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Van Buren County public defender seeks FY26 MIDC grant renewal; office says it created 18 positions in first year
Summary
The county’s chief public defender asked the board to approve submission of the FY26 Michigan Indigent Defense Commission grant renewal. The office said it established 18 positions during its first full year and requests the same staffing and a county maintenance-of-effort of $310,000.
Van Buren County’s public defender’s office asked the board April 10 to approve submission of an FY26 Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) annual grant application and to authorize the county administrator to sign grant documents if the state approves the award.
Chief Public Defender told commissioners the office’s first full year of operations has resulted in staffing growth and reduced reliance on outside roster attorneys. “We created 18 new positions for Van Buren County. We're funded for all of these positions through the FY25 grant, and the request is the same for FY26,” the chief said.
The MIDC grant request will be near the same level as the prior year, county staff said; the presentation noted the grant request is still being finalized pending case-count reports from the courts. The requested grant amount is approximately $3.4 million (final numbers pending), and the county’s required maintenance-of-effort (local match) was listed as $310,000; staff said the county has budgeted that MOE.
Why it matters: The MIDC grant supports in-county indigent defense staffing and reduces dependence on private roster attorneys. The chief said the office now employs seven full-time staff attorneys (plus supervisory positions), with two additional attorneys expected to start in May pending bar admission, and continues to use contract attorneys as conflict counsel.
Commissioners asked about staffing plans and whether roster attorneys remain part of the contingency budget. The chief said roster spending has dropped as the in-house office grew, but a roster line remains to cover conflict cases.
The board approved the motion to submit the FY26 MIDC application and authorized the county administrator to execute required documents if the state approves the grant.
