Office of Court Administration Collection Improvement Program Analysis City of San Antonio Overview The Office of Court Administration's (OCA) model Collection Improvement Program is a set of principles and processes designed to assist counties and cities with collecting court costs, fees, and fines in criminal cases. OCA assists counties and cities in implementing its model program by providing training and consultation. The OCA model program includes the following best collection practices for defendants who are not able to pay court costs, fees, and fines in full on the day they are assessed: 0 Establishing strict payment plans with the goal of collecting the largest amount of money in the shortest period of time, based on the defendant?s ability to pay: 0 Using an application to obtain current contact and financial information for the defendant; 0 Verifying the contact and financial information provided in the application; 0 Interviewing the defendant to establish an appropriate payment plan and reviewing the payment plan and process with the defendant to help ensure the defendant's compliance with the plan; 0 Monitoring payments; and Contacting the defendant in a timely manner when payments are missed. 0 Offering alternatives to payment, such as community service or work programs, if it is determined that a defendant does not have the financial ability to pay in full. In this analysis, we review the cost effectiveness of your program by comparing the revenue collected to the cost of collection. Revenue collected means the dollars paid by defendants; it does not include jail credits, community service credits, and waivers. In the future, we plan to provide you a more in-depth analysis of your collection program that includes: a Quantitative trends: a historical examination of amounts assessed, collected, and credited. 0 Age of collections: a historical examination of the age of amounts collected and importance of early payment or other satisfaction. 0 Impact of methods for satisfying assessments: the effect that credits given for jail time served, community service performed, waivers, and jail costs have on collections. Return on Expenditures How cost effective is your collection program? Based on the Annual Financial Collection Report your program submitted to OCA, you spent a total in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 to operate your collection program. After removing the amount of court costs, fees, and fines paid in full immediately and the amount of revenue sent to and retained by the State, the net revenue directly attributable to your program was $11,903,21538, as shown in the calculation in Table 1 below. If For every $1 spent on your collection program, you collected an estimated $50.22 for your city. you compare net revenue to your expenditures, your city's estimated return on each dollar expended in FY 2014 was $50.22. In other words, for every $1 spent on your collection program, it is estimated you collected $50.22 for your city and $36.22 for the State. Table 1 Collections for Amount Collected for Fines Amount Collected for Court Costs Fees Total Amount Collected of Total Amount Collected that are Court Costs Fees Total Collected Less Amount Collected Immediately (est. 313%) Payment Plan Collections Less Est. State Part of Court Costs Fees2 Net Payment Plan Collections to City Collection Program Expenditures Return on Expenditures for City Return on Expenditures for State FY2013 $6,625,741.69 $21,625,834.85 FY2014 $8,276,752.79 $21,546,704.38 $28,251,576.54 76.55% $28,251,576.54 $8,842,743.46 $29,823,457.62 72.25% $29,823,457.62 $9,334,742.24 $19,408,833.08 $8,617,030.15 $20,488,715.38 $8,585,500.01 $10,791,802.93 $235,097.07 $45.90 $36.65 $11,903,215.38 $237,035.58 $50.22 $36.22 1 This percentage was not available for your city?s collection programs. Therefore, an average percentage was used based on programs for which an OCA post-implementation rate review has been completed. 2This excludes court costs and fees that are sent to the State but are returned to local jurisdictions Jury Reimbursement Fee). Calculation: $20,488,715.38 72.25% $14,802,586.22 estimated 58% $8,585,800.01. Assessments, Collections, and Credits Graph 1 below displays the actual data provided by your program, along with the trend lines (dotted lines), to show whether: assessments; collections; credits given for jail time served (jail credits); credits given for community service performed (community service credits); amounts waived; and increase or decrease in the number of cases in which court costs, fees, and fines have been assessed for your program during the period January 2013 through August 2015. From the data provided by your program: the number of cases in which court costs, fees, and fines have been assessed (red line) and the dollar amount of assessments (blue line) are decreasing; the dollar amount collected (green line) is also decreasing, at a slower rate, indicating a stable collection effort; jail credits (purple line) are increasing; community service credits (yellow line) and waivers of court costs, fees, and fines have been level. Graph 1 Assessments, Collections, and Credits $5,000 30,000 $4,500 3 25,000 2 $4,000 $3,500 20,000 $3,000 8 3 $2,500 15,000 $2,000 10 000 it $1,500 1 '000 5,000 $0 0 Jan. Mar. May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Mar. May July Sept. Nov. Jan. Mar. May July '13 '14 '15 Dollar Amount Assessed Dollar Amount Collected - Dollar Amount Waived Dollar Amount ofJail Time Served Credit Dollar Amount of Community Service Credit ?Number of Cases Note: Analysis begins January 2013 due to a conversion to Incode occruing around May 2012. Age of Dollars Paid and Collected Graph 2 below shows the percentage ofthe dollars paid by defendants and collected by your program in 0-30 days, 31-60 days, 61?90 days, 91-120 days and over 120 days from the assessment date, during the period January 2013 through August 2015 (Note: It excludes jail credits, community service credits, and waivers, which are discussed in Graph 3). Collections within 0-30 days has maintained an average around 80%, while collections at 