North Carolina
Offi ce of Indigent Defense Services
The Systems Evaluation Project
Evaluating Indigent Defense Services
NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF INDIGENT DEFENSE SERVICES
123 WEST MAIN STREET, 4TH FLOOR
DURHAM, NC 27701
TEL: 919-560-3380
FAX: 919-560-3332
WWW.NCIDS.ORG
NC Indigent Defense Services (IDS)
In August 2000, the North Carolina General Assembly passed the Indigent Defense Services Act, creati ng the
Offi ce of Indigent Defense Services (IDS) and charging it with overseeing the provision of legal representati on to
indigent defendants in North Carolina. The cornerstone of IDS's mission is to ensure that poor people who are
charged with crimes have the same legal protecti ons as everyone else. Our goals are to ensure that every client
is provided with an att orney who has the legal qualifi cati ons, training, and resources needed to be an eff ecti ve
advocate and to manage the state's indigent defense fund in an effi cient and equitable manner. North Carolina's
passage of the IDS Act makes it a nati onal leader in the development of indigent defense programs.
Partnering Opportunities
SEP is interested in forming partnerships with indigent defense agencies, academic and research insti tuti ons,
and non-profi ts to solicit grant and foundati on funding to further the joint interests of the partner organizati on
and SEP. Contact Margaret Gressens at IDS if you would like to explore this opti on.
For More Information
For more detailed informati on on the SEP project, project products and updates, and relevant criminal justi ce
research arti cles, please visit the IDS website at www.ncids.org and click on the “Systems Eval. Project” link
located on the left side of the page.
SEP Staff
Margaret A. Gressens, IDS Research Director: Since 2001, Ms. Gressens has been the Research Director for
the Offi ce of Indigent Defense Services. She has over 20 years of social and economic research, policy analysis,
and program evaluati on experience. Ms. Gressens received her B.A. from Brown University, Providence, Rhode
Island and a M.P.A from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska. From 1996 to 2000, Ms. Gressens was a
Health Planner for the Municipality of Anchorage, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), where
she directed a project that measured the health and quality of life of the municipality. Ms. Gressens was
Assistant Director of the Real Security Educati on Project for the Insti tute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC,
where she co-designed a research and educati on project on the impact of U.S. foreign policy on the U.S. and
the internati onal economy. Ms. Gressens also has worked for the Insti tute for Social and Economic Research,
University of Alaska and for the Offi ce of United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (NY), Washington DC.
Daryl V. Atkinson, Systems Evaluati on Project Coordinator: Mr. Atkinson has been the Systems Evaluati on
Project Coordinator since 2007. He received a B.A. in Politi cal Science from Benedict College, Columbia, SC and
a J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis, MN. He is a member of both the Minnesota
and North Carolina Bars. Since moving to North Carolina in 2007, Mr. Atkinson has been acti ve in both the
prisoner reentry and legal service communiti es. He was a presenter at the fi rst North Carolina Reentry Acti on
Project Conference. In additi on, Mr. Atkinson has led conti nuing legal educati on training sessions for criminal
defense att orneys on how to address the reentry issues of their clients.