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July 14, 2011 National Association for Court Management Annual Conference
July 14, 2011 National Association for Court ManagementAnnual Conference
Why is Collections Important? Judicial integrity Accountability of the court Accountability of the litigant Fiscal responsibility
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Why is Collections Important? NACM 2010-2015 National Agenda
Sustaining excellence in difficult budget timesCourt budget shortfallsMaximizing appropriations
Enhancing public perceptions of the court and increasing community collaborationPublic trust and confidence
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Why is Collections Important? Enforcing court-ordered financial
sanctions Judiciary’s credibility Judiciary’s responsibility
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Judiciary’s Credibility
Courts must send the public a firm and consistent message that their orders will be enforced
Effective enforcement of court orders, including financial sanctions, will:Enhance the integrity and credibility of
the courts Increase respect for both the courts and
their orders
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Judiciary’s Responsibility
To assure victims are made whole To share its burden of fiscal
responsibility; the fines, costs, and assessments that courts collect support: Law enforcement Libraries Crime victim’s rights fund Local governments
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Elements for Improving Collections National Center for Victims of Crime
Five case studies on improving restitution collection
Shared important elements for improving collectionsLeadershipCommitmentOpenness to new thinking
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Disclaimer
Review your statutes/laws Review your court rules Review your administrative orders Review your judicial canons/ethical
rules
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Is it necessary for judges to be
involved in collections? Leadership and commitment Cooperation and consistency
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections What message does your court
send? Know your judge(s)
New judge or served a number of years Background One judge or multi-judge bench
Educate your judge(s)
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Judicial 3 D’s of Collections
Duty Dedication Diligence
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Duty
Every judge has the duty to enforce court orders and sanctions, if only because it enhances the integrity of the court and what you do
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Dedication
Every judge must specifically dedicate themselves to implementing an effective collections program in the proper discharge of their duties
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Diligence
Diligence requires that judges constantly monitor these efforts to assure that there is fair and efficient application of their mandates
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Defendant comes in to collections
and is $200 behind on payment plan Collections tries to work with him,
but he just keeps saying he can’t make his payments and only has $20 on him
What should the judge do?
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Judge puts defendant in jail and
while court officer is booking him, defendant pulls out over $600 and pays entire fine in full
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Defendant was on payment plan
before and failed to pay, so he was sentenced to jail
Next time he comes in, he says he will do whatever odd jobs he needs to so he can pay off his fine because he knows “the court ain’t messing around”
On the FLIP SIDE!
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Judge asks defendant if he can pay,
defendant says no, and judge sets up payment arrangements from the bench based on what defendant says This will always be a detriment to
collections Judge does not know the history of the
defendant as to collections
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Defendant tells judge he can’t pay
because he lost his job Judge orders defendant to start
making payments in 6 months Not sent to collections
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Two days later that same defendant
is sentenced to fines and costs by another judge
Sent to collections During interview by collections, he
says he’s had his job for 1 year and can pay this fine in full in a week
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Defendant tells judge she can’t pay
because she doesn’t have a job Judge orders collections to set up
$25 a month payment plan
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Collections interview reveals she’s
receiving state assistance and child support, and is working under the table
Defendant is capable of paying much more than judge ordered
Judges must let collections do their job!
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Judicial Acceptance of Collections Defendants know they can mislead
judges and get away with it because judges don’t have the full financial picture
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Collections Program Components1. Staff or staff time dedicated exclusively to
collections activities2. Enforcement of payment at time of assessment
and communication of the expectation of payment
3. Payment requirement on the day of assessment4. Financial statement information is verified and
evaluated to establish appropriate payment plan5. Payment alternatives are available for those who
do not have the ability to pay
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Collections Program Components6. Litigants are closely monitored for compliance,
and actions are taken promptly after noncompliance
7. Submit required receivables and collections reports to the SCAO annually
8. Promptly and consistently use statutorily permitted graduated sanctions
9. Use of locator services10. Referral to outside agency for collections after
all in-house collections efforts are exhausted
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Obstacles and Solutions
Lack of judicial and/or administrative leadership and commitment Increase awareness and keep collections
in the forefront with positive and increased visibility
Provide actual results (costs and revenues)
Focus on “compliance” and “enforcement” rather than “collections”
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Obstacles and Solutions
Lack of ownership by court staff Prioritize collectible accounts, decide
what to go after first, and implement one tool at a time rather than trying to do it all at once
Set realistic goals and share results and successes
Keep staff informed and involved
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Obstacles and Solutions
Inadequate staffing levels Demonstrate to funding unit that a
collections position will pay for itself Pursue legislation that restricts
revenue to fund collections, including staff
Consolidate collections efforts with other courts or funding unit
Third-party collectors
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Obstacles and Solutions
Technology limitations Third-party collections software Pursue legislation that restricts
revenue to fund collections, including development of collections software
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Obstacles and Solutions
Lack of data and reporting Develop and require standard reports Develop reports that measure results
for specific enforcement tools Evaluation methods
Pre-test/post-test studyControl group studyBenchmark or comparisonBaseline
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Obstacles and Solutions
Economy Educate defendants on where to cut
spending or how to prioritize spending Refer defendants to employment
agencies Offer payment alternatives, such as
community service
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Obstacles and Solutions
Lack of understanding Provide training seminars and
consultations with individual courts Create a collections website Collections training videos
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Collections Training Videos
Help courts communicate the expectation of payment
Courtroom proceedings in district and circuit courts, including family divisions of circuit court Guilty pleas Sentencings Show cause hearings Probation violation hearings
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Collections Training Videos
Court collections department at work Judges and a court administrator
answering questions about their collections programs
Demonstrations of successful practices and practices to avoid
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Collections Training Videos
http://webcast.you-niversity.com/youtools/companies/scao/login.asp
Passcode (PIN number) is collect
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Collections Training Videos36
Lessons Learned
Leadership and commitment will cause the necessary cultural change
Increase in compliance when implement effective collections tools
Increase in employee morale Provides offenders with sense of
ownership, accomplishment, and responsibility
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Lessons Learned
Provide information to the court’s funding unit
Attend conferences and seminars Invite questions, comments, and complaints
from stakeholders Utilize collections software You don’t need a lot to start a collections
office Collections office should be in close
proximity to judges
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Lessons Learned
Be consistent Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll
never get out of it alive. Elbert Hubbard – US author (1856 – 1915)
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Contact Information
Judge John Hallacy 269-969-6908 [email protected]
Beth Barber, Trial Court Collections Project Manager 517-373-5895 [email protected]
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