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Laws and policies that govern what financial obligations may be imposed on a person sentenced to prison or jail vary significantly from one state to another, and across the cities and counties within a given state. For example, some states prioritize the collection of fines and fees over that of restitution, while others place the collection of restitution first. Similarly, some states permit the suspension of child support orders during periods of incarceration while others do not. At the local level, cities or counties within a state often impose different kinds of fines, fees, and surcharges to fund local community corrections, treatment, and training programs.
hide full overview
Laws and policies that govern what financial obligations may be imposed on a person sentenced to prison or jail vary significantly from one state to another, and across the cities and counties within a given state. For example, some states prioritize the collection of fines and fees over that of restitution, while others place the collection of restitution first. Similarly, some states permit the suspension of child support orders during periods of incarceration while others do not. At the local level, cities or counties within a state often impose different kinds of fines, fees, and surcharges to fund local community corrections, treatment, and training programs.
Furthermore, courts, probation departments, and other agencies within a city, county, or state responsible for collecting money that someone incarcerated or released to the community owes often collect these debts separately and do not share information or resources. Accordingly, administrators of one criminal justice agency (such as a court or probation department) typically are uncertain how the collections practices of multiple agencies relate to one another.
To help state and local government officials better understand how the system(s) currently work, the following three recommendations explain how the multidisciplinary working group (see Where does one start?, page 4) can (1) develop a list of questions to guide the information-gathering process and engage all of its members to answer these questions; (2) organize the information that the members compile in response to these questions into reports, case studies, and diagrams; and (3) use the
information to inform the development of a strategic plan.
