Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay
Juvenile Court Fees
Published on
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay
Juvenile Court Fees
First-of-its-kind report finds children are being imprisoned nationwide when
families can't pay fines levied by juvenile justice system
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one
survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother who was told
to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid paying his
juvenile court fees. (Photo: Richard Ross/Youth First)
Many states are incarcerating poor children whose families can't afford to
pay juvenile court fees and fines, a report published Wednesday finds, which
amounts to punishing children for their families' poverty-and that may be
unconstitutional.
Although the growing practice of incarcerating adults who are unable to pay
municipal and court fees and fines has been documented for several years, as
Common Dreams has noted, the latest report from the Juvenile Law Center is
the first in-depth examination of the practice within the juvenile justice
system.
The report, "Debtor's Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in
the Juvenile Justice System" (pdf), documents the results of a survey of 183
people involved in the juvenile justice system-including lawyers, family
members, and adults who had been incarcerated as children in the juvenile
justice system-in 41 states.
The report authors discovered that in most states there is a pile-up of fees
and fines imposed on children and their families once a child enters the
juvenile justice system, and that "[m]any statutes establish that youth can
be incarcerated or otherwise face a loss of liberty when they fail to pay."
"[...] a grandmother had taken custody of her grandson but when facing these
insurmountable fees, she was told (by a county employee) that the only way
she could avoid paying was to hand over custody [to the state]."-Juvenile
Law Center survey respondent
There are myriad ways in which juvenile court systems levy fines on
children's families, the report authors found, and then imprison those
children when their families are too poor to pay the mounting costs:
. Many states impose a monthly fee on families whose children are
sentenced to probation. When a family can't pay the monthly fee, that counts
as a probation violation, and the child is in most cases incarcerated in a
juvenile detention facility.
. If children are sentenced to a "diversion program," or a
community-based program meant to keep them out of detention and help them
reintegrate into their communities, the families must pay the costs of such
a program. When poor children are unable to pay, they are simply
incarcerated instead.
. Families in most states must pay for their children's court-ordered
evaluations and tests (such as mental health evaluations, STD tests, and
drug and alcohol assessments). Failure to obtain certain evaluations may
result in a failure to be granted bond by the court, which means the child
would remain in juvenile detention. Or if the tests are performed and the
family subsequently can't pay for them, that counts as a probation violation
and the child is re-sentenced, which can mean being incarcerated.
. Some sentences involve a simple fine, such as truancy, and failure
to pay results in the child's imprisonment. "Even when fines are not
mandated by statute, they may be treated as mandatory in practice," the
report authers note, describing one impoverished child's experience with a
$500 truancy fine in Arkansas:
One individual who had been in the juvenile justice system there reported
that he spent three months in a locked facility at age 13 because he
couldn't afford the truancy fine. He appeared in court without a lawyer or a
parent and was never asked about his capacity to pay or given the option of
paying a reduced amount. He assumed he had to either pay the full fine or
spend time in jail. He explained, "my mind was set to where I was just like
forget it, I might as well just go ahead and do the time because I ain't got
no money and I know the [financial] situation my mom is in. I ain't got no
money so I might as well just go and sit it out."
. "Almost all states charge parents for the care and support of youth
involved with the juvenile justice system," the report adds. Those include
fees for room and board, clothing, and mental and physical healthcare, among
many other charges, and "[i]nability to pay [...] can result in youth being
deprived of treatment, held in violation of probation, or even facing
extended periods of incarceration." (Juvenile prisons also charge their own,
often higher, prices for children's prescription medications, the report
says, which frequently results in high charges that poor families cannot
afford to pay and interrupts necessary healthcare for their children.)
. In all 50 states, a statute exists which deems that if a child and
their family can't afford restitution charges-that is, payment to the
victim(s) of the child's crime, which is a popular sentence in juvenile
court-the child is incarcerated.
Juvenile detention facilities are often unsafe and inhumane, as Common
Dreams has reported.
And the fines imposed by juvenile court are "highly burdensome," according
to the report. The average cost of juvenile system involvement is $2,000 per
case in Alameda County, California, for example, and "[f]or young people
incarcerated for extended periods of time, the costs can be significantly
higher."
"When parents face incarceration or mounting debt for failure to pay, they
have even fewer resources to devote to educating, helping, and supporting
their children."
-Juvenile Law Center
The debt divides families already struggling with the ramifications of
poverty, the report notes.
