Applications for the John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program are due March 31 to the Office of the Indiana Attorney General.

Indiana has received $181,746 in federal funding for attorneys in the Hoosier state. It will be disbursed in amounts of $2,000 to $4,000 to prosecutors and public defenders who make a commitment to be in their positions for at least three years from the date the award is given.

The website for the program defines prosecutors as “a full-time employee of a state or unit of local government (including tribal government) who is continually licensed to practice law and prosecutes criminal or juvenile delinquency cases at the state or unit of local government level (including supervision, education, or training of other persons prosecuting such cases). 42 U.S.C.§3797cc-21(b)(1).”

For this loan repayment program, public defender is defined as “an attorney who is continually licensed to practice law and is a full-time employee of a state or unit of local government (including tribal government) who provides legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases including supervision, education, or training of other persons providing such representation; is a full-time employee of a nonprofit organization operating under a contract with a state or unit of local government who devotes substantially all of the employee’s full-time employment to providing legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases including supervision, education, or training of other persons providing such representation; or employed as a full-time federal defender attorney in a defender organization pursuant to Subsection (g) of section 3006A of Title 18, United States Code, that provides legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases. 42 U.S.C. §3797cc-21(b)(2).”

The attorney general’s website also has more information about what loans are eligible or ineligible for repayment through the John R. Justice Program.

Applications, including the application form, employer verification form, loan verification forms and account statement(s), and cover letter highlighting public service and a commitment to continued public service for at least three years, should be sent to JRJ Program, c/o Office of the Indiana Attorney General, 302 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204.

For more information contact Natalie Robinson in attorney general’s office at Natalie.Robinson@atg.in.gov.

More information about the national program is available at the Equal Justice Works website.