A Vicious Cycle: Juvenile Fines and Fees in Kansas

Interacting with the legal system can be financially ruinous for many young people and their families.  There are fines and fees in the juvenile justice system associated with confinement, supervision, counsel, court costs, drug and alcohol testing, offenses, expungement, and restitution.[1]  These expenses are exacerbated by the fact that families affected by the juvenile justice system are disproportionately living in poverty.[2]  Kansas has a statute which requires that parents be held liable for costs.[3]  Children living in poverty may also not enjoy the benefits of diversion programs, for example, because they are cost prohibitive.[4]  Importantly, juvenile fines and fees also excessively burden communities of color.[5]  Children of color are both more likely to get arrested and more likely to be fined higher amounts.[6]  Because these families are often unable to pay, they cannot get out from under the weight of the juvenile justice system.  Families experience wage garnishment and loss of tax refunds due to outstanding fines.[7]  Debt associated with these costs undermines rehabilitative purposes of this system.[8]

Advocates in Kansas are aiming to address this vicious cycle that traps families in debt.[9]  Other states, such as California, have passed similar legislation abolishing administrative fees as well as fees associated with supervision and drug testing.[10]  Kansas ranks highly compared with other states in the number of different fees that can be imposed on juveniles and their families.[11]  The Kansas Debt Free Justice Coalition seeks to end this vicious cycle for Kansas children and their families through the Kansas Debt Free Justice for Youth Act (the Act).[12]  The Act includes 31 sections with the goal to eliminate fines and fees for youth aged 25 years and younger.[13]  This Act aims to improve the futures of Kansas youth by abolishing this type of debt.[14]

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[1]  Debtor’s Prison for Kids: The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System, Kansas Statutes, Juvenile Law Center, https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/#!/state/kansas (last visited Jan. 14, 2022).

[2]  Noah Taborda, Kansas Organizations Seek End to ‘Pernicious Practice’ of Juvenile Fines and Fees, Kansas Reflector (Jan. 7, 2022), https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/07/kansas-organizations-seek-end-to-pernicious-practice-of-juvenile-fines-and-fees/.

[3]  Kan. Stat. Ann. 38-2324 (2007).  This statute requires the parent to pay for the costs of probation services.  Jessica Feierman, Naomi Goldstein, Emily Haney-Caron, and Jaymes Fairfax Columbo, Debtor’s Prison for Kids: The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System, Juvenile Law Center (2016) 11, https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/JLC-Debtors-Prison.pdf.     

[4]   Jessica Feierman, Naomi Goldstein, Emily Haney-Caron, and Jaymes Fairfax Columbo, Debtor’s Prison for Kids: The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System, Juvenile Law Center (2016) 3, https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/JLC-Debtors-Prison.pdf.

[5]  Kansas Supreme Court: Juvenile Fines and Fees, ACLU Kansas (Aug 20, 2020), https://www.aclukansas.org/en/kansas-supreme-court-juvenile-fines-and-fees#_ftnref3.

[6]  About Fines and Fees, Kansas Debt Free Justice Coalition, https://www.debtfreejusticeks.org/ (last visited Jan. 14, 2022).

[7]  Sylvia A. Harvey, Advocacy Groups Launch Nationwide Campaign to End Juvenile Court Fines and Fees, The Imprint (Sept. 23, 2021), https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/advocacy-groups-launch-nationwide-campaign-to-end-juvenile-court-fines-and-fees/59070.

[8]  Making Families Pay: The Harmful, Unlawful, and Costly Practice of Charging Juvenile Administrative Fees in California, Berkley Law Policy Advocacy Clinic (March 2017) 2, https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/State-Juvenile-Fees-Report_revised12-10-19.pdf.

[9]  Noah Taborda, Kansas Organizations Seek End to ‘Pernicious Practice’ of Juvenile Fines and Fees, Kansas Reflector (Jan. 7, 2022), https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/07/kansas-organizations-seek-end-to-pernicious-practice-of-juvenile-fines-and-fees/.  

[10]  Press Release: California Abolishes Regressive and Racially Discriminatory Juvenile Legal System Fees, Western Center on Law & Poverty (Sept. 30, 2021), https://wclp.org/press-release-california-abolishes-regressive-and-racially-discriminatory-juvenile-legal-system-fees/.

[11]  Jessica Feierman, Naomi Goldstein, Emily Haney-Caron, and Jaymes Fairfax Columbo, Debtor’s Prison for Kids: The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System, Juvenile Law Center (2016) 5, https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/JLC-Debtors-Prison.pdf.  “In Arkansas,

Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, for example, statutes permit at

least seven different categories of costs to be imposed on youth or families.”  Id.

[12]  Kansas Debt Free Justice Coalition, https://www.debtfreejusticeks.org/ (last visited Jan. 14, 2022).  The coalition is a partnership between the ACLU of Kansas, Destination Innovation, The Gault Center, Juvenile Law Center, Kansas Action for Children, Kansas Appleseed, National Juvenile Defender Center, and Progeny.  Id.

[13]  A The Debt Free Justice for Youth Act, Legislative Summary, ACLU Kansas, https://www.aclukansas.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/debt_free_justice_for_youth_act_summary.pdf (last visited Jan. 17, 2022).

[14]  Debt Free Justice for Youth Coalition, ACLU Kansas, https://www.aclukansas.org/en/debt-free-justice-youth-coalition (last visited Jan. 17, 2022).