The Office of the Territorial Public Defender (OTPD) has been the recipient of the Law Enforcement Planning Commission’s (LEPC) Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Award.
The focus of the JABG is to foster offender-focused and system-focused activities that promote accountability. The OTPD intends on utilizing the grant award to hire a public defender who will represent juvenile clients exclusively, according to a press release issued on Friday by the Office of the Territorial Public Defender.
The OTPD’s primary goal is to provide holistic legal representation through the use of the grant award, which often involves addressing the social and emotional needs of clients. In the case of juvenile clients, it is critical that their family and educational needs are addressed as well. OTPD hopess to fully address the underlying problems of juvenile clients so that it can reduce recidivism, improve their quality of life and help to develop a productive law abiding citizen.