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Double Charged: The True Co$t Of Juvenile Justice
05.08.14


The Cost of Court Involvement by Youth Radio / Teresa Chin
It’s parents who are responsible for the bill. And that’s the trend across the country. “There are more and more criminal justice fees that are added every year in this country,” said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, legal scholar at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. “In recent years, about 20 state legislatures passed laws holding parents responsible for their children’s crimes,” said Eisen. In California, parents have the right to negotiate fees, but it’s not easy. If they don’t pay, officials can garnish parents’ wages, take their tax refunds, or place liens against property. In Alameda County, one of the poorest counties in the San Francisco Bay Area, half of the fees charged to parents remain unpaid. That’s according to the county’s own data, based on a recent five-year period. “And sometimes it is more expensive administratively to collect these fees than the money you are actually receiving in revenue.” said Eisen. “That’s the great irony of the situation.” At the Juvenile Justice Center in San Leandro, California, Joshua Hopkins, is sitting on a bench waiting to be called into a hearing. Hopkins is 13, but he looks a lot older. “People mess with me and then they get me frustrated, and then they just like to push my buttons. And when they push my buttons, I get very upset and I fight,” said Hopkins. The fighting has led to time in juvenile detention. And that adds up to a lot of fees, according to his mom, LaPorscha John. “So basically, this is my statement of account. So I owe a total of $736,” she said. Ms. John owes the money, even though her son is not in her care. Because of a mental health issue, Joshua lives in a private group home. But his mom is still responsible for the court fees when he messes up. “He is my son… But I’m getting hurt, because it’s financially creating hardship,” she said. Terry Wiley, Assistant District Attorney for
Producers: Brett Myers, Teresa Chin, Denise Tejada
Associate Producers , Darelle Brown, Rafael Johns, Edgar Romero
Senior Editors: Lissa Soep, Nishat Kurwa
Managing Editor: Rebecca Martin
Chief Content Officer: Ellin O'Leary
Online: Ike Sriskandarajah, Robyn Gee
Video: Chaz Hubbard, Luis Flores, Michael Prizmich
Engineers: Brandon McFarland, James Rowlands
Interactive/ Social Media: Asha Richardson
Graphics: Teresa Chin, Jenny Lei Bolario, Chaz Hubbard
Communications: Ashleigh Kenny, Morgan Siegel
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