NAPD 2023 Rise, Resist, Represent Conference

The Santa Barbara County Public Defender’s Office has successfully utilized data to advocate for increased funding and resources.  Over the past five years as the office has shifted towards data-driven and evidence-based practices, the Public Defender’s Office has increased its benefited positions by 59% and its overall budget by over 66%, which amounts to a nearly seven-million-dollar increase. Throughout our workshop, we will provide examples of how the office achieved these accomplishments through the expansion of data capacity. Specifically, we will demo the office's recently launched Power BI data dashboard and discuss how we are utilizing the dashboard to report on office metrics and build data transparency across public safety agencies. This presentation focuses specifically on Defender voices and how services can be enhanced in Indigent Defense.   Additionally, with the focus on Holistic Defense, these data metrics from our advocates help provide the great client outcomes we’ve been able to achieve through anecdotes as we look to expand data capacity.