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Public Defender program seeking institutional support after data shows reduced recidivism and improved attendance
Summary
The committee recommended retroactive acceptance of about $230,000 in grant funding for the Public Defender’s education-advocacy program. Office leaders reported the program served roughly 250 students with under a 13% recidivism rate and 75–85% showing increased attendance, and said they seek ongoing funding to institutionalize the model.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee recommended forwarding a resolution to retroactively accept roughly $230,000 from the Board of State and Community Corrections to support a legal education-advocacy program run by the Public Defender’s Office.
Patricia Lee, managing attorney at the Public Defender’s Office, and Lauren Brady Blaylock, the office’s education attorney, described the program as entering its third and final year of grant funding and urged institutionalizing the work within the office. "We are in the third year of funding. This is the final year of funding," Lee said. Blaylock said the program has worked closely with courts, probation, the district attorney’s office, the San Francisco Unified School District and community-based organizations to align legal advocacy with school-based restorative justice work.
Blaylock said the program has served "approximately 250 students in San Francisco" over the past two and a half years, reported program participants have "less than a 13% recidivism rate," and that "between 75–85% of the students... have increased attendance at school." Lee told the committee the office hopes to continue funding an expert education attorney and a youth advocate and to add a paralegal position because demand exceeds current capacity.
Public comment was supportive but brief. The committee moved the item forward without objection; the resolution will go to the Board of Supervisors for final action.
