Capital Case Indigent Defense – Second Release

Grants to Pennsylvania Counties to Provide
Legal Support to Impoverished Defendants

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Agency Type:

State

Funding Source:

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Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) - Office of Criminal Justice System Improvements (OCJSI)

Deadline Date:

03/15/21 11:59 PM

Description:

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Grants to Pennsylvania counties to cover costs associated with providing legal support to impoverished defendants. Applicants must ensure that required registrations are completed prior to applying. Funding is intended to cover costs and activities such as research, expert witnesses, forensic testing, mental health evaluations, investigators, mitigation specialists, travel costs, and similar types of activities or items to support the defendant in a capital prosecution.

Through this solicitation, funds will support activities that will enhance defense strategies for indigent individuals in capital cases. PCCD anticipates this program will lessen the financial burden of expenses not budgeted for by Pennsylvania counties supporting the eligible costs affiliated with indigent capital defense cases.

GrantWatch ID#:

GrantWatch ID#: 188120

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$280,000

Number of Grants:

PCCD expects to provide funding for approximately 14 cases.

Estimated Size of Grant:

Budgets are not to exceed $20,000 per case.

Term of Contract:

Contingent upon availability of funds, applications approved at the June 2021 Commission meeting will be 12-month projects and have a start date of July 1, 2021 and an end date of June 30, 2022. Applicants should not anticipate funding availability beyond the project end date of June 30, 2022.

Eligibility:

See RFP and/or Grant Guidelines for full eligibility

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

Eligibility for these funds is open to counties investing in qualifying expenses for indigent defense related to capital cases pending trial.

For the purposes of this Funding Announcement, the following pertains:

a. A capital case is a homicide case in which the county district attorney has filed with the clerk of court a Notice of Aggravating Circumstances, pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 802;
b. An indigent person is an accused individual who has met the criteria of the applicant county to qualify for representation by the county public defender or court-appointed counsel;
c. A pending capital case is one which is pending trial, in which there has not been a conviction; and
d. Expenses associated with a capital case in which there has been a conviction and which is presently on appeal or in the post-conviction process are not eligible for this funding.

Applicants must be in good standing with PCCD to be eligible for these funds. The applicant and recipient agencies’ historical success in implementing PCCD-funded programs/initiatives that met their intended goals will be considered in the review process. Applicants are not required to have a prior funding history with PCCD to be eligible.

Ineligible Program Activities and Expenses: The salary of the county public defender(s) and the fee of any primary court-appointed attorney representing a defendant in a capital case are not eligible for grant funds under this announcement. Funds will not support expenses associated with capital cases in which there has been a conviction, or which is pending appeal or in the post-conviction process.

Activities and expenses funded through a prior Capital Case Indigent Defense award are not eligible for funding under this solicitation. Applications submitted for duplicate costs or ineligible activities and/or expenses may be administratively rejected.

Non–supplantation – Funding must not be used to supplant/replace state, federal or local funds that would otherwise be available to provide for program–related services. PCCD funding is to be used in addition to other funds that are made available for services.

Pre-Application Information:

Timeline:
- Recommended Egrants Agency Registration Date: 03/01/2021
- Recommended Egrants User Registration Date: 03/08/2021
- Mandatory Egrants Application Deadline: 03/15/2021 at 11:59 PM
- Successful applications will be presented for consideration at the June 9, 2021 Commission meeting.

Please Note: Applications are only accepted through PCCD’s Egrants system. Applicants must register in Egrants prior to submitting an application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Egrants system and allow adequate time to prepare and submit an application.

PCCD Program Staff may only respond to questions to clarify the funding announcement. Questions must be sent via email. All questions regarding this funding announcement must be received by close of business on March 9, 2021. Select the appropriate funding announcement to view questions and answers. PCCD Staff will post responses to questions, as they are received, on PCCD’s website. Select the appropriate funding announcement to view questions and answers.

PCCD will only make payments to reimburse actual expenditures reported on the fiscal reports. An agency experiencing cash flow problems may submit fiscal reports monthly and PCCD will reimburse reported expenditures.

Contact Information:

Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates/changes/addendums/conferences/LOIs.

Egrants system: https://portal.pccd.pa.gov/Egrants

Questions must be sent via email to: ra-pccd-ocjsi@pa.gov with Indigent Defense for Capital Cases in the subject line.

The Egrants Help Desk is available to assist with technical or system questions Monday through Friday until 4:00 PM and may be reached by calling (717) 787-5887 or (800) 692-7292, or by emailing RA-eGrantsSupport@pa.gov.

P.O. Box 1167
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1167
800.692.7292
Fax 717.783.7713