Office of Public Defense
| Average Annual FTEs | Near General Fund State | Other Funds | Total Funds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Dollars in Thousands) | ||||
| Current Budget | 26.6 | 113,057 | 4,299 | 117,356 |
| 2023-25 Maintenance Level | 25.0 | 102,053 | 3,979 | 106,032 |
| Difference from 2023-25 Original | (1.6) | (11,004) | (320) | (11,324) |
| % Change from 2023-25 Original | (6.0%) | (9.7%) | (7.4%) | (9.6%) |
2023 Policy Other Changes |
||||
| M365 from Central Service Model | 0.0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Vendor Rate Adjustment | 0.0 | 6,683 | 0 | 6,683 |
| Prefiling Parent Representation | 1.0 | 3,420 | 0 | 3,420 |
| Public Defense Innovation Grants | 2.0 | 10,444 | 0 | 10,444 |
| Youth Access to Counsel Program | 0.0 | 334 | 0 | 334 |
| Continue Blake Response | 6.0 | 0 | 11,946 | 11,946 |
| Defense Social Work Support | 0.0 | 872 | 0 | 872 |
| Electronic Access to Court Docs | 0.0 | 254 | 0 | 254 |
| OPD Worksite Security | 0.0 | 113 | 0 | 113 |
| Website Accessibility and Security | 0.0 | 202 | 0 | 202 |
| Legal Support Staff | 5.0 | 791 | 0 | 791 |
| Public Defense Recruitment | 1.5 | 416 | 0 | 416 |
| OPD Social Work Manager | 1.0 | 245 | 0 | 245 |
| Retirement Cash-out | 0.0 | 35 | 0 | 35 |
| Incarcerated Parents Project | 0.0 | 170 | 0 | 170 |
| Redemption Project of Washington | 0.0 | 990 | 0 | 990 |
| Litigation Defense - Davison Case | 0.0 | 120 | 0 | 120 |
| IT Software and Service Update | 1.0 | 861 | 0 | 861 |
| DOJ Regional Juv Defense Initiative | 0.0 | 0 | 300 | 300 |
| Biennial Funding for State v. Blake | 0.0 | 11,946 | 0 | 11,946 |
| 2023 Policy Other Changes Total | 17.5 | 37,904 | 12,246 | 50,150 |
2023 Policy Comp Changes |
||||
| State Employee Benefits | 0.0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Non-Rep Recruitment/Retention | 0.0 | 33 | 0 | 33 |
| Non-Rep General Wage Increase | 0.0 | 473 | 0 | 473 |
| PERS & TRS Plan 1 Benefit Increase | 0.0 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Vaccine Booster Incentive | 0.0 | 29 | 0 | 29 |
| 2023 Policy Comp Changes Total | 0.0 | 557 | 0 | 557 |
2023 Policy Central Services Changes |
||||
| State Data Center | 0.0 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Audit Services | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Legal Services | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| CTS Central Services | 0.0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| DES Central Services | 0.0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| OFM Central Services | 0.0 | 45 | 0 | 45 |
| GOV Central Services | 0.0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 2023 Policy Central Services Changes Total | 0.0 | 90 | 0 | 90 |
| Total Policy Changes | 17.5 | 38,551 | 12,246 | 50,797 |
| 2023-25 Policy Level | 42.5 | 140,604 | 16,225 | 156,829 |
| Difference from 2021-23 | 15.9 | 27,547 | 11,926 | 39,473 |
| % Change from 2023-25 Original | 59.8% | 24.4% | 277.4% | 33.6% |
Policy Changes
M365 from Central Service Model
Funding provided in the central service model for Microsoft 365 licenses not administered by Consolidated Technology Services has been removed from CTS central services (Step 92J) and added to the agency budget. (General Fund - State)
Vendor Rate Adjustment
Funding is provided to adjust vendor rates for contracted attorneys who represent indigent clients on appeal, in dependency/termination cases, and in chapter 71.09 RCW cases. The rate adjustment is critical to recruit and retain qualified attorneys for these specialized contracts. Over four years the rate adjustment would provide contracted defense attorneys with compensation and resources comparable to government attorneys who prosecute the cases, consistent with state and national public defense standards. Federal funds would partially reimburse expenditures for parent representation and some appeals. (General Fund - State)
Prefiling Parent Representation
This funding will maintain and expand prefiling legal representation of parents at risk for child removal and dependency court action. As currently funded by the Legislature in three counties, prefiling parent representation is keeping infants out of foster care, preventing unnecessary family separation, avoiding lengthy court involvement, and quickly connecting parents with treatment and other critical support services. The current funding expires June 30, 2023. This request would expand capacity in the existing service area and phase in additional counties in the 2023-25 biennium. (General Fund - State)
Public Defense Innovation Grants
Funding is provided to the Office of Public Defense to administer new innovation grants for local governments to implement creative approaches to improve local public defense services. The grants would be awarded on a competitive basis and would supplement current funding. Adult criminal and juvenile public defense services are administered and funded largely by counties and cities, with current state grants covering less than 4 percent of local government public defense costs. (General Fund - State)
Youth Access to Counsel Program
This funding will adjust the vendor rate and add two contracts for mandatory attorney consultations with youth facing police interrogation or search. RCW 13.40.740 requires the Office of Public Defense (OPD) to implement an on-demand legal consultation service for youth who are interacting with police and facing the choice of waiving their constitutional rights. To carry out this directive, OPD administers the statewide Youth Access to Counsel (YAC) program through contracts with experienced juvenile defense attorneys who provide individualized phone consultations through a centralized call center. (General Fund - State)
Continue Blake Response
