Pennington County commissioners on Oct. 7 approved the submission of a three‑year grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to fund an additional caseworker in the county public defender’s office.

The grant application, presented by Jennifer Williams Kroll (grant manager) and Eric (public defender), is for the OJJDP’s “enhancing juvenile indigent defense” program. The requested grant would fund one full-time equivalent caseworker focused on juveniles and abuse-and-neglect matters; the application allows the county to include salary and administrative costs and includes a 15% de‑minimis indirect cost rate, the presenters said.

Why it matters: County public defender staff told the commission the office handles roughly 500 juvenile and related cases a year and that a dedicated caseworker could help coordinate family-level wraparound services, connect families to treatment and diversion providers, and improve early intervention outcomes for youth. Proponents argued that embedding a caseworker with defense teams can reduce downstream involvement with locked facilities and improve long-term community outcomes.

Board debate: Commissioners pressed the presenters on sustainability if the grant is awarded. Public defender staff said the grant would be used as a three‑year pilot; if the model produces measurable improvements the office would pursue other funding sources or possibly county funding thereafter. Commissioner Hadcock and others said they support applying but reserved judgment on committing county funds after the grant expires and urged strict outcome metrics.

Vote and next step: The board voted to authorize the application. Commissioners said staff should return with evidence‑based outcome targets and an evaluation plan so the county can judge continuation at grant end.

Votes: Motion to approve submission of OJJDP FY25 grant — mover: Commissioner Rosknecht; second: Commissioner Drews; outcome: approved (3–2).