Defender General tells Appropriations caseloads, hiring gaps strain public defense; requests targeted increases

Defender General Matt Valerio told the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that his office is managing a post‑pandemic surge in incoming criminal and juvenile cases, ongoing hiring challenges and several unfunded needs that could affect services unless addressed in the budget.

Valerio, who introduced himself as the state—s defender general, said the governor—s recommended budget is "over $28,000,000" for the Defender General's Office and would continue current service levels while covering salary and benefit rollouts. He told the committee he requested a larger increase for assigned‑counsel contractors than was included in the recommendation: "I had asked for a 4% increase for the assigned counsel contractors. When it came through, we got 2% instead of 4%."

The request comes as the office handles roughly 22,000 case matters a year and saw a more than 7% increase in added cases in fiscal year 2024, Valerio said. He told members the increase continued into fiscal 2025, reporting a nearly 6% rise in added cases in the first quarter of FY25 compared with the same quarter the prior year. He also said charges rose about 4.4% in that quarter.

Why it matters: Valerio said the added caseloads are feeding into the existing pandemic backlog and increasing demand for serious, resource‑intensive work. He highlighted particular case types that have grown sharply, saying termination‑of‑parental‑rights cases rose "almost 50%" (and…