Summary

The working group will develop a plan for the effective delivery of services during the 2015-2016 biennium. It will be led by Budget Director Dwight Dively and David Chapman, interim director of the Department of Public Defense.

Story

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the creation of an internal working group to assess staffing levels within the Department of Public Defense and develop a plan for the effective delivery of services over the coming two-year budget cycle.

“King County has a well-deserved national reputation for excellence in protecting the rights of the accused, earned by the hard-working public defenders and staff,” said Executive Constantine. “This working group will help assess how to maintain that leadership, while modernizing and creating new efficiencies across the justice system.

The work group will be led by King County Budget Director Dwight Dively and David Chapman, interim director of the Department of Public Defense. It will also include a representative of the County’s Public Defense Advisory Board.

Public defense services have been provided for decades by four non-profit agencies under contracts with the County. The state Supreme Court ruled in a class-action lawsuit in 2012 that the non-profits were "arms and agencies" of County government and that the public defenders and other staff were County employees for the purpose of retirement benefits. After the parties reached a tentative settlement, more than 390 attorneys, paralegals, investigators and other staff transitioned to the new Department of Public Defense on July 1, 2013.

In that transition, the agencies were found to have employed more staff beyond the level called for under a long-standing funding model that is based upon state-mandated caseload standards. The 2015/2016 budget adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council staffs the department to the workload that is anticipated in the coming biennium under the funding model, with the requirement that no layoffs due to budget be made before April 1, 2015, to give the work group time to examine staffing.

In recognition that the caseload standards represent a maximum limit, the Executive’s work group will analyze the department’s staffing needs, caseload levels, and impacts of budget changes on clients and service quality. The work group will also examine opportunities to streamline four systems of management and administration while maintaining high-quality services. The County’s move to a two-year, biennial budget cycle can help avoid impacts to current cases by implementing changes over time in the appropriate places and allowing more time for normal workforce attrition

“This option allows us some much-needed flexibility to understand the complexities of the department’s budget and staffing needs at this critical juncture,” said Chapman. “We will approach this effort with an open mind and a commitment to efficient use of public resources. This development is a welcome one for all who care passionately about the quality of public defense in King County."

The work group will also consider development of tools for sustaining the quality and quantity of the services necessary for public defense, and longer-term changes to the criminal justice system that can help manage costs to the public while ensuring justice.

The mission of the King County Department of Public Defense is to represent indigent clients who have a right to counsel in criminal and some civil cases, except in special circumstances or in cases of conflict of interest, when cases can be sent to private attorneys.