The Basics
Defender offices can offer counties higher quality, greater accountability, and possibly lower costs. TIDC has helped plan and fund public defender offices covering 53 Texas counties, managed assigned counsel systems covering 4 counties, and a death penalty defender covering over 180 counties.
Here, you can learn more about public defender offices and managed assigned counsel programs. You can also request a planning study to see if a public defender or managed assigned counsel program would benefit your county.
Learn More
TIDC has published several publications about defender programs. They describe what public defender (PD) and managed assigned counsel (MAC) systems are, why they work, and how TIDC works with Texas counties to plan and fund systems:
Request a Planning Study
You can read sample TIDC Planning Studies here:
- High Plains Regional Public Defender Office
- Travis County Public Defender Office
- Galveston Mental Health Defender Office
- Harris County Managed Assigned Counsel Program
If you've read the sample planning studies, and you think a planning study might be helpful for your county, you can request one here:
Request a public defender planning study MAC Decision Points Worksheet May 2024
Implementation
These documents can help you set up a new public defender office after receiving a grant from TIDC:
Have Questions?
TIDC’s Improvement Team can help.
