Reports and Publications

View or download previous reports below

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Annual Reports

Four Major 2016-2020 Goals to Improve the Department’s Representation of Clients and to Add Value to the Services DPA Provides

​​​​​​FULL STRATEGIC PLAN

LITIGATE

Improve our litigation on behalf of our clients

• Increase the rate of pretrial release for clients;
• Increase the use of alternative sentencing plans to reduce unnecessary incarceration of clients;
• Obtain helpful information for clients through discovery and investigation;
• Advocate for clients when they face fines, fees, and other related costs;
• Understand and litigate issues of forensic science;
• Improve juvenile representation;
• Seek instructions to jurors that advance the defense theory of the case;
• Understand and seek to limit collateral consequences of a criminal conviction that will negatively impact the lives of our clients;
• Litigate the suppression of unlawful evidence.
• Improve representation of those who the County seeks to involuntary commit;
• Maximize representation at the preliminary hearings;
• Advocate for the client at sentencing according to national performance standards; andAdvance expungement of convictions.

SUPPORT

Improve our collaboration and communication within the agency

• Cultivate a culture of leadership by providing opportunities for staff to share knowledge andoffer support for each other;
• Continue to develop the incident response strategy to enhance safety of our staff and clients by fine tuning agency protocols, increasing data collection, and establishing the public advocate special investigator position with safety administration and investigation duties;
• Explore improvement of staff’s connectivity in the field and courtrooms;
• Continue to improve our case management system;
• Ensure the security of confidential data; and
• Continue to improve inter-divisional collaboration through training, case reviews, distancelearning, and written communication.

TRAIN

Enhance access for all staff to training and resources at the national, local, and agency level

• a. Continue to support newly hired attorneys with four weeks of hands-on training focused on the major areas of criminal law, including juvenile law, district court, circuit court, and litigation skills;
• Improve access to training for all conflict attorneys;
• Continue to use new technologies to provide distance learning and online resources to all staff and contractors;
• Provide increased training opportunities for support staff;
• Evaluate and continue to improve training related to juvenile practice; and
• Incorporate issues of difference, implicit bias, and diversity into all training.

ENGAGE

Engage community and statewide leaders and stakeholders to identify our mutual interests impacting our clients, improve and reform the criminal justice system, and demonstrate the value we provide as an agency to the state and our communities

• Strive to increase the diversity of DPA staff to better meet the needs of our clients by:
  • Continuing to recruit for diversity
  • Continuing to partner with the Kentucky Bar Association and others to broaden the pool of candidates for all job positions; and
  • Develop training and litigation resources to address issue of implicit bias in the criminal justice system.
• Explore incorporating community-based outreach programs and fostering approach essuch at Participatory Defense in our communities;
• Continue to be an active partner in the criminal justice system statewide and in local communities;
• Improve the quality of our online resources to provide vital information to our clients, policy makers, and the public;
• Provide the community with training and resources for seeking expungement and reentry;
• Continue to educate criminal justice leaders on our public value; andContinue to work with allies to advance a fairer criminal justice system.

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