, and the results of any review of such denials, including the number of orders issued pursuant to section seven hundred twenty-two-d of the county law; and (ix) the standards and criteria used in programs and by each county to determine whether individual attorneys are qualified to provide indigent legal services, on a case by case basis; (c) to analyze and evaluate the collected data, and undertake any necessary research and studies, in order to consider and recommend measures to enhance the provision of indigent legal services and to ensure that recipients of services provided pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law are provided with quality representation from fiscally responsible providers, which shall include but not be limited to: establishing criteria and procedures to guide courts in determining whether a person is eligible for such representation; establishing standards, criteria and a process for qualifying and re-qualifying attorneys to provide such services pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county law; (d) to establish standards and criteria for the provision of such services in cases involving a conflict of interest and to assist counties to develop plans consistent with such standards and criteria; (e) to develop recommendations to improve the delivery of such services in a manner that is consistent with the needs of the counties, the efficiency and adequacy of the public defense plan operated in the counties and the quality of representation offered, which may include receiving applications for and distributing grants pursuant to specified criteria; (f) to develop recommendations regarding the distribution and expenditure of any monies appropriated for indigent legal services, including but not limited to monies from the indigent legal services fund created pursuant to section ninety-eight-b of the state finance law, for consideration by the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article; and, in making such recommendations, may consider, in addition to measures of performance, the commitment of local resources to such services and the changes thereto; the geographic balance of funding among the regions ofthe state, population, crime rates, poverty rates and individual community needs; (g) to target grants in support of innovative and cost effective solutions that enhance the provision of quality indigent legal services, including collaborative efforts serving multiple counties; (h) to investigate and monitor any other matter related to indigent legal services that the director deems important; (i) to request and receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state or any public authority such assistance, information and data, subject to limitations on the disclosure of information provided confidentially to indigent legal service providers, as will enable the office to properly carry out its functions, powers and duties; (j) to establish measures of performance which programs and counties shall regularly report to the office, to assist the office in monitoring the quality of indigent legal services; (k) to apply for and accept any grant or gift for any of the purposes of the office or the indigent legal services board. Any monies so received may be expended by the office to effectuate any such purpose, subject to the same limitations as to approval of expenditures and audit as are prescribed for state monies appropriated for such purposes; (l) to present findings and make recommendations for consideration by the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article; and (m) to execute decisions of the indigent legal services board established pursuant to section eight hundred thirty-three of this article, including the distribution of funds.