Funds are provided for statewide defense services in response to the State v. Blake decision, which voided all previous convictions of simple drug possession. Up to 250,000 individuals are eligible to vacate their convictions and seek reimbursement of LFOs, and several thousand incarcerated individuals must be resentenced in light of Blake’s impact on criminal history scoring. Maintaining the funding appropriated to the agency in the 2021-23 biennium ensures that counties are sufficiently resourced for ongoing Blake defense, eligible individuals’ right to counsel is upheld, and coordination with statewide partners is sustained. (Judicial Stabilization Trust Acct - State)
Defense Social Work Support
Funding is provided to add six contracts with full-time defense social workers/social service workers to assist Parent Representation Program attorneys in representing parents who have a statutory or constitutional right to counsel in dependency and termination cases. These contracted resources would increase the Office of Public Defense's ability to provide multidisciplinary legal teams to represent parents involved in dependency cases, including parents of color who are disproportionately marginalized and impacted in the child welfare system. Federal funds would partially reimburse expenditures for the Social Work Manager position. (General Fund - State)
Electronic Access to Court Docs
The Office of Public Defense (OPD) will receive continued funding to maintain critical electronic access to Superior Court records. Ongoing funding is needed to cover county clerk fees for the Odyssey court records system and other online document management systems in the superior courts. OPD-contracted attorneys and OPD managing attorneys who monitor contract compliance must be able to electronically access court records for OPD to ensure the right to counsel in indigent programs funded by the state, as required by RCW 2.70.005. (General Fund - State)
OPD Worksite Security
Funds are provided to ensure the physical security of the agency's worksite in downtown Olympia. The Office of Public Defense (OPD) would add modern controls to all doors accessing its offices in the leased building space. Updated security features would prevent unauthorized access to OPD offices and would guard against potential harm to employees or damage and loss of sensitive agency records, equipment, and the computer network. (General Fund - State)
Website Accessibility and Security
This funding allows for the redesign and replacement of the agency's websites that are outdated and don’t comply with current federal and state accessibility standards. The agency will enter into an interagency agreement with WaTech for website redesign, user experience testing, and ongoing support and hosting. The project would use responsive design, enhance content, comply with modern accessibility and security standards, and improve information flow and user experience. (General Fund - State)
Legal Support Staff
This funding will support Office of Public Defense (OPD) managing attorneys, cover increasing workloads in client services programs, and better align OPD with legal support staffing models used in other state agencies. This is consistent with the Legislature’s decision to include paralegal support in OPD’s State v. Blake response in the current biennium. Blake paralegals have demonstrated high value and illuminated a clear need for paralegal and legal assistant support in OPD’s client services programs. (General Fund - State)
Public Defense Recruitment
The Office of Public Defense will receive funding for a full-time Public Defense Recruitment Specialist and half-time Program Assistant position. The specialist and assistant would address recruitment challenges in the public defense profession, provide technical assistance to counties and cities struggling with public defense recruitment/retention, and connect interested candidates to public defense opportunities statewide. (General Fund - State)
OPD Social Work Manager
Funding is provided to the Office of Public Defense (OPD) to add a Social Work Manager position. This position will be responsible for contract oversight, training, and technical assistance to OPD’s contracted defense social workers/social service workers statewide. Current workloads exceed the capacity of the two existing social work managers to ensure effective and high-quality contracted social work services for OPD’s Parents Representation Program and other OPD programs. Federal funds would partially reimburse expenditures for the Social Work Manager position (General Fund - State)
Retirement Cash-out
This funding will pay the cash-out value of accrued vacation and sick leave for an OPD employee who will retire in September 2023. (General Fund - State)
Incarcerated Parents Project
Funding is awarded to the Office Of Public Defense to expand the capacity of the Incarcerated Parents Project (IPP) to help incarcerated parents maintain and strengthen family connections. The nonprofit Washington Defender Association (WDA) would receive pass-through funds to hire paralegal support for the IPP Resource Attorney who currently staffs the statewide project without assistance. (General Fund - State)
Redemption Project of Washington
This funding is provided to sustain the Redemption Project of Washington, administered by the nonprofit Washington Defender Association (WDA). The Redemption Project provides training and resources for public defense attorneys statewide to develop skills and expertise in the emerging practice area of second look resentencing, and it directly provides case assistance for some clients in resentencing. The project launched in 2021 with funding from a federal Byrne/JAG grant, which expires in June 2023. Ongoing funding is required to implement key reforms created by the Legislature and the courts to correct excessive criminal sentences and remedy unconstitutional convictions. (General Fund - State)
