NCJ Number
88785
Journal
Bewaehrungshilfe Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (1981) Pages: 129-135
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
In the West German State of Hessen, a foundation has been established to assist heavily indebted ex-offenders toward financial solvency through debt consolidation.
Abstract
Although foundation capital (250,000 German marks) was obtained from the State's justice department resources, the program is administered through a private banking institution. Qualified ex-offenders (evidencing willingness to repay their debts and ability to maintain employment) can obtain long-term loans from the bank, guaranteed by the foundation, for the purpose of consolidating their multiple debts into a single monthly obligation. Arrangements in each case are handled with the intervention of a probation officer. A major aspect of each consolidation case are negotiations with the client's disparate former creditors to reduce the creditors' demands. In some cases a reduction of 65 percent of the total has been possible. Clients must reveal their own and their families' resources in detail to ensure fair but reasonable repayment schedules that will not strain other aspects of their lives. Should clients default in their repayment, the foundation is responsible to the bank and can undertake assertive collection measures but only upon consideration of the client's circumstances and his overall resocialization progress. In a single year of operation (1980), the foundation served 16 clients and reduced the total creditor demands from 252,000 to 127,000 German marks. Repayment schedules ranged from 12 to 72 months and included interest of some 28,000 marks. Seven footnotes are given.