Indigent defense budgets fund rural attorney support, a social‑work pilot and county reimbursements; monitor cites remaining county staffing gaps

Peter Handy, executive director of the Department of Indigent Defense Services (DIDS), presented the departmentand Nevada State Public Defender (NSPD) budgets to the joint Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means hearing, outlining requested operating appropriations, a rural social‑work pilot and steps to address a federal consent judgment monitorreport.

Handy told the committee the department requests $13,332,424 for fiscal year 2026 and $13,363,984 for fiscal year 2027 for the main operating account (budget 1008). The Nevada State Public Defender's account (budget 1499) is recommended at $3,497,683 for FY26 and $3,451,117 for FY27; those totals reflect a transfer of post‑conviction payment funds from the NSPD account into the department account (Decision E900), a move Handy said is intended to align processing with how payments are currently handled.

Why it matters: Lawmakers examined whether the budgets address the Davis consent judgment monitorreports and the ongoing shortages of attorneys in several rural counties. Committee members also pressed the department on plans to recruit and retain public defenders and on how a proposed social‑worker pilot will be sized and evaluated.

Key items in the request

- AB 518 and county reimbursements: Handy said Decision Unit M150 incorporates AB 518 requests, county reimbursements, funding for training and oversight professionals, and licensing of online research tools such as Westlaw or comparable services. He told the committee the decision unit carries more than $5 million to support those elements.

- Social‑work and case‑management pilot (Decision E266): Handy described a planned two‑stage pilot to establish case management and social‑worker services in one to three rural counties. The budget includes $300,000 per year as an initial appropriation for planning and first‑phase service delivery; Handy said the department will pilot the model in selected rural counties in partnership with the Nevada Public Health Foundation (NPHF). "This would establish a case management and social worker service in rural Nevada public defense systems," Handy said.

- LASSO pipeline and stipends: Handy said the department plans to continue the LASSO pipeline program that brings law students and recent graduates into rural counties and to preserve stipend programs enacted in the prior session that pay weekend and holiday hearing stipends to judges, prosecutors and public defenders. He said an existing stipend program created under AB 518 will be expanded to cover additional holidays (Decision E275).

- Administrative oversight and processing changes: The budget includes a proposed Administrative Services Officer (ASO) supervisory position (Decision E330) to supervise three management analysts, perform quarterly review of county reimbursement reports and provide additional fiscal oversight. Handy said the addition would reduce time deputy directors currently spend on administrative reviews.

County staffing and Davis consent judgment

Handy addressed the Davis monitor's fifteenth report and county compliance with workload standards. He said the department expects to make progress toward compliance during the upcoming biennium but acknowledged persistent shortages in some counties:

- Nye County: workload requires 12 full‑time equivalent (FTE) attorneys; contracts currently cover nine, and the department is seeking funding for a council administrator for Nye County (Handy said a budget amendment for about $166,250 per year is expected to support that position).

- Churchill County: Handy said the county has made substantial investments but remains roughly four attorneys short of the monitor's assessed need and faces recruitment challenges relative to neighboring higher‑paying counties.

- Douglas County: the monitor flagged concerns about 2,200‑hour contracts; the department plans to encourage an additional contract to spread workload and reduce per‑contract hours.

- Lyon County: Handy said Lyon currently has seven confirmed attorneys under three contracts but is required to have 12 FTEs; the department is asking counties to clarify subcontractor arrangements and is prepared to pursue corrective actions if necessary.

Handy said pipeline programs and out‑of‑state admission options should make recruiting easier; he cited one recent LASSO graduate who accepted a position in Carson City as evidence the efforts can work.

Nevada State Public Defender (NSPD) changes

The NSPD budget (1499) reallocates existing, previously inactive positions from Carson City to open an NSPD office in Humboldt County. Handy said five positions were moved based on a workload studythe budget includes rent, travel and investigator support for Humboldt and continuing support for White Pine and other counties. The decision to move post‑conviction payment processing into the department (Decision E900) reduces the NSPD account by roughly $1.4 million per year and consolidates processing.

Pilot design, timing and funding questions

Committee members asked whether the $300,000 annual appropriation for the social‑work pilot is intended for full deployment in year one. Handy and other department staff said the first year will focus on planning and partnerships and that full operating costs would likely be higher in the second year after data are collected. "I don't believe we'll spend the full 300,000 in the first fiscal year," Handy said, adding that unspent first‑year funds would be rolled into year two to support expanded services.

Next steps and requests from lawmakers

Lawmakers asked for additional details on projected expenditures by phase of the pilot, evaluation metrics (including the pilot's ability to identify opioid‑related and polysubstance problems), and a clearer projection of how many social‑work case managers will be needed once the pilot concludes. Handy said the department will collect client‑level data and expects to return with more specific cost projections as work with the Nevada Public Health Foundation and participating counties progresses.

Ending

The joint committee closed the indigent defense and NSPD budget presentations after members pressed the department for follow‑up materials on county compliance, recruitment and pilot cost projections. Handy said the department will provide requested details and flagged that further budget amendments may follow as pilot costs and county needs become clearer.