The Foundation provides key financial support to TDCAA in the following areas:

Prosecutor Management Institute (PMI)

The first (and only) leadership training
of its kind.

The Texas Prosecutor Management Institute (PMI) continues to offer its bedrock module, Fundamentals of Management. This 2 1⁄2-day course is designed to give prosecutors the personal insight and tools they need to successfully lead their teams. The concepts we cover translate to all prosecutors, whether they are running their first court, overseeing a cadre of attorneys and administrative personnel, or even operating as a solo elected prosecutor with responsibility for an entire county’s caseload.

To date, the course has been delivered to more than 100 supervisor-level prosecutors. Other counties are currently scheduled, and even more offices have expressed a desire to attend the course. As we develop additional facilitators, expect more and more counties across the state to take advantage of this one-of-a-kind training. (Literally. No other state offers such a course.)

We remain committed to future course development, and future modules are in the works. With the solid base provided in the Fundamentals course, prosecutors will be able to attend courses that offer more advanced managerial skills and concepts tailored to their individual responsibilities.

Jalayne Robinson, LMSW, TDCAA's Victim Services Director

Victim Services

funding for an on-staff victim services director

The Foundation helps underwrite our Victims Services Director position to improve legislatively mandated but largely unfunded crime victim services in prosecutor’s offices. Normally, Jalayne Robinson, our Victim Services Director, criss-crosses the state in any given year to on-board new victim assistance coordinators (VACs), prosecutors, and other staff, but in 2020, much of that work moved online. Still, Jalayne accomplished much in the last year when she:
   •   presented victim services training in person and via Zoom to 436 prosecutors, prosecutor office staff, and victim services personnel at multiple TDCAA courses, including the Prosecutor Skills Trial Course, Key Personnel & Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference, and Newly Elected Boot Camp;
   •   provided ongoing daily email and telephone support to Texas VACs and prosecutors;
   •   served as project director for our Office of the Governor Criminal Justice Division VOCA grant, including grant writing and grant administration;
   •   assisted in developing VOCA grant training;
   •   assisted with coordinating the TDCAA Key Personnel–Victim Services Board, including conducting board member elections via Zoom and corresponding with Board members;
   •   wrote a regular column for TDCAA’s journal, The Texas Prosecutor;
   •   moderated discussion forums at the Key Personnel & Victim Assistance Coordinator Conference; and
   •   represented TDCAA in policy development and service coordination with state agencies and other nonprofits assisting victims.

Advanced Prosecutor Training

Train The Trainer and Advanced Advocacy Courses are both resource- and manpower-intensive.

Train the Trainer. Since 2008, the Foundation has fully funded the food, lodging, and training of those attending this week-long seminar at no cost to their offices. Highly qualified faculty teach prosecutors, investigators, and staff the principles of adult learning techniques so they can give more effective oral presentations to a room of their peers or a jury panel. Attendance is by invitation only and is limited to 32 participants.

Advanced Advocacy Courses. Here, seasoned prosecutors further their skills in an intensive, week-long session at Baylor School of Law in Waco. Through presentations, demonstrations, and directed workshops in real courtrooms, experienced faculty guide participants through detailed felony case ­scenarios. This course addresses many ­challenges that arise in the most difficult cases we try. TDCAA offers both trial and appellate advocacy so that prosecutors with different specializations can enrich their skills. These courses are limited to 40 hand-selected students and are fully funded by the Foundation so there is no cost to attendees or their offices.