120 days or more has remained below 20%. Note that this is a less than 5% decrease/increase respectively. This would indicate that court staff have maintained a stable collection effort. It also indicates that the court collection staff not only have successful follow up efforts, but exceptional initial financial analysis as well. Graph 2 Timeliness of Collections 90Dollars Collected 0-30 Days Dollars Collected 31?60 Days Dollars Collected 61-90 Days Dollars Collected 91-120 Days Dollars Collected 120+ Days Successful court collection programs collect as much as possible within 30 days following the assessment of court costs, fees, and fines. This is important because "best practice? indicators suggest that earlier payment or other satisfaction jail time served or community service performed) of an assessment increases the likelihood of payment or other satisfaction of the assessment.3 The staff of some court collection programs successfully encourage payment in full within 30 days by pointing out that additional fees, such as the $25 time payment fee, can be avoided by doing so. Also, collection program staff in some jurisdictions that outsource their collections advise defendants that any amount in arrears after 60 days will be referred to a private vendor or attorney for collection and an additional 30% will be added to their outstanding balance. 3 "Current Practices of Collections Issues and Solutions? National Center for State Courts and "Successful Collection Strategies? Dunn Bradstreet. 4 Compliance at any stage ofthe process is the ultimate goal of the program. Success in the later stages is exemplary and an indication of considerable effort and focus. It should however also be noted that when court costs, fees and fines are paid actual dollars) sooner, additional interest revenue may be realized by the county and these amounts could be significant when interest rates are high. Also, collecting after 120 days requires additional resources and effort resulting in an increase in the cost of collection. Jail Credits, Community Service Credits, and Waived Amounts The Collection Improvement Program process helps improve compliance with court orders and can also be a useful resource in determining a defendant?s current financial status and ability to pay court costs, fees, and fines. The collection program staff can assist in calculating amounts that will n_ot cause a financial burden significant enough to set the defendant up for failure. If it is determined that a defendant cannot pay in full, the judge, when appropriate, can order community service, a work program, or assess the minimum fine amount or not assess a fine.4 Our experiences with successful collection programs (and best practices) suggest that: 0 Waiver of fine(s) should generally be limited to individuals with medical conditions, such as a physical disability, that prevent them from participating in a community service or work program. 0 Credits forjail time served should generally be limited to cases in which a defendant refuses to pay or perform community service, but has the ability to do so. Graph 3 below tracks the dollar amount of jail credits, community service credits, and waived amounts for your court. 4 Generally, fines and court costs cannot be waived. However, Article 43.091 and 45.0491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provide an exception. Fines and costs may be waived if a defendant defaults in payment and the court determines he/she is indigent and cannot perform community service. Graph 3 Credits and Waivers 5800 a $700 3 if $600 $500 S400 $300 $200 $100 $0 2 Dollar Amount Waived Dollar Amount ofjail Time Served Credit I Dollar Amount of Community Service Credit Based on your OCA Collection Reports, the dollar amount of community service credits and waivers of court, costs, fees, and fines are minimal and have remained on average below $100. The dollar amount ofjail time served has increased from a average during the period January 2013 through March 2013 of approximately $457,300 to a average of approximately $606,800 during the period same period in 2015. Also note that the costs to house an inmate in the city jail have remained at $50 since FY 2010. The dotted line is a trend line. Summary of Findings 0 For every $1 spent on your collection program, you collect an estimated $50.22 for your city. 0 From January 2013 to August 2015: The number of cases in which court costs, fees, and fines has been assessed, amount of dollars assessed, and amount of dollars collected have decreased. 0 Collections (excluding all credits) as a percentage of assessments have increased, which indicates an efficient and effective collection program. 0 Payments collected in the first 30 days after assessment have maintained an average around 80%, while payments collected 120 days or more after assessment have maintained an average around 11%. This is a less than 5% decrease/increase respectively. 0 Estimated credits given forjail time served have increased from approximately $457,300 per month to an average of approximately $606,800 per month. 0 Credits given for community service and waivers of court costs, fees, and fines are on average less than $100. 0 Collections staff is doing an excellent job matching individuals with their ability to pay and collecting within the 0 to 30 days period. By collecting before 30 days the risk of default decreases along with the number of old cases the collections staff would have to rework. Although Graph 1 shows dollar amount collected decreasing, this is mainly due the decrease in the number of adjudicated cases along with the decrease in the dollar amount assessed. Recommendations 0 To keep jail credits along with jail costs from increasing other alternatives such as community service should be considered, which does not incur additional costs. Note: The accuracy of this report is based on what your collection program reports in the Court Collection Reporting System. If you feel that the information provided is inaccurate please contact OCA so that we can work with both your court and the software provider to correct any software issues.