The Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) contracted with the Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) to review the needs of public defense across rural counties in Texas. The report was requested by TIDC to carry out research required by a budget rider in the General Appropriations Act for the 2024-25 biennium. The research team at PPRI conducted a needs assessment of public defense across Texas focusing specifically on rural counties. The study was conducted between September 2023 and May 2024. We utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the current challenges of providing indigent defense in rural communities in Texas. Data collected comes from an online survey, virtual semi-structured interviews, document review, and descriptive statistics of criminal justice data trends. The research team analyzed more than 500 survey responses, 49 interviews, grant applications to TIDC, and macro data from 2014 to 2022.

For questions, please contact Jena Prescott at jprescott@tamu.edu