For the CORE 101 application, candidates will need to respond to eight essay questions. Time, care, and consideration should be taken in responding to the essay questions as they are a critical part of the application. The essay responses help us determine whether the applicant is a good fit for the CORE 101 program. In addition to essays, you will submit a cover letter, resume, a personal photo (selfies accepted), two letters of recommendation, and a Chief Authorization form. The letters of recommendation do not need to be uploaded at the time of the application submission but, they must be emailed to [email protected] by the application deadline. The Chief Authorization Form must be completed by your office chief for your application to be considered complete. The application will ask for your Chief’s email and they will then receive the form to complete and submit to Gideon’s Promise.

Once you submit the online application, you will receive a notification that your application has been received. Within 14 days following your initial application submission, you will receive a notification as to whether or not you will move to the next round of the application process. The second round of the application process following the application review is a telephone interview with a member of the Gideon’s Promise staff. The telephone interview with a Gideon’s Promise staff member will take approximately 45 minutes to an hour. You will be notified of your acceptance into CORE 101 by May 18, 2020.

The cost for one public defender to participate in the three-year CORE 101 program is $20,118, not including the cost of travel. We ask the public defender partner office to contribute a minimum of $8,500 and cover the cost of travel for each attorney it sends to CORE 101. Gideon’s Promise works tirelessly to cover the remaining $11,618 for each public defender to attend our programming via scholarship. The application asks if you would like to receive a scholarship to attend CORE 101. This is a question you should discuss with your Chief Defender. If you choose the no scholarship option, you and/or your office will be responsible for the full amount of $20,118. If you choose the full or partial scholarship option, then we ask that you assist with our fundraising efforts. While a personal contribution is not required, we do ask scholarship recipients to help offset the cost of their programming to the extent they can. We also expect all scholarship recipients to reach out to friends and family to consider supporting Gideon’s Promise during at least one of our annual fundraising campaigns. Other ways to support the scholarship fund and the Gideon’s Promise community include: Make a small contribution ($5-10) every pay period. Engage in your own fundraising through Kickstarter, GoFundMe campaigns, or other creative ways to help offset the cost of the programming. Using social media to promote Gideon’s Promise Providing video / written testimonials about your experience as a member of Gideon’s Promise for promotion and outreach Helping promote outreach events and attend events if they are in your jurisdiction Writing op-eds or blog posts Speaking at events when the opportunity arises Helping identify potential support and resources

Summer Institute is a unique experience. Our community builds bonds and thrives on the basis of trust, and this trust is created through knowing that what one person shares in session at Summer Institute and subsequent sessions will not be shared by other individuals in the room, outside of the room. In order to maintain the integrity of the Summer Institute program we ask that all participants keep confidential any information that is shared by other participants during Summer Institute, especially if the information is of a personal nature. Full completion of the Summer Institute program is required to continue with CORE 101 participation. This means, that barring an emergency, all participants are expected to attend all sessions for the 14 days from beginning to end of the program. There is minimal downtime during Summer Institute. You may want to connect with friends and family in the area but, Institute is a commitment to be present during the daily training as well as during the after-hours community building activities. The days are long during Summer Institute, please come prepared to engage your classmates and faculty but, do not anticipate that there will be free time to explore the local city.

CORE 101 is a 3-year program. While it begins with 2-week Summer Institute. The program asks the accepted members of a class to return every 6-months until they graduate in 3-years. Each “Returner Weekend” takes place in the winter and summer, CORE 101 participants are expected to attend all 5 of these weekends as a program member.

After acceptance into the CORE 101 program, we require the submission of additional information in order to support the participants in the program. These documents and surveys must be completed in a timely manner so that we can adequately plan programming. Some of the requests will include: A mentor pairing survey (this survey allows us to match you with an Alumni of the CORE 101 program who will serve as your mentor during the first year of CORE). Defender Value Spectrum Survey (DVSS). This questionnaire has been designed for public defenders who have been trained by Gideon’s Promise. The survey questions are about your experience and/or expectations of being a public defender, and the values and practices that underpin your work. Your answers will help Gideon’s Promise learn more about the impact of its training and support. Surveys to evaluate the content taught and the faculty members facilitating sessions and workshops. Your evaluations of program content are used to improve trainings and to report to funders about the impact of Gideon’s Promise work. General surveys about your office needs and/or organizational needs. General forms and documents necessary for program operation.