August 20, 2014 Chair: The Honorable Sharon Keller Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Vice Chair: The Honorable Olen Underwood Ex Officio Members: Honorable Sharon Keller Honorable Nathan Hecht Honorable John Whitmire Honorable Royce West Honorable Roberto Alonzo Honorable Abel Herrero Members Appointed by Governor: Honorable Olen Underwood Honorable Sherry Radack Honorable Jon Burrows Honorable B. Glen Whitley Honorable Linda Rodriguez Mr. Anthony Odiorne Mr. Don Hase Executive Director: James D. Bethke The Honorable Alan B. Sadler Montgomery County Judge Via E-mail: doris.golemon@mctx.org RE: FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Grant Number 212-15-D04 Dear Judge Sadler: I am pleased to inform you that the Texas Indigent Defense Commission has awarded Montgomery County a FY2015 Multi-Year Continued Discretionary Grant in the amount of $69,575 in response to your application titled Montgomery County Managed Assigned Counsel Program. Your Statement of Grant Award for fiscal year 2015 is attached. Please sign, scan, and return via e-mail the Statement of Grant Award to bryan.wilson@txcourts.gov on or before September 19, 2014. You do not need to mail a copy. Congratulations to Montgomery County on taking the lead in Texas by developing this new indigent defense program. If you have any questions or need clarification of the information contained in this letter or the attached Statement of Grant Award, please contact Bryan Wilson, the Commission Grants Administrator at (512) 936-6996. Sincerely, Sharon Keller Chair, Texas Indigent Defense Commission Presiding Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Copy: Ms. Phyllis L. Martin, Montgomery County Auditor, Phyllis.Martin@mctx.org Ms. Sara Forlano, Managing Attorney, sara.forlano@mctx.org Texas Indigent Defense Commission 209 West 14 th Street, Room 202 Austin, Texas 78701 www.txcourts.gov/tidc Phone: 512.936.6994 Fax: 512.463.5724
Method of Calculation Attachment A Required Conditions and Reports The budget appearing in the Statement of Grant Award was developed under the assumptions that the grant be based on a 12- month period. The schedule provides the county twelve months of funds at each of the original agreed upon funding levels. If the county has a delayed start in the first year (FY15), it may necessitate an adjustment in future years to allow the county to fully expend grant funds. The intention is to follow a declining schedule of 80 percent in the first year; then, 60 percent in the second year; then, 40 percent in the third year; and 20 percent in the final year of the Commission support. The grants will remain on a fiscal calendar (October to September), but future awards will reflect any needed modifications to implement this policy. Program Requirements In addition to the program requirements stated in the Request for Applications (RFA) these specific program requirements apply to this funded program (Note: If the County contracts the public defender office to a non-profit corporation or governmental entity, then the corporation or governmental entity will ensure the following are performed): Program Requirements In addition to the program requirements stated in the Request for Applications (RFA) these specific program requirements apply to this funded program The County will continue to operate a Managed Assigned Counsel Program as defined in Article 26.047 of the Code of Criminal Procedure as amended by the 82nd Legislature. The County must meet all requirements of this statute. The County will submit both progress reports and expenditure reports to obtain reimbursement of expended funds based on actual expenditures. The County will maintain conditions conducive to maintaining attorney-client privileged communication. These conditions shall include confidential communication at both locations of the communication and provide that no recording of the communication shall be made. The County will not record communications between court officials/ court staff and defendants during ministerial proceedings unless conducted as part of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 15.17 hearings. The County will provide for reasonable protection from third party interception of communication between the videoteleconferencing sites. The County must maintain an oversight board to supervise the operation of this program as described in the application. The County must maintain, or ensure that any contracted party for legal services maintains, a written policy that includes caseload standards for each attorney and for the operation of this program. In developing caseload standards, nationally recognized standards and standards used by other states shall be taken into consideration. The requirement on the caseload standard must require the lead attorney of this program to review the caseload status at least quarterly. The lead attorney may make overrides or approve lower caseloads based on overall complexity of cases, overall type of cases, attorney experience, support staff experience, court needs, available technology augmenting services, or other factors affecting the delivery of services. The lead attorney must notify the oversight board in writing if an exception to the caseload standards is authorized. The caseload standards must be submitted to the Task Force. The County will cooperate with the Task