Grants

Foundation Grants Awarded in 2010

2010-11 Foundation Grant Application

Based on recommendations by the Grants Committee, chaired by Audrey P. Peartree, the Foundation’s Board of Directors approved grants for the following projects:

Rochester Teen Court:

This grant in the amount of $9,449 will be used to help fund the Rochester Teen Court under the umbrella of The Center for Youth. Teen Court is a diversion program operated through the City Court of Rochester for young adults who have committed first-time, non-violent crimes.  Defendants whose cases are transferred to Teen Court have a disposition of their criminal charges by teen peers acting as prosecutors, defense counsel, court personnel and jurors. A sitting City of Rochester Court judge presides over the proceedings, and teen jurors recommend sentencing.

Teen Court is designed to provide education to youth about the judicial process; promote accountability for their actions; and, reinforce responsibility to society through community service and educational sentencing.

Rochester Legal Diversity Clerkship Program:

The grant of $9,680 will be used towards the Rochester Legal Diversity Clerkship Program, a program of the Monroe County Bar Association. The funds will be used to support a first year law student with one of the legal service providers for a 10‑week summer internship in 2011 and to provide funding of the Program’s operations expenses.

Judicial Process Commission’s Legal Action Project:

This $1,000 grant will be used to help fund an AmeriCorps member who will assist over 400 men and women to reduce the barriers they face when seeking employment due to their criminal convictions. The Judicial Process Commission’s Legal Action Project, in partnership with Monroe County Legal Assistance Center’s Re-entry Project, provides significant legal services which help maintain the level of representation.

Rochester Rehabilitation Center:

This grant in the amount of $1,000 will support Rochester Rehabilitation Center’s Care Coordination Project in collaboration with the Mental Health Court (MHC). This Project aims to provide intensive care coordination services to clients of MHC in order to reduce client recidivism, increase use of community based services, achieve more successful dispositions by the court, and to support client self sufficiency, rehabilitation and recovery.

In addition to the programs receiving grants this year, the Foundation supports other important causes in the Rochester legal community:

• The Deaf Equal Access Fund - The Foundation provides member attorneys with partial reimbursement for the cost of interpreters for deaf and hard of hearing clients.
• Sydney R. Rubin Mock Trial Competition – The Foundation provided a grant to support the popular county-wide high school competition.
• The Foundation also donated $2,400 towards Attorney/Courts Directories for each of the four civil legal service providers located in the Telesca Center for Justice:  Empire Justice Center, The Legal Aid Society of Rochester, Monroe County Legal Assistance Center, and Volunteer Legal Services Project.