Immigration legal services staff and infrastructure development program

(a) In general The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office of Access to Justice, shall award competitive workforce development and capacity building grants to eligible entities that are seeking to expand access to representation for individuals facing deportation by increasing the workforce and strengthening the legal services infrastructure needed to provide such representation. (b) Eligibility criteria An entity eligible to receive a grant under this section is a— (1) State or unit of local government that has allocated public funds towards the provision of immigration-related legal services, including legal representation, legal assistance, community navigation, and related services, to individuals facing deportation; (2) a community-based organization, nonprofit organization, or educational institution that provides or coordinates immigration-related legal services to individuals facing deportation; or (3) a community-based organization, nonprofit organization, or educational institution that recruits, trains, or mentors individuals who provide or will provide immigration-related legal services to individuals facing deportation. (c) Application An eligible entity seeking a grant under this section shall submit to the Director of the Office of Access to Justice an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may reasonably require. (d) Use of funds Funds awarded under this section shall be used to develop a workforce scaled to meet the representation needs of all individuals facing deportation, grow the immigration-related legal services infrastructure, and enhance long-term capacity to provide high-quality, holistic, and linguistically appropriate legal services, which may include— (1) workforce recruitment and training programs, such as educational, fellowship, clinical, job recruitment, and job training services aimed at increasing the number of lawyers, accredited representatives, social workers, and community navigators entering the immigration legal services field; (2) technical assistance services, such as— (A) substantive and technical skills-based trainings to improve the quality of representation provided to individuals facing deportation; (B) language training to ensure legal staff are equipped to provide linguistically appropriate services; (C) specialized legal support to support representation in complex defense cases, including representation in Federal court and State court; and (D) leadership development, including management training and establishing appropriate supervisory systems; (3) local or regional coordination services to ensure a coordinated and efficient delivery of legal services to individuals facing deportation; (4) retention improvement strategies to ensure sustainable growth of the immigration-related legal services field, including strategies to address caseload management, burnout, and organizational systems; (5) recruiting and retaining legal staff from underrepresented backgrounds and promoting diversity within the legal services field; (6) growing legal services infrastructure and representational capacity in locations with a significant unmet need for legal representation and with significantly less immigration-related legal services capacity in their service area than national averages; and (7) physical, administrative, and technological infrastructure resources in coordination with a use of funds described in paragraphs (1) through (6). (e) Contracts and subawards A recipient of a grant under this section may, for purposes authorized under subsection (d), use all or a portion of that grant to contract with or make one or more subawards to one or more— (1) community-based organization, nonprofit organization, private organization, or educational institution; or (2) units of local government. (f) Conditions As a condition of receiving a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall— (1) submit to the Attorney General a certification that the proposed uses of grant funds by the entity— (A) are consistent with this section; and (B) meet the criteria determined by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Access to Justice; and (2) not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year for which an entity receives grant funds under this section, submit to the Director of the Office of Access to Justice a report that describes— (A) the types of services being provided under the grant; (B) the service area; (C) the number of individuals recruited or retained through services funded under the grant; (D) the impact that staffing recruitment and retention has had on organizational capacity to represent more individuals within the service area; (E) the actual expenditures made in connection with the grant, including personnel and staffing structure and indirect costs; (F) the outcomes of services; and (G) a description of the continuing unmet representation needs of individuals facing deportation in the service area and recommendations of supports and resources needed to meet them. (g) Grant term The term of a grant under this section shall be 4 years, and such grant may be renewed. (h) Supplement of Non-Federal Funds Any Federal funds received under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, Federal or non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities funded under this section.