Upstate Quality Improvement and Caseload Reduction (Upstate Quality) Grants

Upstate Quality Improvement and Caseload Reduction (Upstate Quality) Grants is sponsored by New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services (ILS). Upstate Quality grants are available for 40 New York counties to implement initiatives to improve the quality of public defense and reduce caseloads of public defense offices. These are disbursed via non-competitive cost-reimbursement contracts.

New York State Office Of Indigent Legal Services Information About ILS Grants Counsel at First Appearance Grants Counsel at First Appearance (CAFA) grants are currently available on a non-competitive basis for 30 New York counties to ensure that people charged with a crime are represented by defense counsel at their arraignments, as required by Executive Law § 832(4) .

Prior to the 2017 enactment of Executive Law § 832(4) extending the Hurrell-Harring settlement statewide, ILS issued CAFA grants to counties via a competitive process. Since 2020, however, ILS has disbursed CAFA funding to the counties listed below via cost-reimbursement contracts issued on a non-competitive basis.

ILS transitioned to this non-competitive disbursement because our calculations for the funding each county needs to comply with Executive Law § 832(4) were premised on continuity of the programs funded by CAFA grants. The current CAFA grants (4 th CAFA) have contract terms of 1/1/23 through 12/31/25, and provide counties with up to $250,000 per year.

Counties Eligible for 4 th CAFA Contracts (Term of 1/1/23 - 12/31/25) Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chemung, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Oswego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, St.

Lawrence, Tompkins, Warren, Wayne, Westchester, Wyoming Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of a CAFA grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .

Distribution grants are available on a non-competitive basis for all New York counties and New York City for the purpose of improving the quality of public defense provided pursuant to Article 18-B of the County Law .

The formula used to determine Distribution grant award amounts predates the existence of ILS and equals the amount of funding each county and New York City received in distributions from the Indigent Legal Services Fund in 2010. The current Distribution grants are Distribution #13, which has a contract term of 1/1/23 through 12/31/25, and Distribution #14, which has a contract term of 1/1/24 through 12/31/26.

All counties and New York City are eligible to receive Distribution funding. To receive the funding, the locality must engage in meaningful consultation with the public defense leaders in that locality, and from that consultation submit a plan to ILS demonstrating that the funding will be used to improve the quality of public defense and that it will supplement, not supplant, local funding.

ILS notifies counties and New York City when it is time to submit a plan for Distribution funding. Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of a Distribution grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny.

gov . Family Defense Quality Improvement & Caseload Reduction grants (Family Defense grants) have been awarded on a competitive basis to New York counties and New York City to improve the quality of representation provided to parents accused of child abuse or neglect who cannot afford to retain counsel.

Grantees may use the funding to reduce defense attorney caseloads, increase access to specialized services (such as social workers, parent advocates, case managers, and other experts), and/or represent parents during a child welfare investigation. Funding may also be used for training and “know your rights” community education programs.

The current Family Defense grants are the 1st Family Defense grant (contract term 1/1/22-12/31/27) , 2nd Family Defense grant (contract term 1/1/23-12/31/25), 3rd Family Defense grant (contract term 1/1/24-12/31/26), and 4th Family Defense grant (contract term 1/1/25-12/31/27). Awardees for the 1st Family Defense grants received up to $166,667 a year for the first three years, and receive up to $250,000 a year subsequently.

Awardees for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Family Defense grants receive up to $250,000 a year. Counties Awarded 1st Family Defense Contracts (Term of 1/1/22 - 12/31/27) Cortland, Erie, Monroe, Steuben, and Suffolk Note: eligibility for this grant was limited to counties outside of New York City. The initial term of the award was 1/1/22 through 12/31/24.

The ILS Board, New York State Division of Budget, and Office of State Comptroller have approved extending the contracts through 12/31/27 with an increased annual award.

Counties Awarded 2nd Family Defense Contracts (Term of 1/1/23 - 12/31/25) Albany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Dutchess, Erie, Genesee, Greene, Onondaga, Ontario, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Steuben, Tompkins, Ulster, and Westchester Note: eligibility for this grant was limited to counties outside of New York City.

Counties Awarded 3rd Family Defense Contracts (Term of 1/1/24 - 12/31/26) Allegany, Chemung, Livingston, Madison, New York City, Schuyler, Sullivan, and Washington Note: eligibility for this grant was limited to counties (including New York City) that were not previously awarded a Family Defense grant.

Counties Awarded 4th Family Defense Contracts (Term of 1/1/25 - 12/31/27) Chenango, Franklin, Lewis, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Oswego, Otsego, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Warren, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates Note: eligibility for this grant was limited to counties that were not previously awarded a Family Defense grant.

Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of a Family Defense grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .

Hurrell-Harring Settlement Implementation & Statewide Implementation Grants Either Hurrell-Harring Settlement Implementation (HH Settlement) or Hurrell-Harring Statewide Implementation (HH Statewide) grants are available on a non-competitive basis for all New York counties and New York City for the purpose of implementing the reforms of the Hurrell-Harring settlement which are enshrined in Executive Law § 832(4) : counsel at arraignment, caseload relief, and initiatives to improve the quality of public criminal defense, including access to specialized services, training, and supervision.