Force staff to develop reasonable on-line reports that best reflect the work of the program and demonstrate that the program is operating as intended. The county will track all of the data elements presented in the proposal. The on-line reports may include some of the data elements in the proposal as well as standard program data elements developed by the Task Force. The County must provide a plan of data collection by the first progress report that includes a list of data elements that capture the work performed under this program or impact on the county s compliance with the Fair Defense Act. This County must submit data collection agreements from county offices or departments to provide this data to the program director on a regular basis to measure the impact of this program. FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 3 of 10
The County or its designee must provide to the Commission staff the minimum job requirements and a full job description of the FTE positions specified under this project. An updated draft of the Public Defender Office or Managed Assigned Counsel office Case Representation Policies and Procedures Manual must be provided to the Commission with the first quarterly progress report. Grantees should consider professional standards of representation such as the Texas State Bar Performance Guidelines for Non-Capital Criminal Defense Representation when developing the manual. Grantees that use grant funds to contract for services must develop and include in the contract provisions to monitor each contract that is for more than $10,000 per year. These provisions must include specific actions to be taken if the grantee discovers that the contractor s performance does not meet the operational or performance terms of the contract. In the case of contracts for public defender offices and managed assigned counsel programs, these provisions must include a review of utilization and activity, reporting of financial data to evaluate the contractor s performance within the budget required by statute for such programs. The County will develop a written policy that includes a formal intake process for this program. The policy must include: 1) a procedure to refer clients from courts, public defender attorneys, and the private bar; 2) a method to screen and/or assess the defendants who are referred for representation under this program; and 3) a set priority population criteria to determine which clients are to be represented if referrals are greater than caseload capacity. The priority population criteria may include factors of mental health, mental retardation, institutionalization history, medical history, seriousness of the offense, impact on the community, or other factors related to the alleged crime or personal history of the defendant. The Chief Public Defender or Managing Attorney of a managed assigned counsel program may allow exceptions but all exceptions to the policy from the intake process must be documented and maintained. The County will provide a written plan on how it will coordinate with, and not duplicate the work of, existing mental health systems. The plan must demonstrate how the County will identify and incorporate available mental health screening, assessment, treatment, and community services available to the defendants served by the grant program. The plan must also address how the positions funded under this grant will fit into the County s methods of operation for the identification of mentally ill arrestees and for providing assessment, treatment and bonding options to these arrestees under Article 16.22 and Article 17.032 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Activity 2015 Montgomery County Discretionary Grant Application Narrative (Continued Multi-Year Grant) Montgomery County will implement the various elements of the Montgomery County Managed Assigned Counsel Program as proposed and funded in FY11 and Revised in FY13. The County may request budget changes based on actual implementation by a non-profit or governmental entity as set forth in Article 26.047, Code of Criminal Procedure. 2015 Montgomery County Discretionary Grant Application Narrative (Multi-Year Grant) Montgomery County revised the program budget to provide a 3% salary increase for program staff, consistent with a county-wide policy to provide salary increases to all employees. The personnel budget revision also impacted the calculation of fringe benefits, which is reflected in this document. a. Application Form Counties Represented: Montgomery Fiscal Year: 2013 State Payee Identification Number: 746000558 Division To Administer Grant: Indigent Defense Program Title: Montgomery County Managed Assigned Counsel Program Grant Amount: $ Financial Officer: Phyllis L. Martin Program Director: Sara M. Forlano FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 4 of 10
