The goal and objective is to effectively recruit and retain qualified prosecutors and public defenders

The U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded a $270,432 Formula Grant under the John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act (CFDA 16.816) program to the Florida Department of Education. The goal of the grant is to effectively recruit and retain qualified prosecutors and public defenders by providing student loan repayment assistance. The Florida Department of Education will administer the statewide program, which will target attorneys with the least ability to pay their student loans across various state and local public defender offices, prosecutor offices, and federal public defender offices. The funding will be allocated to these qualified entities based primarily on applicants' ability to pay, while also maintaining geographic and demographic representation. The Department of Education will collect data to measure the performance of the program.

Student loan debt is a major reason why attorneys decline, leave positions as public defenders, or become prosecutors for more lucrative public sector jobs. Floridas john R. Justice (JRJ) loan repayment program will target those attorneys with the least ability to pay their student loans in all agencies with qualifying attorneys. The state of florida formed a working group of all qualified entities: state attorney offices, office of the attorney general, office of statewide prosecution, public defender offices, public defender appellate offices, regional conflict council offices, capital collateral regional council offices, and federal public defender offices. Each of these entities will be directly involved in the outreach to all eligible applicants. In 2009, prior to JRJ funds being awarded, florida employed 1,979 prosecutors, 1,507 public defenders and 79 federal public defenders. Currently, approximately 1,524 prosecutors, 1,501 public defenders and 69 federal public defenders are employed.an allocation to each qualified entity will be based primarily on applicants ability to pay. Floridas funding formula also maintains distribution based on geographic and demographic representation. The department of education will minimize administrative costs while maximizing awards. The department of education will collect data to measure the performance of the program.