Public comments requested on reinstating a previously approved data collection with changes: Census of Public Defender Offices

BJS encourages comments through November 12, 2024, on the reinstatement, with change, of a previously approved collection: Census of Public Defender Offices (CPDO). Your comments on BJS's request to the Office of Management and Budget, which is published in the Federal Register, should respond to one or more of the following: 

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, including whether the information will have practical utility
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used
• Evaluate whether and if so, how the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected can be enhanced
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Through the CPDO, BJS will collect data from approximately 1,880 public defender offices across the United States on such metrics as caseloads and case types; staff sizes, roles, attrition, and salary ranges; demographics of chief public defender and staff attorneys; initial public defender appointment and contact practices; and case management system capacity.