Mailing Address: 501 N Thompson, Ste 401; Conroe, TX 77301 b. Introduction (Executive Summary) Montgomery County, Texas has created a program to provide direct client services to indigent persons with pending criminal charges and with documented mental health issues. The objectives for these services include the hiring of a managing attorney to implement and oversee the program; the hiring of clinical staff to provide clients with case management services while charges are pending; the appointment of specially trained defense attorneys; and the monitoring and evaluation of the defense attorneys. Additional objectives include the provision for video conferencing and the development of a specialized docket for defendants with specific mental illness diagnoses, particularly those on probation, during which time they can be monitored for treatment performance and compliance. c. Problem Statement Thirty to Thirty-Five percent of the Montgomery County jail population has documented mental health issues and approximately 225 persons per month are found in the TLETS CCQ match system, indicating that these defendants have received treatment from state and local mental health agencies in the past for mental health issues. New intake procedures allow the jail real time access to the TLETS CCQ system and, therefore, the ability to identify defendants who have previously received treatment for mental illness. There is a need to provide indigent defendants with mental illness with legal representation by trained attorneys and to provide case work support services in order to reduce recidivism and address these defendants challenging issues. Montgomery County documented all indigent cases for persons with documentable mental health issues during the first year. Of the approximately 2,700 persons who are booked into the jail with identified mental health issues (225 persons per month x 12 months), it is estimated that 600 are indigent. d. Objectives The goals are to provide services in a humane and cost effective manner to this challenging population and to provide quality, effective legal representation that includes remedies that will lead to a lower recidivism rate. During the grant period, Montgomery County will: 1) Support a Managed Assigned Counsel Program to establish and manage a Mental Health wheel for an appropriate number of qualified attorneys, with a minimum of twelve (12) attorneys that qualify for appointment by Indigent Defense. The structure calls for the County to provide the services of at least one (1) clinician, two (2) Case Management Coordinators and two (2) Case Workers to provide field support to clients. A Managing Attorney monitors and evaluates the quality and effectiveness of the indigent defense counsel provided to the clients. The program provides the local Defense Bar with at least 6 hours annually of legal education relating to the defense of mentally ill clients; 2) Establish specialized docket for defendants with mental illnesses; 3) Expand video conferencing to allow secure communication at the courthouse complex/law library for attorneys and case management staff with indigent clients in jail or the Psychiatric Emergency Treatment Center; 4) Contract with a consultant for the data collection and documentation of the program to appropriately capture and analyze recidivism rates and other pertinent information, including, but not limited to, the cost effectiveness of the program and the effectiveness of the use of video conferencing with the mentally ill. e. Methodology or Project Design (Activities) Montgomery County has established a program of direct services for adults with pending criminal charges who are identified as having a mental illness. These direct services include the development and management of a Mental Health court/docket, video conferencing capabilities and contracted services to document recidivism rates that can illustrate the effectiveness of the project. Montgomery County established a Managed Assigned Counsel Program for adult defendants identified as having a mental illness and hired a Managing Attorney to administer the program. This program requires the establishment of an appointed private defender wheel; the provision of specialized training on mental health issues and criminal law; and the monitoring and evaluation for quality control purposes concerning the performance of the qualified attorneys. In addition, the Managed Assigned Counsel Program provides case management services to be provided by at least one (1) master degree level Clinician to assess persons while in jail, two (2) master s level Case Management Coordinators to provide assistance to clients with appointments/court dates, rehabilitative skills training, etc. and two (2) bachelor s level case workers to provide field support to clients such as home visits and transportation. Case management services include, but are not be limited to, referrals and other assistance for housing, education, employment, counseling, mental health treatment, substance abuse, and other direct services which aid the defendant and assist in lowering his/her recidivism. Case Workers will be available to monitor compliance with the program developed by the Case Management Coordinators including transportation to appointments. Case Management Coordinator and Case Worker staffing levels were phased in as the caseload developed over the course of the initial year. Support staff includes one administrative assistant. The Managing Attorney: establishes a fee schedule for paying the appointed defenders, in accordance with the local Fair Defense Act Plan rates; FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 5 of 10
