Texas Defender Service

“The Director of Finance and Administration reviews the 990 after it has been prepared by outside accountants; the Executive Director then sends it to the board of directors for comment prior to filing with the IRS. The board of directors has no less than 30 days to review the 990 prior to filing and during that period is invited to submit questions and comments regarding the 990 to the Chairperson of the board.”

“The officers and directors of TDS are required to report any conflicts of interest throughout the year. Any conflicts reported are discussed by the governing body which decides how to handle the conflict of interest.”

“The salary of the Executive Director is determined by the board of directors. Data regarding the salaries of other similarly sized non-profits is used to compare compensation.”

“The Executive Director sets the salaries of other employees in consultation with the board of directors. Salaries are set based on an existing internal salary scale which is compared to the salary scale of Federal Public Defenders in a similar position of responsibility and in the case of non-legal positions, to other similarly sized non-profits.”

“All governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are available upon request.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: The Prosecutorial Accountability Project (PAP) supports a climate of accountability for prosecutors. Through education and advocacy, PAP promotes better understanding and utilization of the appropriate regulatory authorities in cases where misconduct occurs. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 6: The StandDown Texas Project maintains a website that is constantly updated to allow interested parties to be aware of the most current issues in indigent defense and capital punishment issues and maintains several different listserves to communicate with general audiences and highly issue-specific groups, including mental health criminal justice groups.”