BATH -- Americorps staff soon will assist the Steuben County Public Defender’s Office with preparing cases for low-income defendants.
The county Legislature’s Public Safety and Corrections Committee approved Monday a plan to contract for community outreach coordinator and intake coordinator services to gather information needed to prepare those accused of a crime for trial.
The contract with Americorps is estimated at $14,000 annually, and the services will be in place within the next two months, he told the committee.
The services will help fill in the gaps public defense attorneys need to prepare cases, such as informing defendants of available options, and gathering important background details.
Sauro said the success of the program will depend on the ability of the Americorps workers to get important information to the attorneys.
"We believe this will be a lot faster and more efficient," Sauro said.
In related action, Sauro also told the committee he expects to hire more assistant public defenders within the next five years, at a rate of one new assistant per year. The hires will allow Steuben to keep pace with the state’s Court of Appeals’ mandate to provide better representation for low-income defendants.
The new positions will be fully funded by the state, Sauro said.
The contract with Americorps is estimated at $14,000 annually, and the services will be in place within the next two months, he told the committee.
The services will help fill in the gaps public defense attorneys need to prepare cases, such as informing defendants of available options, and gathering important background details.
Sauro said the success of the program will depend on the ability of the Americorps workers to get important information to the attorneys.
"We believe this will be a lot faster and more efficient," Sauro said.
In related action, Sauro also told the committee he expects to hire more assistant public defenders within the next five years, at a rate of one new assistant per year. The hires will allow Steuben to keep pace with the state’s Court of Appeals’ mandate to provide better representation for low-income defendants.
The new positions will be fully funded by the state, Sauro said.