establishes the minimum requirements for private defenders; develops and provides training to the certified private defenders; monitors and evaluates the performance of the private defenders; supervises staff who conduct mental health assessments as needed to qualify persons for the mental health court docket; manages a private defender wheel; supervises staff who provide case management and social work/field support for clients; assigned to the mental health court; keeps statistics as required by the research provider; updates the resource guide; and Provides an annual report to the Courts and to the Commissioners Court. The Mental Health courts maintain funds for lab work to monitor medication levels via blood draws for those individuals who may not qualify for such services from MHMR or other providers such as the Veteran s Administration or who may not be accepted into a program for a time until there is an opening. Indigent persons who have appropriate mental health medications but who cannot enter or qualify for available programs will be provided monitoring services via court order. Currently, the Burke Center MHMR (formerly known as the Deep East Texas MHMR) is offering video conferencing for the provision of tele-medicine for mentally ill clients with a psychiatrist who provides services to this MHMR which serves twelve counties. This program has been successful and is the premise for which Montgomery County wishes to test video conferencing with defense attorneys, case management coordinators and case workers and their indigent clients as a cost effective measure. The program design also requires a research study done by a qualified contractor to ascertain the recidivism rate of the people in the program as compared with those who were in the system prior to the program initiation. This study would also document the cost effectiveness, the use of the video conferencing, and the process evaluation of the program. Sam Houston State University was the selected research proposer. An interim report would be expected at the beginning of year three to cover the previous two years and a comprehensive report at the end of year four. Background. In 2009, two new district courts and one new county court-at-law were added to the Montgomery County courts system. According to the Census Bureau, Montgomery County is the 21 st fastest growing county in the nation and the 7 th fastest growing in Texas. Its population projection for 2011 is 475,000 which is greater than a 23% increase since 2000. Due to economic conditions, there is no County funded staff increase planned for 2011 even though the work load for the Indigent Defense Department has increased by 30% in the last three years, particularly since the addition of the three new courts. Beginning in the fall of 2006, the Jail and Detention Diversion Working Group began meeting to develop a strategic plan and to collaborate in a jail diversion program for inmates with mental illness. The Working Group consists of representatives from the Sheriff s Office and jail, Tri-County Services (formerly Tri-County MHMRS), community supervision and corrections, county attorney, mental health constables, the district attorney, local defense attorneys and community members. The jail diversion program began in 2002 and expanded significantly in 2008 when Tri-County Services was able to hire a licensed clinician. This group has met regularly to monitor the program. While there were 77 persons diverted last year, this does not fully address the need nor provide legal case management services. The Jail and Detention Diversion Working Group together with the Montgomery County Courts requested a workshop with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and the National Center for State Courts in order to develop a mental health court project. Various defense attorneys participated in this planning workshop over the two-day event. This workshop resulted in a plan to submit three applications to various agencies to support the mental health court. The agencies to which requests were made are the Indigent Defense Commission for direct services to indigent defendants, the Bureau of Justice Assistance for support to the courts and the mental health treatment provider, Tri-County Services, and to the State Justice Institute to develop a resource document for use by the Clinician, Caseworkers and the Courts in making referrals. The on-going, successful program which has led to the jail diversion program and to the planning for the mental health court is an excellent example of a cooperative planning effort among many agencies involved with the special needs of these clients. Startup/Implementation tasks. As specific startup activities for the direct services to indigent defendants, Montgomery County prepared a contract/ memorandum of understanding for securing the services of a defense attorney, law firm, professional association, lawyer s association, law school, bar association, or other non-profit organization to engage a managing attorney, an administrative assistant, a Clinician to do assessments at the jail, two (2) Caseworkers to assist all the mental health defense attorneys by providing case management services and two (2) clinical staff to provide field support. In addition, other standards were set for the provision of private defender services such as the attorneys certified under the program will be required to have appropriate liability insurance. The regular procurement process for professional services was followed in awarding this contract. This solicitation process normally takes 