Probation Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

We Can’t Afford It: Mass Incarceration and The Family Tax

This mixed-methods report quantifies the financial costs incurred by families when a loved one is incarcerated. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of adults with an immediate family member incarcerated …

The Cost of Juvenile Probation: A Critical Look into Juvenile Supervision Fees

Probation is the most common disposition for a child to receive, with more than 200,000 children placed on probation each year. In courts across the country, children and their families …

Community Supervision Part 1: Fees and Fines

Financial penalties can serve as a barrier to successful rehabilitation and reentry. In addition to fines and restitution, probationers and parolees can be assessed supervision fees, court fees, technology fees, …

Trial Court Administrative Order 22-3: Elimination of Monthly Probation Fees Imposed Pursuant to G.L. c. 276, § 87A

Effective July 1, 2022, Massachusetts eliminated monthly probation supervision fees, administrative probation fees, and victim services surcharges. Monthly probation fees assessed after the effective date will be remitted and paid …

Who Pays: Measuring Differences In the Process of Repayment of LFOs

People unable to pay legal financial obligations (LFOs) are at risk of additional consequences for nonpayment – a risk likely driven by the local emphasis and reliance on fee and cost …

Five Evidence-Based Policies Can Improve Community Supervision

At the end of 2020, there were more than twice as many people under probation and parole supervision than people incarcerated in jails and prisons in the United States. Community …

Life On An Ankle Monitor In Alabama: $10 A Day and ‘Inevitable Imperfections

Many state and local governments have shifted the cost of incarceration from the government onto the person being monitored. In 2020, Brittany Smith pleaded guilty for the murder of a …

Debtors Prisons: In Mississippi, Judges Can Lock You Up For Owing Money

In Mississippi, judges lock up people while they work to earn money to pay off court fees, fines, and restitution, without an end date. People spend an average of four …

Monetary Sanctions and Symbiotic Harms

When justice-involved individuals cannot afford their legal debts, their families who provide financial support suffer the unintended negative effects of punishment– also known as symbiotic harms. This study analyzes data …

Fines and Fees Are a Barrier to Criminal Record-Clearing

Nationally, court debt is estimated to be over $27 billion; unpaid monetary sanctions creates barriers for system-involved individuals who try to clear their criminal records through expungement, including the cost …