Hawaii FY 2023 John R. Justice (JRJ) Formula Grant Program

Goal:  To attract and retain qualified local, state and federal public defenders and prosecutors who commit to continued employment as public defenders and prosecutors.

Strategy:  This program will provide student loan repayment assistance for state and federal public defenders and state and county prosecutors who commit to continued employment as public defenders and prosecutors for at least three years.  A Planning Committee composed of representatives of the state Department of the Attorney General, the state Office of the Public Defender, and the four county prosecution offices, will review the program materials and selection criteria, assist in the outreach process, and determine award amounts.  A Selection Committee (a subgroup of the Planning Committee) will review applications and decide which eligible applicants will receive repayment awards of a determined amount.  The Selection Committee will ensure that the total amount of loan repayment funding is allocated equally between prosecutors and public defenders and give priority to eligible applicants who have the least ability to repay their loans.  The Department of the Attorney General will make payments directly to the financial institutions that hold the student loans. 

Partnerships: Planning Committee members (described above) will work together to ensure that prosecutors and public defender applicants are selected and awarded funds to assist with their student loan repayment.

Deliverables: Funds will be distributed to the prosecutors and public defenders awarded to receive student loan repayment assistance.  This will help to attract and retain qualified local, state and federal public defenders and prosecutors who commit to continued employment.