Repaying Debts: Child support, victim restitution should be top priorities for offender payments

After I wrote recently about a slew of bills increasing fees for probationers, Carl Reynolds from Texas' Office of Court Administration pointed out a recent report from his shop in conjunction with Dr. Tony Fabelo of the Council of State Governments' Justice Center titled "Repaying Debts" that addresses these and other closely related subjects. Some of their recommendations fell right in line with the issues raised in my post:

• Provide lawmakers who are considering legislation that would impose or increase fines, fees, or surcharges with an impact statement projecting the legislation's effect on the ability of a person released from prison or jail to meet his or her child support and restitution obligations.

• Curb the extent to which operations of criminal justice agencies rely on the collection of fines, fees, and surcharges from people released from prisons and jails.

In addition, the report suggests some creative solutions for this longstanding, seemingly intractable problem:

• Design sanctions, such as increased supervision and mandatory service at a restitution center, to compel people under community supervision to meet their financial obligations.

• Develop a range of incentives, such as certificates of good conduct and waivers of fines, fees, and surcharges to help people who are willing to meet their financial obligations.

See also OCA's analysis of the financial burden facing parolees (pdf) from Texas prisons when they get out and how that can contribute to recidivism.

I've not read the full report in detail, but it appears to emphasize, appropriately, repayment of child support and restitution to victims over court fees and supervision costs, a re-prioritization that I would wholly endorse.

I'm glad to see there are folks out there thinking about these issues more systematically than the bipartisan bill authors promoting new nickel-and-dime fee hikes each and every legislative session.