4 to 6 weeks and includes precise advertising and other rules and approval by the County Commissioners Court. However, there were no respondents to the solicitation so Montgomery County, in consultation with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, opted to employ its own Managing Attorney as allowed by statute. As part of the startup process, Montgomery County also established an oversight board to assist in the development and approval of attorney standards for participation and evaluation as well as the fee schedule for the defense attorneys. This oversight board includes mental health professionals, law enforcement, community leaders and an attorney. Judges do not serve on this oversight board. The oversight board developed a job description for the managing attorney of the nonprofit to be included in the solicitation, and developed the job description for the managing attorney as a county employee. The development of the FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 6 of 10
standards may require the judges or other county personnel to travel to professional development seminars in order to insure the development of the best program possible. Also, county personnel may be requested to make presentations regarding the development of the program to other interested entities and such presentations may require travel on the part of Montgomery County employees. The Managing Attorney and mental health treatment provider worked together to develop job descriptions for the Clinician, Case Management Coordinators and the Case Worker field staff including caseload and workload standards. As part of the startup tasks, Montgomery County has also purchased and installed a new video conferencing system at the jail. This is used by the inmates in conferencing with their defense attorneys, case management coordinators workers and case workers. Montgomery County purchased sufficient furniture and office equipment for the Managing Attorney and staff and modified office space for its use at the County courthouse at 301 N. Main, Conroe Texas 77301. Another start up task necessary for the successful implementation for the activities for this grant was the modification of the TLETS CCQ system so that two things can take place. First, there is now a simultaneous link to the CARE system operated by Texas Department of State Health Services so that persons with documented publicly funded treatment of mental illness can be identified at intake. This allows the jail booking staff to alert the Managed Assigned Counsel Clinician and/or the Tri-County Licensed Mental Health Clinician (for jail diversion program under Code of Criminal Procedure 17.032) that there is a potential inmate in need of services. Secondly, this also allows for the magistrate or judge to assign the defendant to receive indigent defense representation through the Managed Assigned Counsel program and potentially, his case will be referred to the appropriate mental health court for disposition. Final startup activities entailed the development of a solicitation for a consultant to conduct the evaluation portion of the grant and to document the recidivism rate, the effectiveness of the video conferencing with the mentally ill and other reporting issues necessary to carry out a full evaluation. The successful proposer was Sam Houston State University. On-going. The Managing Attorney provides the following functions as on-going activities: Develops a fee schedule for the work performed and minimum qualifications for the attorneys who participate, in accordance with the local Fair Defense Act Plan. Maintains a defense attorney wheel - a Managed Assigned Counsel wheel contains at least twelve (12) attorneys who meet the established minimum requirements in order to be certified. These attorneys are assigned to indigent clients who have been identified through the TLETS CCQ system, and who have requested and qualify for appointment of an attorney. Provides Training based upon the minimum standards developed by the oversight board, approved by the courts, at least six (6) hours of training will be provided annually on topics related to providing quality defense. There is an emphasis on defending the mentally ill whether it be misdemeanor or felony charges. Monitors performance based upon the minimum standards developed by the oversight board, approved by the courts, and conducted by the managed assigned counsel program, the program will monitor the performance of the attorney on the private defender managed wheel. Evaluates performance based upon the minimum standards developed by the oversight board, approved by the courts, and conducted by the managed assigned counsel program, the Managing Attorney evaluates each attorney on the Managed Assigned Counsel wheel, reviews that evaluation with each attorney at least annually, and provides any remediation that is deemed necessary. Reports quarterly to the oversight board and to the courts outlining such issues as the number of cases assigned, the costs of those cases, and any significant successes or obstacles to the execution of the program. A final report at the end of the fiscal year is also delivered to the oversight board, the courts and the Commissioners Court giving the annual statistics, a cumulative report as to the results of the monitoring and evaluation, a budget report, a fee schedule, and