HH Settlement and HH Statewide grant award amounts were originally determined by ILS as the amount of funding needed to fully implement the Hurrell-Harring settlement reforms in each county, as well as additional funding needs identified by ILS through diligent monitoring of implementation and analysis of data obtained from each county and its providers of public criminal defense representation.

The current HH Settlement contracts have a term of 1/1/24 through 12/31/26. The current HH Statewide contracts have a term of either 4/1/23 through 3/31/26; 7/1/23 through 6/30/26; or 4/1/24 through 3/31/27.

Counties Eligible for HH Statewide Implementation Contracts (Term of 4/1/23 - 3/31/26) Clinton, Delaware, Dutchess, Hamilton, Lewis, Tioga, Wyoming Counties Eligible for HH Statewide Implementation Contracts (Term of 7/1/23 - 6/30/26) Counties Eligible for HH Statewide Implementation Contracts (Term of 4/1/24 - 3/31/27) Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Columbia, Cortland, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Herkimer, Jefferson, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Seneca, St.

Lawrence, Steuben, Sullivan, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Wayne, Westchester, and Yates Counties Eligible for HH Settlement Implementation Contracts (Term of 1/1/24 - 12/31/26) Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Suffolk, and Washington Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of an HH Statewide Implementation or HH Settlement Implementation grant contract, please contact your county's point person on the Criminal Defense Representation Team .

New York City Caseload Relief Grant The purpose of this grant is to reduce the caseloads of New York City's institutional providers of trial-level public criminal defense in accordance with the rule of New York's Chief Administrative Judge, set forth in 22 NYCRR Part 127. 7 . Funding for this grant is appropriated by the Unified Court System and suballocated to ILS for disbursing to New York City.

In FY 2024-25, the amount appropriated for this grant is $47 million. The current NYC Caseload Relief contract has a term of 7/1/24 through 6/30/25. New York City is the only eligible recipient of this grant.

Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of a NYC Caseload Relief grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .

Regional Immigration Assistance Center Grants Regional Immigration Assistance Center grants (RIAC grants) have been awarded on a competitive basis to New York counties and on a non-competitive basis to New York City to support regional initiatives to improve the quality of public defense provided to noncitizen clients pursuant to County Law Article 18-B .

RIACs are responsible for ensuring that all providers of public defense in their region have access to the training and legal support necessary to provide effective advice to noncitizen clients as to potential immigration consequences of their involvement in criminal proceedings, Family Court matters, and appellate and post-conviction matters. More information about the RIACs can be found here .

The current RIAC grant is the 3rd RIAC grant which has a contract term of 1/1/23 - 12/31/25 for New York City, and a contract term of 1/1/24 - 12/31/26 for the other recipients. Awardees for the RIAC grants receive up to $551,420 a year.

Counties Awarded 3rd RIAC Contracts (Term of 1/1/23 - 12/31/25 for New York City; Term of 1/1/24 - 12/31/26 for other recipients) Albany, New York City, Onondaga, Ontario, Suffolk, and Westchester Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of a RIAC grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .

Upstate Model Family Representation Office Grants Upstate Model Family Representation Office grants (UMFRO grants) have been awarded on a competitive basis for counties outside of New York City to establish a model office that represents parents accused of child neglect or abuse who cannot afford counsel.

Awardees are to implement standards and best practices for the representation of parents in state intervention cases as established in ILS' Standards for Parental Representation in State Intervention Matters . The current UMFRO grants are the 3rd UMFRO grant, with a contract term of 4/1/24 through 3/31/27, and the 4th UMFRO grant, with a contract term of 4/1/25 through 3/31/28. Awardees receive a grant of up to $870,139 per year.

County Awarded 3rd UMFRO Contract (Term of 4/1/24 - 3/31/27) County Awarded 4th UMFRO Contract (Term of 4/1/25 - 3/31/28) Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of an UMFRO grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .

Upstate Quality Improvement & Caseload Reduction Grants Upstate Quality Improvement and Caseload Reduction (Upstate Quality) grants are currently available for 40 New York counties to implement initiatives to improve the quality of public defense provided under County Law Article 18-B and to reduce the caseloads of offices providing public defense.

Prior to the 2017 enactment of Executive Law § 832(4) extending the Hurrell-Harring settlement statewide, ILS issued Upstate Quality grants to counties via a competitive process. Since 2020, however, ILS has disbursed Upstate Quality funding to the counties listed below via cost-reimbursement contracts issued on a non-competitive basis.

ILS transitioned to this non-competitive disbursement because our calculations for the funding each county needs to comply with Executive Law § 832(4) were premised on continuity of the programs funded by Upstate Quality grants. The current Upstate Quality grants (4 th Upstate Quality) have contract terms of 7/1/23 through 6/30/26, and provide counties with up to $100,000 per year.

Counties Eligible for 4 th Upstate Quality Contracts (Term of 7/1/23 - 6/30/26) Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Dutchess, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Niagara, Onondaga, Ontario, Orleans, Putnam, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schuyler, Seneca, St.

Lawrence, Steuben, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tompkins, Warren, Washington, Westchester, Wyoming, and Yates Budget Modifications & Extensions To request a budget modification or no-cost extension of an Upstate Quality grant contract, please contact proposals@ils. ny. gov .