NCJ Number
155442
Date Published
1993
Length
39 pages
Annotation
This report presents the findings from an evaluation of a Jackson County (Oregon) project designed to increase offender accountability regarding compliance with court-ordered financial obligations.
Abstract
The plan is to restructure and improve the management and collection of financial obligations. The evaluation is limited to offenders sentenced for the first time to either a misdemeanor infraction or violation between May 1 and December 31, 1992. The evaluators also researched some of the statutory requirements regarding this project and have examined some aspects of its legality. Under the pilot project, the judges order all offenders to pay their financial obligation in full on the day of sentencing. Offenders who cannot pay in full at sentencing may request a payment schedule by completing a financial affidavit and meeting with a collection specialist. After completing the financial affidavit, the offender meets with a collection specialist, who evaluates the information on the affidavit for inconsistencies. If the specialist determines the offender can pay in full immediately, the specialist authorizes no payment schedule. If the offender cannot pay in full, the specialist may allow the offender to establish a payment schedule and regular payment amount based on the offender's ability to pay. After allowing for all reasonable expenses, a specialist generally seeks to collect about one-half of an offender's monthly disposable income in a regular payment. The court also affords indigent and unemployed offenders the opportunity to convert some or all of their financial obligations into nonmonetary sanctions by participating in the county's community service program. To remind offenders of their payment agreement, the specialist prepares payment coupons that include the payment amount, the due date of each payment, the case number, and the address and phone number of the court. To calculate, compare, and forecast the estimated revenue generated by the pilot project, evaluators identified and analyzed three groups of cases: a baseline or control group, a project group, and a test group. Among the findings are that the county has increased the amount of gross revenue collected per case, that the county has increased the amount of the average payment made to the court since the inception of the collection program, and that judges can complete sentencing more quickly because collection specialists have the ability to efficiently establish the payment schedule. Six recommendations for expanding and improving the program are offered.