Alaska Department of Administration Office of Public Advocacy Senate Finance Budget Subcommittee Rick Allen, Director OPA February 21, 2012
Mission Statement The Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) provides legal advocacy and guardianship services to vulnerable Alaskans. With offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Palmer, and Bethel, OPA advocates for abused and neglected children in protective proceedings, provides public guardianship for incapacitated adults, advocacy for victims of elder fraud, attorney services for respondents in adult guardianship proceedings, for parents in child in need of aid cases, and conflict cases received from the Public Defender Agency. A.S. 44.21.400-470. 2 Office of Public Advocacy
General Functions The Office of Public Advocacy: Provides guardianship and conservatorship services to incapacitated individuals Provides guardian ad litem services to abused and neglected children Provides representation to elderly victims of fraud and abuse Provides attorney services for parents in child in need of aid cases Provides representation in conflict cases received from the Public Defender Agency Provides Respondent representation in Guardianship proceedings Provides Court Visitor services in Guardianship and Conservatorship proceedings 3 Office of Public Advocacy
Structure Employees Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) has 47 attorneys and 77 staff including the public guardians Offices State run offices 14 individual units Five locations: Fairbanks, Palmer, Bethel, Juneau, Anchorage 4 Office of Public Advocacy
Budget (numbers in thousands) FY2011 Public Guardian receipts total $673.1 of that $607.0 are authorized for use FY2012 Management Plan is $23,564.1 FY2012 supplemental request of $800.0 GF 5 Office of Public Advocacy
Accomplishments Leveling out contractor costs Keeping more cases in-house Created new unit without additional positions Successfully challenging improper appointments by the court Educating the judiciary on proper Office of Public Advocacy (OPA) appointments 6 Office of Public Advocacy
OPA Budget Contractor Costs $800 $700 $600 $500 $400 $300 $200 $100 89.9 178.2 98% 558.9-12% 493.3 622.8 14% 709.3 3% 1% 0% 609.9 617.5 619.8 619.2 642.5 663.2 $0 July July August August September September October October November November December December Thousand FY11 FY12 FY11 FY12 FY11 FY12 FY11 FY12 FY11 FY12 FY11 FY12 7 Office of Public Advocacy
Challenges Challenge #1 Public Guardian caseload continues to increase Challenge #2 - Bethel caseload is significantly higher per attorney/staff than elsewhere Challenge #3 Since the December Supreme Court ruling Flores cases are increasing 8 Office of Public Advocacy
Summary of Public Guardian Client Count Number of Clients 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 621 10.3% 767 705 8.79% 13.53% FY02 through FY12 (1/24/2012) 835 8.87% 957 14.61% 1,017 6.27% 1,114 9.54% 1,261 13.2% 1,417 12.37% 1,516 6.99% 1,588 4.75% Based on assignments through 1/24/2012 9 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 Office of Public Advocacy
Current Efficiency Initiatives Criminal Justice Working Group: electronic discovery Add additional staff in geographic locations with increasing caseloads Address definitions within our enabling statute 10 Office of Public Advocacy
Cost Containment Programs Reduce growth of contractor costs to no more than 2% annually Create/expand Public Guardian volunteer program 11 Office of Public Advocacy
12 Thank you. Questions?
Alaska Department of Administration Public Defender Agency Senate Finance Budget Subcommittee Quinlan Steiner, Director PDA February 21, 2012
Mission Statement To provide constitutionally mandated legal representation to indigent clients appointed by the court. The Public Defender Agency was created by the legislature in 1969 to provide constitutionally mandated defense services to indigent clients in criminal, juvenile delinquency, child-in-need-ofaid, and involuntary commitment matters. A.S. 18.85.010-180. 14 Public Defender Agency
Services The Agency s primary responsibilities are to: (1) communicate legal rights, legal process, charges and evidence, (2) investigate allegations and viable case strategies, and (3) represent clients in court proceedings Agency attorneys represent clients before the Alaska Supreme Court, the Alaska Court of Appeals, and the Superior and District Courts of Alaska 15 Public Defender Agency
Appointments The Agency receives cases only after an appointment order is issued by the courts. The Agency does not selfappoint and has no control over its caseload. Individuals who request public counsel must be indigent as defined by Alaska Law. Alaska Courts are required to find that a client is indigent and qualifies for publicly funded counsel before appointing the Public Defender Agency; A.S. 18.85.110-120 and A.S. 18.85.170(4). The Office of Public Advocacy handles all cases in which the Public Defender Agency has a legal conflict of interest. 16 Public Defender Agency
Offices The Public Defender Agency is comprised of four internal divisions: Criminal, Civil, Appellate and Administrative The Agency maintains 13 offices statewide: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Palmer, Kenai, Ketchikan, Sitka, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham, Kodiak, and Barrow 17 Public Defender Agency
Office Locations 18 Public Defender Agency
Staff and Budget The Agency employs 173 attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and support staff FY2012 Management Plan is $23,954.9 (thousand) FY2012 supplemental request of $1,000.0 GF (thousand) 19 Public Defender Agency
FY05-FY12 Budget Summary $30,000 Thousand $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 791.8 217.4 1,224.0 240.0 675.0 820.0 693.9 1,000.0 820.0 800.0 1,000.0 300.0 800.0 1,000.0 227.5 $10,000 $5,000 $0 12,557.8 15,154.3 16,989.5 17,612.9 19,762.5 21.353.2 22,817.9 23,924.0 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 Authorized Caseload Increment Supplemental 20 Public Defender Agency
Caseload Growth 30,000 25,000 +10.1% TOTAL 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 MISDEMEANOR OTHER FELONY +5.5% +36.8% +13.6% 0 FY09 FY11 21 Public Defender Agency
Conflict Cases 30,000 25,000 Total Open Cases Cases 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Conflict Cases FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 Projected 22 Public Defender Agency
Performance Measures 100% 100% 75% 75% 37% 52% FY10 Client Contact Status % Target % FY11 Client Contact 12% FY10 Appeal Briefs 16% FY11 Appeal Briefs Client Contact = telephonic or in-person contact with client within 7 days of case opening Appeal Briefs = opening briefs filed within 90 days 23 Public Defender Agency
Current Efficiency Initiatives Criminal Justice Working Group: electronic discovery New case management system / performance measures Redeployment of resources: Nome to Anchorage Appeals 24 Public Defender Agency
Cost Containment Programs In-house training program Expert witness / travel request review Conflict procedure changes 25 Public Defender Agency
Thank you! www.doa.alaska.gov for more information. Questions? 26