| Policy Statement 2 |
Coordinate—and ideally integrate—distinct agencies' policies, procedures, and information systems so that the fines, fees, surcharges, and restitution orders of each person sentenced to prison or jail are consolidated to improve collection rates, where possible, and child support and restitution are prioritized appropriately. |
| Recommendation F |
Calculate realistic payment schedules. |
In order to hold people returning from prisons and jails accountable for their financial obligations, reentry strategies should include payment plans that recognize when individuals returning home have very little income—which is typically the case for someone just released from a corrections facility. The plan should then be adjusted to ensure larger payments as soon as the person released from prison or jail finds and maintains work or increases his or her income. At the same time, payments may need to be adjusted downward if the person loses employment, becomes disabled, is hospitalized, or is in similar special circumstances that make him or her unable to make scheduled payments.
To monitor these situations, and to ensure that the payment plan is adjusted for legitimate reasons, the collection agent should conduct periodic reviews of the person’s situation. This review would include an analysis of the person’s total assets, including wages, savings, investments, and property. This sum should be contrasted with an inventory of the individual’s monthly basic living expenses, such as rent, utilities, food, clothing, medical care, transportation, and insurance.
By subtracting from the individual’s total assets the list of his or her most basic living expenses (and allowing a small cushion for emergencies), collection personnel can determine the amount of expendable income. In addition, personnel can identify potential areas for reallocation from living expenses towards the payment of courtordered debts, such as cable television subscriptions or other forms of entertainment. Whenever a change in the payment plan is made, the collection agent should inform the affected victim and the family.
Restitution Statute, New Mexico
New Mexico's restitution statute (N.M. Stat. 31-17-1 (E)) requires the probation or parole officer, and the court, to consider the following factors when reviewing the restitution plan: the physical and mental health of the individual; his or her age, education, employment circumstances, potential for employment, family circumstances, and financial condition; the damages to each victim; and what plan of restitution will most effectively aid the individual's rehabilitation.