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one
survey respondent said, recalling that "I... spoke to a family where a
grandmother had taken custody of her grandson but when facing these
insurmountable fees, she was told (by a county employee) that the only way
she could avoid paying was to hand over custody. Given her limited income,
she has seriously considered giving up custody of her grandson, which would
make him a ward of the state..."
In some cases, parents can even face imprisonment themselves if they fail to
pay their children's juvenile court system fees. "In a number of states,
parents, like youth, may be found in contempt, either civil or criminal, for
failure to pay," the report says.
"Parents may also face increased financial liability through collection fees
and interest accruing on payments, as well as civil judgments for failure to
pay," the report authors add. "When parents face incarceration or mounting
debt for failure to pay, they have even fewer resources to devote to
educating, helping, and supporting their children."
The report authors also observe that incarcerating children for their
families' inability to pay fees may be unconstitutional:
[I]t is worth noting that the United States Supreme Court has made clear
that an individual may not be incarcerated for nonpayment if the court does
not first conduct an indigence determination and establish that the failure
to pay was willful. The Supreme Court has also held that courts must
consider "alternative measures of punishment other than imprisonment" for
indigent defendants. Nonetheless, some states require neither willfulness
nor capacity to pay in statute, and only a few explicitly limit or prohibit
incarceration for failure to pay.
Additionally, the Supreme Court has held that "courts must provide
meaningful notice and, in appropriate cases, counsel, when enforcing fines
and fees." This right is even more important for children, who lack both the
developmental capacity and the legal knowledge to represent themselves.
"Moreover," the report continues, "while further research is needed,
existing studies suggest that court costs, fees, and fines have limited, if
any, fiscal benefit to states and counties, given the difficulty in
collecting from families in poverty and the high administrative costs in
trying to do so."
The Juvenile Law Center details the varying policies on juvenile court
system fees state-by-state on a new website, and also highlights the few
counties and states who are attempting to rectify the problem.
"Ultimately, state and local policymakers should establish more sustainable
and effective models for funding court systems rather than imposing costs on
youth and families who simply can't afford to pay," the Juvenile Law Center
says.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
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Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay
Juvenile Court Fees
Published on
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
by
Common Dreams
Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay
Juvenile Court Fees
First-of-its-kind report finds children are being imprisoned nationwide when
families can't pay fines levied by juvenile justice system
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
. 12 Comments
.
. "The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their
children," one survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother
who was told to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid
paying his juvenile court fees. (Photo: Richard Ross/Youth First)
. Many states are incarcerating poor children whose families can't
afford to pay juvenile court fees and fines, a report published Wednesday
finds, which amounts to punishing children for their families' poverty-and
that may be unconstitutional.
. Although the growing practice of incarcerating adults who are unable
to pay municipal and court fees and fines has been documented for several
years, as Common Dreams has noted, the latest report from the Juvenile Law
Center is the first in-depth examination of the practice within the juvenile
justice system.
. The report, "Debtor's Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and
Fees in the Juvenile Justice System" (pdf), documents the results of a
survey of 183 people involved in the juvenile justice system-including
lawyers, family members, and adults who had been incarcerated as children in
the juvenile justice system-in 41 states.
. The report authors discovered that in most states there is a pile-up
of fees and fines imposed on children and their families once a child enters
the juvenile justice system, and that "[m]any statutes establish that youth
can be incarcerated or otherwise face a loss of liberty when they fail to
pay."
"[...] a grandmother had taken custody of her grandson but when facing these
insurmountable fees, she was told (by a county employee) that the only way
she could avoid paying was to hand over custody [to the state]."-Juvenile
Law Center survey respondent
There are myriad ways in which juvenile court systems levy fines on
children's families, the report authors found, and then imprison those
children when their families are too poor to pay the mounting costs:
. Many states impose a monthly fee on families whose children are
sentenced to probation. When a family can't pay the monthly fee, that counts
as a probation violation, and the child is in most cases incarcerated in a
juvenile detention facility.
. If children are sentenced to a "diversion program," or a
community-based program meant to keep them out of detention and help them
reintegrate into their communities, the families must pay the costs of such
a program. When poor children are unable to pay, they are simply
incarcerated instead.
. Families in most states must pay for their children's court-ordered
evaluations and tests (such as mental health evaluations, STD tests, and
drug and alcohol assessments). Failure to obtain certain evaluations may
result in a failure to be granted bond by the court, which means the child
would remain in juvenile detention. Or if the tests are performed and the
family subsequently can't pay for them, that counts as a probation violation
and the child is re-sentenced, which can mean being incarcerated.
