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The Office is administered by the New Jersey Public Defender,
who is appointed to a five-year term by the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Senate. Currently heading the agency
is Yvonne Smith Segars of Bergen County, a veteran public defender
who has been a leading force in the creation of special Drug Courts
throughout the state. Those courts provide non-violent drug offenders
the opportunity to serve an intensively supervised probation period
instead of a prison sentence during which they are given help
to kick their drug habits and give them the tools to avoid further
contact with the criminal justice system.
Originally created in 1967, the Office of the Public Defender
was moved under the newly created Department of the Public Advocate
in 1974, a move that led to the creation of new programs dealing
with specific criminal and civil issues. Among the non-criminal
sections of the agency is the Law Guardian Unit, which provides
representation to children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
It also conducts institutional abuse investigations at residential
facilities, group homes and day-care centers operated by the
Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS). The Law Guardian
Unit is currently directed by Lorraine Augostini.
In mid-1999, as part of the state's move to satisfy federal legislation
geared toward speeding the adoption of children placed in foster
care, the Office began representing children in so-called "Title
30" cases. In these cases, the parental rights of biological
parents are sought to be terminated if it becomes clear that those
parents are unwilling or unable to properly care for their children.
As part of that new mission, the Office also created the Parental
Representation Unit, which provides attorneys for parents in Title
30 cases. The Law Guardian Unit and Parental Representation Unit
are kept administratively separate to avoid any appearance of
a conflict in Title 30 cases.
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