The Center for Holistic Defense

The Bronx Defenders

Request for Proposals for Technical Assistance

The Bronx Defenders is pleased to announce the launch of the Center for Holistic Defense at The Bronx Defenders, a resource center for public defender offices seeking to adopt a more holistic model of representation. With funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and in collaboration with The Center for Court Innovation and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Center will meet a vast and unmet need in the criminal justice field -- especially among public defenders - by supporting the provision of holistic defense to indigent clients.

As part of this effort, the Center has released a Request For Proposals seeking applications from public defender offices across the country, including juvenile defender offices, who are interested in receiving hands-on technical assistance in one or more aspects of holistic defense. Three offices will be chosen to receive six-months of step-by-step guidance and concrete assistance in the practice of holistic defense. This assistance will include staff training and site visits by members of the Center and of The Bronx Defenders.

Holistic Defense is an innovative, client-centered and interdisciplinary model of public defense that addresses both the circumstances driving poor people into the criminal justice system as well as the devastating consequences of criminal justice involvement by offering criminal and related civil legal representation, social work support and advocacy in the client community. By addressing these issues, holistic defense yields better life outcomes for clients and reduces their criminal justice involvement over the long term. Furthermore, by fundamentally transforming the way clients are represented, holistic defense supports the move towards a more humane and just criminal justice system.

The Center for Holistic Defense promises to be a unique resource center for public defender offices, individual practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The Center hopes to provide public defenders with more than just the theory underlying holistic defense but also with the practical, nuts-and-bolts support they need to translate this theory into practice.

Attached, please find a copy of the RFP. The Center encourages applications from across the country and will endeavor to select a diverse cross-section of the defender community. Please note that applications under this RFP are due no later than May 21, 2010. Please visit the website of The Bronx Defenders (www.bronxdefenders.org) to learn more or feel free to contact the Project Director with any questions.