other topics mutually agreed upon. Statistics and reports will be available to the contracted research agency. Supervises the Clinical Assessment the Managed Assigned Counsel Program provides for the assessment of indigent clients detained in the jail for assignment to mental health court and coordinate assessments with the current jail diversion program and Tri-County Services staff. Supervises the Case management the Managed Assigned Counsel Program provides case management services to the indigent clients placed on the mental health docket. These services are provided by at least two (2) case management coordinators at the master s level and at least (2) case workers at the bachelor s level. Case management services include, but are not limited to, referrals and other assistance for housing, education, employment, counseling, mental health treatment, and substance abuse issues. Some clients may also be participants in the jail diversion program currently in place. Access to expert witnesses and investigations are provided by Montgomery County to the mental health certified indigent defense attorneys by the same process that is used by the other indigent defense attorneys rather than set up two separate processes to access these funds. Tri-County Services has a new Psychiatric Emergency Treatment Center (PETC) which is a secure facility capable of holding at least 16 mentally ill persons. This facility can hold non-voluntary admissions and is an alternative for persons from the jail who are need of intensive mental health services. Some of the patients at this facility are indigent. This facility also has a video conferencing facility that links with the jail or courts for court appearances and with the courthouse complex/law library for FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 7 of 10
attorney/client conferences. This facility was completed in Spring 2011. Tri-County Services budget covered the video conferencing equipment at the PETC facility. The case management staff has access to defendants who are at the PETC and work with the Tri-County Services staff there in designing any case management that is necessary for these defendants. Two video conferencing packages are housed at the Managed Assigned Counsel offices so that there is capability to interface with both off site locations (jail and PETC) at the same time. The video conferencing equipment provides direct services to indigent defendants by allowing them more expeditious access to their attorney and case management staff while they are detained either in the jail or the Psychiatric Emergency Treatment Center. f. Evaluation The purpose of the evaluation will be to document the fulfillment of the grant objectives; the number, amount and quality of the direct services to the defendants; the outcomes of the services, particularly the recidivism rate; and the cost effectiveness of the program. The consultation from a qualified contractor will assist in developing reporting perimeters which will insure confidentiality and reliable, valid measures for the direct services and outcomes of the project. Evaluation will be directly linked to the objectives, methodology and program design. Some of the data and measurements used to document the fulfillment of the objectives include the development of selection criteria/certification for Mental Health Defense Attorneys, the identification and certification of at least 12 Mental Health Defense Attorneys, the direct services provided to the estimated 600 indigent persons charged with misdemeanor or felony offenses who have mental health issues matched with certified mental health attorneys, and the weekly court docket for a Mental Health Court. These records will be maintained in a file cabinet by the Managed Assigned Counsel Program. In addition, the performance of the defense attorneys in regard to quality monitoring will be completed monthly and documented. Documentation for coordination activities concerning scheduling will be maintained as correspondence. With the assistance of the Information Technology Department, the Program Managing Attorney will facilitate the purchase, installation and confidential, secure usage of the video conferencing equipment in the courthouse complex/law library or at the nonprofit entity offices. This objective will be evaluated based upon a log kept with the equipment for that purpose. Documentation will include usage with the indigent and with the defendants assigned to the Mental Health Court. The curriculum developed for the training of the Mental Health defense attorneys will be developed with the assistance of Tri-County Services and approved for CLE hours by the State Bar of Texas as appropriate, and the syllabus for the various training topics will be maintained in a binder by the Managed Assigned Counsel Program. The sign-in sheets for each training will be maintained to document the number of hours attended by each defense attorney and the number of attorneys attending. Any continuing education credits that can be applied will also be documented for each attorney attending. Monitoring, evaluation and reports concerning the performance of the program and the defense attorneys on the mental health wheel will be provided at least quarterly to the oversight board and to the Courts. A final report will be presented to the Commissioners Court as well. One of