Data and Research: Public Defense Services Design & Funding
The Indigent Defense Improvement Division (IDID) gathers data on the provision of public defense in California, as well as other metrics such as funding and staffing for defense providers and prosecution.
Through a comprehensive analysis of available state and county budgets, grant documents, and stakeholder survey responses, IDID has identified and catalogued state-administered funding available to either prosecution or public defense in California. The findings demonstrate significant state investment in local prosecution without corresponding investment in local public defense, contributing to longstanding disparities in funding.
County Level Data
By statute, counties in California are granted the sole authority to decide how to design and fund their public defense services. Survey data collected by IDID indicates that delivery of public defense services in California can be classified across three types of systems: a Public Defender Office, a contract model, and a managed assigned counsel model. Hover over the map for information on the type of public defense delivery system for each county, and corresponding incarceration rates.
As each county is responsible for funding their public defense system, IDID collected budgetary data from the State Controller’s Office and self-reported staffing data from counties with an institutional public defender office from the California Department of Justice to assess parity in funding and staffing for public defense and prosecution.
Key Findings/Highlights:
FY 2021-22 budgetary and staffing data indicate that counties in California overwhelmingly allocate more funding and staff for prosecution over public defense. Use the drop-down menus to filter budget and staffing values by county.
Twenty-five counties in California do not have an institutional public defender’s office and instead rely mostly on contract-based systems. The counties without institutional offices are predominantly small or rural and tend to have higher incarceration rates.