. Some sentences involve a simple fine, such as truancy, and failure
to pay results in the child's imprisonment. "Even when fines are not
mandated by statute, they may be treated as mandatory in practice," the
report authers note, describing one impoverished child's experience with a
$500 truancy fine in Arkansas:
One individual who had been in the juvenile justice system there reported
that he spent three months in a locked facility at age 13 because he
couldn't afford the truancy fine. He appeared in court without a lawyer or a
parent and was never asked about his capacity to pay or given the option of
paying a reduced amount. He assumed he had to either pay the full fine or
spend time in jail. He explained, "my mind was set to where I was just like
forget it, I might as well just go ahead and do the time because I ain't got
no money and I know the [financial] situation my mom is in. I ain't got no
money so I might as well just go and sit it out."
. "Almost all states charge parents for the care and support of youth
involved with the juvenile justice system," the report adds. Those include
fees for room and board, clothing, and mental and physical healthcare, among
many other charges, and "[i]nability to pay [...] can result in youth being
deprived of treatment, held in violation of probation, or even facing
extended periods of incarceration." (Juvenile prisons also charge their own,
often higher, prices for children's prescription medications, the report
says, which frequently results in high charges that poor families cannot
afford to pay and interrupts necessary healthcare for their children.)
. In all 50 states, a statute exists which deems that if a child and
their family can't afford restitution charges-that is, payment to the
victim(s) of the child's crime, which is a popular sentence in juvenile
court-the child is incarcerated.
Juvenile detention facilities are often unsafe and inhumane, as Common
Dreams has reported.
And the fines imposed by juvenile court are "highly burdensome," according
to the report. The average cost of juvenile system involvement is $2,000 per
case in Alameda County, California, for example, and "[f]or young people
incarcerated for extended periods of time, the costs can be significantly
higher."
"When parents face incarceration or mounting debt for failure to pay, they
have even fewer resources to devote to educating, helping, and supporting
their children."
-Juvenile Law Center
The debt divides families already struggling with the ramifications of
poverty, the report notes.
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one
survey respondent said, recalling that "I... spoke to a family where a
grandmother had taken custody of her grandson but when facing these
insurmountable fees, she was told (by a county employee) that the only way
she could avoid paying was to hand over custody. Given her limited income,
she has seriously considered giving up custody of her grandson, which would
make him a ward of the state..."
In some cases, parents can even face imprisonment themselves if they fail to
pay their children's juvenile court system fees. "In a number of states,
parents, like youth, may be found in contempt, either civil or criminal, for
failure to pay," the report says.
http://commondreams.org/urgent-requesthttp://commondreams.org/urgent-request
"Parents may also face increased financial liability through collection fees
and interest accruing on payments, as well as civil judgments for failure to
pay," the report authors add. "When parents face incarceration or mounting
debt for failure to pay, they have even fewer resources to devote to
educating, helping, and supporting their children."
The report authors also observe that incarcerating children for their
families' inability to pay fees may be unconstitutional:
[I]t is worth noting that the United States Supreme Court has made clear
that an individual may not be incarcerated for nonpayment if the court does
not first conduct an indigence determination and establish that the failure
to pay was willful. The Supreme Court has also held that courts must
consider "alternative measures of punishment other than imprisonment" for
indigent defendants. Nonetheless, some states require neither willfulness
nor capacity to pay in statute, and only a few explicitly limit or prohibit
incarceration for failure to pay.
Additionally, the Supreme Court has held that "courts must provide
meaningful notice and, in appropriate cases, counsel, when enforcing fines
and fees." This right is even more important for children, who lack both the
developmental capacity and the legal knowledge to represent themselves.
"Moreover," the report continues, "while further research is needed,
existing studies suggest that court costs, fees, and fines have limited, if
any, fiscal benefit to states and counties, given the difficulty in
collecting from families in poverty and the high administrative costs in
trying to do so."
The Juvenile Law Center details the varying policies on juvenile court
system fees state-by-state on a new website, and also highlights the few
counties and states who are attempting to rectify the problem.
"Ultimately, state and local policymakers should establish more sustainable
and effective models for funding court systems rather than imposing costs on
youth and families who simply can't afford to pay," the Juvenile Law Center
says.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