the most essential elements of the evaluation will revolve around the number, variety and quality of the direct services provided as part of the case management activities by the Case Management Coordinators and the Case Workers. Case management services may include, but are not limited to, referrals and other assistance for housing, education, employment, counseling, mental health treatment, and substance abuse issues. Reports will be monthly regarding the number, type, frequency of contact, quality and outcomes of the referrals and other case management activities. These will be compiled and included in the quarterly report to the oversight board and the Courts. The supervision for the case management staff will be the responsibility of the managing attorney. The case management coordinators and case workers will only assist indigent defendants having documented mental illness. This documentation will be kept in each case file and available for data collection in a redacted form so that client/attorney privilege will attach. The Managed Assigned Counsel Program will contract with a consultant to assist in the development of an evaluation design that will compare the recidivism rate of defendants prior to the establishment of the court and the rate after the establishment of the court. In order for this design to be valid and reliable, it is necessary to have a professional organization assist with the criteria for such data collection and the establishment of procedures and other process to fully report on the accomplishments of the project. The evaluation design will be available for review at the Managed Assigned Counsel Program office. In order to insure confidentiality over the course of grant life past the initial year the consultant will be the repository for statistical redacted records that are compiled into report on a monthly and quarterly basis. In addition, this professional evaluation consultant will review the accomplishment of the grant objectives and activities to make sure that the outcomes were accomplished and accomplished on time and that all process and fiscal reports are done in a timely manner. g. Future Funding In order to be placed into the regular budget cycle for Montgomery County, Departments must request funding during March and April for the next fiscal year. It is the custom of Montgomery County to appropriate escalating match requirements for grants at its budget hearings in July after the request by each Department for such increases. There has been a history of such escalating matches being made over time. Notable examples include two grants to hire investigators - one for the sheriff s department and one for the district attorney to work cases involving child sexual assaults. The escalating matches for these grants were included in the appropriate departmental budgets or line items during the regular budget cycles over a three year FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 8 of 10
period for each grant. It is anticipated that the same process will be in effect for the future funding of the Managed Assigned Counsel Program and that the budget request will be made by the Indigent Defense Department. At the present time, the expectation is that the current budget item and any annual adjustments - for court operations, specifically the items for attorneys for indigent defendants, would be the source for funding this project in the future. Currently, Indigent Defense reports 4,719 cases paid out this line item in 2009. These are all indigent cases which are substantially more than just those for the mental health clients. h. Budget Original Budget Narrative (Modified by county after start) A. Personnel - $338,928 The salary for the Managing Attorney is $90,000 $92,700 per year. The salary for the Administrative Assistant is $40,000 $41,200. The total salary for the two is $130,000.00 $133,900. The Clinical Staff will be offered personal service contracts which allow them to receive salaries proportioned to include compensation for retirement and health insurance. The Clinical Staff are considered to be contracted temporary full-time personnel for Montgomery County. The two (2) Social Workers will be offered $48,258.00 $49,705.74 each for a total of $96,516.00 $99,411.48; and the two (2) Case Workers will be offered $46,478.00 $47,872.34 each for a total of $92,956.00 $95,744.68. Total salary for the Clinical Staff is $189,472.00 $195,156.16. The total Personnel salary cost is $338,928. B. Fringe Benefits - $69,169 FICA, Workers Compensation, and State Unemployment Tax will be met for both the regular personnel and the contracted temporary Clinical Staff. FICA will be met at a rate of 7.65% of $319,472.00 $329,056.16 or $24,439.61 $25,172.80. Workers Compensation will be met at a rate of 0.53% of $319,472.00 $329,056.16 or $1,693.20 $1,744.00. State Unemployment Tax will be met at a rate of $261 each for a total of $432.00. Health Insurance and Retirement will only be provided to the Managing Attorney and Administrative Assistant. Health Insurance will be $11,478.00 for each for a total of $22,956.00. Retirement will be met at a rate of 10.94% 12% of $130,000.00 $133,900 or $14,222.00 $16,068. The total Fringe Benefit costs for the contracted temporary Clinical Staff are $15,786.81 $17,077.78. The total Fringe Benefit costs for the Managing Attorney and Administrative