Juvenile jail fees may be eliminated by Sonoma County Board of Supervisors

Millions of dollars of debt carried by parents and guardians of children who have been committed to juvenile hall could be erased under a proposal up for review Tuesday by Sonoma County supervisors.

The Board of Supervisors will consider voting to absolve the debt and stop charging a $32 daily fee to families of incarcerated children. The plan also includes ending fees for probation supervision and the $50 charge for those represented by a public defender.

The county can tap into an underused state funding source for juvenile probation services to cover the lost revenue, which totaled about $317,000 in the fiscal year ending this month, said David Koch, the county's chief probation officer.

“There's another funding source we will be able to draw from,” Koch said.

In Sonoma County, families of juvenile offenders carry a collective $4 million in debt for these fees. About $3 million of the outstanding debt dates back more than three years, according to the Sonoma County probation department. Some bills are more than a decade old.

A Press Democrat report in May found the daily fees are among the most expensive in the state, imposing a financial burden on vulnerable families that can make it more difficult for them to maintain stability.

Last year, about 70 percent of families made no payments on the bills, and no fee waivers were granted. If the board chooses to nix the fees, Sonoma County would join several other Bay Area counties that have stopped charging them, including Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.

In the case of Santa Clara County, officials found it was more costly to collect payments compared to the amount actually received.

Advocates and researchers have pushed counties to consider the adverse impact on families, most of whom have low incomes and are people of color. About 67 percent of young people housed at juvenile hall or probation camp are Latino, compared to about 44 percent in grades 7-12 in the county.

“We were aware that the demographic - the families of the kids who find themselves in the juvenile justice system - was economically disadvantaged, more and more,” Koch said. “From the philosophical perspective, it makes sense (to eliminate the fees), and from the social justice standpoint.”

State lawmakers earlier this year proposed a bill that would end the practice. The bill was passed by the Senate and is being considered by the Assembly.

The fees go toward the cost of probation services and are allowed under California laws.

The annual budget for juvenile probation - including the juvenile hall off Highway 12 in Oakmont, the probation camp in Forestville and the supervised release program - is just under $30 million. It costs the county $292.77 per day to house a juvenile offender, according to department figures.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story listed the wrong day for the Board of Supervisors meeting to review juvenile hall fees. The meeting will be held Tuesday.