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Juvenile Fees in Nevada

This article explores the negative impact of juvenile fees in Nevada, including racial disparities and high harm consequences, and highlights the need for reform. It also discusses best practices from other jurisdictions and provides resources for further action.

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Juvenile Fees in Nevada

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  1. Juvenile Fees in Nevada

  2. Juvenile Monetary Sanctions Fees Fines Restitution Recoup costs Punish & deter Help victims

  3. Juvenile Fees Nationally

  4. The Nevada Context The Annie E. Casey Found., 2018 Kids Count Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being (2018) Kenny Guinn Ctr. for Policy Priorities, The Costs of the Nevada Juvenile Court System on Youths and Their Families (2016) Nevada Advisory Committee to the U.S. Comm’n on Civil Rights, Municipal Fines and Fees in the State of Nevada (2017)

  5. Discretionary Juvenile Fees • Cost of care (§§ 62B.110-140, 62E.540, 63.540) • Care and treatment (§ 62E.280) • Court program fees (§§ 62C.210, 62E.210) • Court costs (§ 62E.300) • Appointed counsel (§ 62D.030) • Treatment and evaluation (§ 62E.620) • Coroner’s program (§ 62E.720)

  6. Low Revenue 2017 & 2018: • DCFS (state) = <$8,000/year • Clark County = <$25,000/year • Lyon County = <$2,000/year

  7. Racial Disparities • 2017: Black youth were >3 times more likely than White youth to be arrested and placed in county detention • 2017: Black youth were 6 times more likely to be confined in a state facility

  8. High Harm Nonpayment of fees can lead to: • Collection actions (§ 62B.420) • Negative credit scores (§ 62B.420) • Contempt of court (§§ 62E.040, 62B.120, 420) • Driver’s license suspension (§ 62B.420) • Prevention of record sealing (§ 62H.130) • Criminal liability (§ 62E.040)

  9. Probation Administrator’s Views Resources From my experience, we spend a lot of money on postage and clerical time trying to collect money, resulting in very little revenue for our City and Department. At some point, it becomes a waste of time and resources. -Dr. Ali Banister, Carson City Chief of Juvenile Services

  10. Probation Administrator’s Views Outcomes The families who are assessed juvenile fees are struggling enough, and we do not need to add to their burden. With my experience in the field, families cannot afford these fees. Given that, they can negatively affect youth outcomes. -Heather Plager, Elko County Chief Juvenile Probation Officer

  11. Probation Administrator’s Views Youth first In dealing with kids, relationships come first. The fees color those relationships with the kid and with the families. We don’t want the decision-making process to be what is this going to cost me, instead, we want it to be what will benefit the child and get a kid to change their behavior. -Eric Smith, Lyon County Chief Juvenile Probation Officer

  12. Probation Administrator’s Views I don’t care if the fees generate revenue; they’re just not part of our practice. Fees cause undue harm to struggling families—we have better ways of getting their attention than hitting their pocketbook. -Jack Martin, Director, Clark County Dept. of Juvenile Justice Services Best practices

  13. National Calls to Action

  14. Other Jurisdictions Philadelphia ends practice of billing parents for the time their children spend in detention Dane County budget amendment eliminates fee for juveniles held in detention center Monitoring equipment fees for children go away California Ends Practice of Billing Parents for Kids in Detention New Orleans becomes first city in South to axe court fees for delinquent youths

  15. Questions? Savannah Reid Policy Advocacy Clinic Law Student sreid@clinical.law.Berkeley.edu (702) 544-2047 Jeff Selbin Policy Advocacy Clinic Faculty Director jselbin@clinical.law.Berkeley.edu (510) 643-1076 Jared Busker Children’s Advocacy Alliance Associate Director jared.busker@caanv.org (775) 440-1767

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