Assistant are $47,956.00 $50,499.02. The total Fringe Benefits costs are $63,742.81 $67,506.80 C. Travel - $ 8,000 There are three travel items. First is mileage, both in-state and out-of-state including any air fare, accommodations, etc. for Montgomery County staff to attend trainings related to the mental health court project or for Montgomery County staff to make presentations related to the mental health court project. Also included are mileage costs for programs that wish to visit the mental health court project but lack sufficient travel budgets from their own agency. This item is calculated at the rate of $0.50 per mile for 6,000 miles or $3,000 total. Second is seminar fees for Montgomery County staff and the clinical staff to attend training opportunities related to the mental health court project. This cost is estimated to be $2,000 total. Thirdly, there is the mileage that the clinical staff will incur in the regular performance of their duties. This is estimated to be another 6,000 miles x $0.50 per mile for a total of $3,000. The entire Travel cost is $8,000. D. Equipment - $ 0 E. Supplies - $19,248 The supply items are all to furnish or stock the Managed Assigned Counsel office. Examples for some supply items would be a subscription to LexisNexis or Westlaw, defenderdata case management software, postage, mobile telephone/pda devices and their monthly fees, annual copier maintenance, etc. Consumable office supplies would include paper, staples, tape, rubber bands, pens, clasps, clips, manila folders, and the like. These consumable office supplies estimated to be $2,265.24 would be reoccurring in any future budget years. The total supply budget request is $19,000.00 F. Consultants and Contracts - $48,611 There are five items which involve the use of consultants and/or contracts. Those elements include the services of a researcher to document the program and its recidivism rate, a contracted clinician, outside trainer fees to conduct presentations, Bar Association fees, and the services of a laboratory. 1) Montgomery County issued a solicitation for professional services to conduct a research study including a data collection plan for documenting the recidivism rate before and after the installation of a mental health court. The requested study also provides documentation and analysis of the processes used in establishing the mental health court and the use of video-conferencing with mentally ill persons detained either at the jail or at the Psychiatric Emergency Treatment Center. The study was awarded to Sam Houston State University for a multiyear cost of $99,481.00 and the estimated current year costs are $15,923. 2) Montgomery County will contract with an appropriate provider to provide Clinician services to assess persons while in jail. The contract with the appropriate provider is estimated to be $43,318.00 $29,970.04 FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 9 of 10
3) Fees for the Bar Association are $500 a year for the Managing Attorney and CLE fees are $4,000. 4) From time to time, Montgomery County may wish to contract with an outside trainer to provide specialized training presentations to the defense attorneys and other court staff. It is estimated that $2,000 would be needed for these services. 5) Montgomery County will contract with an appropriate medical laboratory to conduct blood draws to monitor the level of psychotropic medications of persons assigned to the mental health court. Requested laboratory fees are $8,000. The request for Consultants and Contracts is for a total of $73,741.19 $60,393.04. G. Other There are no Other Costs. Total Direct Costs - $483,956 Based upon the total direct costs of $483,956 Montgomery County would anticipate a maximum reimbursement at 60% for 10 months and 40% for two months for a total of $274,242.00. The match provided by Montgomery County would be $ 209,714.00. Total Project Costs - $483,956 The total project costs are the total direct costs of $483,956.00. Total Texas Commission Discretionary Grant Request - The Texas Commission Discretionary grant request is the amount of the 40% reimbursement of direct costs for 10 months and the 20% reimbursement for two months or $177,451. Managed Assigned Counsel Program ( Current Budget) Direct Costs 10 Months FY15 1) Personnel (Total Number of FTEs: 5 ) $211,156 2) Fringe Benefits $90,371 3) Travel and Training $6,667 4) Equipment $0 5) Supplies $11,210 6) Contract Services $28,470 Total Direct Costs $347,874 Indirect Costs: $0 7) Indirect Costs =Construction $0 Total Indirect Costs $0 Total Proposed Costs $347,874 Less Cash from Other Sources County Match $278,299 Total Amount Funded by Commission $69,575 Timeline for Reporting and Fund Distribution Reports will be submitted on-line over the Internet. Reporting Period Type Report Due Date Report Due Fund Distribution Date October 2013 through December Budget Status Report January 15, 2014 January 2014 2013 Progress report January 2014 through March 2014 Budget Status Report April 15, 2014 April 2014 Progress report April 2014 through June 2014 Budget Status Report July 15, 2014 July 2014 Progress report July 2014 through September 2014 FINAL Expense Report Final Progress Report and Conclusion. Delivery of Final Product and Demonstration November 14, 2014 November 2014 FY2015 Statement of Grant Award Montgomery County Page 10 of 10