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Public defender asks committee to approve PCCD grant‑funded social‑worker position to manage reentry and client needs
Summary
The county public defender told the finance committee a two‑year, fully funded PCCD grant would pay for a social worker to coordinate housing, transportation and other social services for indigent clients; committee moved the personnel request forward.
The Northampton County public defender asked the Finance Committee on June 17 to advance a personnel request for a grant‑funded social worker position.
The office said the position would be paid through a two‑year grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and would be fully reimbursed during the grant period. The public defender described the role as a point person to coordinate housing, transportation and community resources so attorneys could spend more time on litigation. “We function almost as a social worker a lot of the time,” the public defender said, recounting cases in which staff spent hours arranging shelter, transport and contacts for clients released from custody.
The public defender told the committee he had a candidate in mind: Chantelle Mayo of Haven House, whom he described as experienced with local housing resources and recovery services and able to “hit the ground running.” Committee members asked about the grant source and duration; the office confirmed the PCCD grant covers two years and said the request paperwork estimated total employment costs (salary plus benefits) in the low‑to‑mid five‑figure range per year and that the salary portion was roughly in the $60,000s. The office said the position is fully funded for the two‑year grant period and that staff would seek additional grants or administrative budget options if the county wished to continue the position after the grant ends.
Council member Giovanni and other committee members spoke in support during the discussion. A motion to move the personnel request forward was made on the record; the transcript shows committee members repeatedly saying “motion to move forward” and advancing the item for further action.
Why this matters: The public defender’s office said the social‑worker position would reduce hours attorneys now spend coordinating basic needs for clients — tasks the office says are essential to keep defendants in compliance with pretrial requirements and community programs. The committee’s decision to advance the request lets the public defender finalize hiring and the county to accept the grant and process the position request.
Next steps: The item was advanced by committee motion for processing; final hiring and any budget integration after the two‑year grant will depend on future grant awards or administrative budget decisions.
