WHAT IS HB216

The Louisiana legislature is considering HB 216, an act to end juvenile court debt. You can help!

HB216 will abolish all administrative, or "cost of doing business," fees, costs, and taxes borne by children and their families as they move through the juvenile justice system.

These costs are punitive and harm families when they are at their most vulnerable.

HB216 will be heard in Committee in the Louisiana Legislature soon. We hope that you will join us to tell Committee members how important #DebtFreeJustice is to you.

HB 216 Fast Facts

Administrative fees harm children and families. "Funding courts through fees, costs, and taxes entrenches poverty and racial disparities." - Louisiana Commission on Justice System Funding
The group most likely to pay administrative fees are middle-aged African-American women with no criminal histories.
Administrative fees are costly and place undue burden on local parishes. $1.15 to pursue each dollar of assessed fees, costs, and taxes. Statewide, over 94% of all fees are uncollectable.
$4,039.53. Exorbitant fees like this one force low-income families to choose between paying administrative fees and feeding their family.
Administrative fees increase recidivism. Administrative fees are a barrier to successful reentry and counterproductive to the interests of children, families, and local jurisdictions.
The likelihood of continued interaction with the system for youth assessed fees was 27.3% compared to 21.5% for those not assessed fees.
38% of those assigned administrative fees, committed at least one crime in order to pay them.
African American children made up 81% of Office of Juvenile Justice admissions but only 32% of Louisiana's population.