Litigation Defense - Davison Case
Funding is provided to cover agency costs for Attorney General legal services to defend an ongoing class-action lawsuit against OPD and the State of Washington. (General Fund - State)
IT Software and Service Update
This item enables the agency to update critical end-of-life software and onboard WaTech IT Services to bring OPD IT systems in alignment with modern standards and practices. One-time funding is needed for migration to WaTech Small Agency services, IT cabling upgrades, and hardware costs for the upgrade. Ongoing funding is needed for WaTech Small Agency Services, other centralized services, technical support, equipment, administration, and the hiring of one IT Manager at OPD. These upgrades and ongoing services would allow OPD to meet current IT and cybersecurity needs and integrate into the state enterprise environment for better connectivity with other state and local agencies. (General Fund - State)
DOJ Regional Juv Defense Initiative
Federal expenditure authority is provided to expend U.S. Department of Justice Regional Juvenile Defense Initiative grant funds in the 2023-25 biennium. OPD was awarded the federal grant in late 2020 and received state expenditure authority in the 2021-23 biennial budget. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed work on the grant project, which is now scheduled to wrap up on September 30, 2024. (General Fund - Federal)
Biennial Funding for State v. Blake
This item will fund statewide defense services in response to the State v. Blake decision. To best assist counties with public defense costs in representing people eligible for these services over the course of an entire biennium, the judicial branch will receive support from the General Fund into the Judicial Stabilization Trust Account. (General Fund - State)
State Employee Benefits
Health insurance funding is provided for state employees who are not represented by a union, who are covered by a bargaining agreement that is not subject to financial feasibility determination, or who are not part of the coalition of unions for health benefits. The insurance funding rate is $1,160 per employee per month for fiscal year 2024 and $1,233 per employee per month for fiscal year 2025. (General Fund - State)
Non-Rep Recruitment/Retention
Funding is provided for recognition and retention lump sum payments for employees employed on or before July 1, 2022 and continuously employed through July 1, 2023. (General Fund - State)
Non-Rep General Wage Increase
Funding is provided for wage increases for state employees who are not represented by a union or who are covered by a bargaining agreement that is not subject to financial feasibility determination. It is sufficient for a general wage increase of 4 percent, effective July 1, 2023 and a general wage increase of 3 percent, effective July 1, 2024. This item includes both general government and higher education workers. (General Fund - State)
PERS & TRS Plan 1 Benefit Increase
For eligible Public Employees' and Teachers' Retirement Systems Plan 1 members, this item provides an increase of 3%, up to a maximum of $110 per month. (General Fund - State)
Vaccine Booster Incentive
Funding is provided for a $1,000 lump sum COVID-19 booster incentive for non-represented employees. This funding does not cover institutions of higher education. (General Fund - State)
State Data Center
Adjustments are made for each agency's share of costs related to the State Data Center. (General Fund - State)
Audit Services
Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of audits performed by the State Auditor's Office. (General Fund - State)
Legal Services
Adjustments are made for each agency's anticipated cost of legal services provided by the Attorney General's Office. Because legal services expenditures are based on consumption, funding provided in the central service model is not all inclusive. The methodology to estimate consumption has been updated from a three-year average to a two-year average and allows for analysis to incorporate unique agency circumstances. (General Fund - State)
CTS Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from Consolidated Technology Services (CTS) for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Cybersecurity, state network, enterprise services, small agency IT services, security gateways, and geospatial imaging services. This amount now includes the total amount for agencies that use the Microsoft 365 shared tenant. See Chapter 11 of the 2023-25 OFM Budget Instructions for allocation methodologies. (General Fund - State)
DES Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) for campus rent, parking, contracts, and security; capital project surcharges; financing cost recovery; public and historic facilities; real estate services; risk management services; personnel service rates; the Perry Street and Capitol Campus child care centers; small agency services; and the department's enterprise applications. See Chapter 11 of the 2023-25 OFM Budget Instructions for allocation methodologies. (General Fund - State)
OFM Central Services
Adjustments are made to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges for existing statewide applications, the One Washington program, and other central services provided by the Office of Financial Management. See Chapter 11 of the 2023-25 OFM Budget Instructions for allocation methodologies. (General Fund - State)
GOV Central Services
A new central service is created to reflect each agency's anticipated share of charges from the Office of the Governor for statewide policy staff and the Office of Equity. (General Fund - State)
