Fines and fees imposed in juvenile court can drive youth deeper into the system and their families deeper into poverty, a new report says.
Every state imposes monetary penalties or costs on juveniles, a burden that hits families who are already struggling especially hard, both emotionally and financially, according to the report by the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia.
The costs can include fees to attend programs that are alternatives to incarceration or to have a mental health evaluation, charges for record expungement and restitution payments to victims.
When families can’t pay, the consequences may include sending a youth to a juvenile placement rather than an alternative community-based program, keeping a youth on probation longer than they otherwise would be or having their driver’s license revoked.
[For more of this story, written by Sarah Barr, go to http://jjie.org/court-costs-ca...-report-says/303157/]
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