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The Administrative Division consists of six
sections: Human Resources, Information
Systems, Fiscal, Office Services, County
Reimbursement, and the Legal Resource Center.
The mission of the
administrative division is to provide quality
support services that are responsive to the
agency’s needs, goals, and objectives, and
accountable to the public concern. Much of the
division provides the necessary services
common to most state agencies, including
fiscal and accounting, personnel and training,
computer information systems, purchasing,
fleet management, and delivery. In addition,
the Administrative Division also provides
services specifically mandated by O.R.C.
§120, including: collecting reimbursement
from the counties for legal services provided
by the Ohio Public Defender; processing
reimbursement to the counties for indigent
defense programs; producing educational
seminars and conferences; and maintaining the
office’s library. John D. Alge supervises
this division, which has 26 employees.
Human
Resources Section
The Human Resources Section
provides comprehensive personnel, training,
and employee services for the agency. This
section is responsible for retaining quality
employees for the Ohio Public Defender. In
recent years, this section has also taken over
responsibilities previously fulfilled by the
Department of Administrative Services,
including: personnel actions, position
descriptions; and non-disputed disability
claims. Sharon Allison is the Human
Resources Administrator for the Ohio Public
Defender.
Information
Systems Section
The Computer Information
Systems Section plans and manages all Ohio
Public Defender computer systems and provides
training and support to Ohio Public Defender
employees. In addition, the staff coordinates
application development efforts, provides
computer services to the Branch Offices, and
assists the library in maintaining on-line
legal research tools. The agency’s computer
staff have designed and developed a premier
computer system. Frequently, outside entities
such as county public defender offices and
other state organizations contact our computer
staff regarding our network design.
Office
Services Section
The Office Services Section
provides basic support services including:
purchasing equipment and supplies; managing
agency inventory; providing records and fleet
management; planning office space and
facilities; telecommunications; copying; and
delivery services. Dennis Taylor is the
Office Services Manager for the Ohio Public
Defender.
Fiscal
Section
The Fiscal Section provides
accounting services such as payroll, purchase
order processing, revenue collection,
financial reporting, and record-keeping.
Fiscal staff provide division heads and the
director with monthly updates on their
respective budgets and personal service
contracts. The staff also create and publish
an annual financial report
in order to provide
a permanent budgetary history of the Ohio
Public Defender. Kathie L. Tomazic is the Fiscal Officer for
the Ohio Public Defender.
County
Reimbursement Section
The County Reimbursement
Program processes indigent defense
reimbursement payments to the counties and
court-appointed attorneys. Together, Ohio
county public defenders handled over 244,000
cases in fiscal year 2002. The costs for
operating these systems was $39,742,003. The
Ohio Public Defender then reimburses these
counties for up to 50% of allowable costs,
which amounted to $15,561,292 in fiscal year
2002.
In addition, the Ohio
Public Defender is responsible for reimbursing
counties for court-appointed counsel in death
penalty representation. The Ohio Public
Defender reimbursed counties a total of
$866,522 in fiscal year 2002 for death penalty
representation.
County
Outreach Program
The County Outreach Program has recently been reinstated. This program provides a free consulting service to Ohio Counties, conducting an in-depth evaluation of their local indigent defense system. This evaluation includes making recommendation to help counties reduce costs, improving the quality of service, and maximizing state reimbursements. The Ohio Public Defender observes each of the courts and/or speaks with judges, prosecutors, public defenders, local bar members, county commissioners, auditors, court reporters, and bailiffs. The office gathers data, prepare budgets, conduct statistical analysis, and provides other information on current and alternative delivery systems. The service is free and can be requested by any county official. During the past three years, the indigent defense systems in Delaware, Van Wert, and Mahoning Counties were evaluated and recommendations were made to the Boards of County Commissioners. Assistant State Public Defender Kathryn Smith runs the County Outreach Program.
Legal
Resource Center
The Legal Resource Center
is the Ohio Public Defender’s library, which
the office is required to maintain under
O.R.C. § 120.04. This library contains more
than 1,000 titles, and includes reporters,
books, digests, seminar materials,
periodicals, video and audio cassettes, expert
witness lists, law review articles, and news
clippings. Additional materials such as Ohio
Jury Instructions, maps, and telephone
directories are also available through the
network. The Legal Resource center supplements
its collections and services with the
resources of the Supreme Court of Ohio Law
Library, the State Library of Ohio, the Ohio
Historical Society Archives Library, the OSU
Health Sciences Library, and the Columbus
Metropolitan Libraries.
Each Ohio Public Defender
employee has access to computer assisted legal
research databases, and federal and Ohio case
law through the office’s computer network.
The Legal Resource Center serves the staff of
the central office, branch and regional
offices, county public defender offices,
appointed counsel, the private bar, Ohio’s
prisoners, and all citizens. Lisa R. Ostrolenk
is the Librarian for the Ohio Public Defender.
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