Office of Court Administration's (OCA) Collection Improvement Program is a set of principles and processes designed to assist cities and counties with collecting court costs, fees, and fines assessed against persons convicted of misdemeanor or felony charges when they are not prepared to pay all court costs, fees, and fines, at the time of assessment and when time to pay is requested.
The key elements of the Program are:
- Staff or staff time dedicated to collection activities.
- Expectation that all court costs, fees, and fines are generally due at the time of assessment (sentencing or judgment imposed date).
- Defendants unable to pay in full on the day of assessment are required to complete an application for extension of time to pay.
- Application information is verified and evaluated to establish an appropriate payment plan for the defendant.
- Payment terms are usually strict.
- Alternative enforcement options (e.g., community service) are available for those who do not qualify for a payment plan.
- Defendants are closely monitored for compliance, and action is taken promptly for non-compliance:
- Telephone contact and letter notification are required when a payment is missed;
- Possible issuance of a warrant for continued non-compliance; and
- Possible application of statutorily permitted collection remedies, such as programs for non-renewal of driver's license or vehicle registration.
- A county or city may contract with a private attorney or a public or private vendor for the provision of collection services on delinquent cases (61+ days), after in-house collection efforts are exhausted.
The Collection Improvement Program began over a decade ago as a voluntary model. In 2005, the 79th Texas Legislature recognized the importance of expanding the collection of court-ordered payments by adding Article 103.0033 to the Code of Criminal Procedure. This statute requires cities with a population of 100,000 or more, and counties with a population of 50,000 or more, to implement a collection improvement program based on OCA's model. A total of 78 counties and cities were affected during the FY 2006-07 biennium, with 38 counties and cities required to implement programs by April 1, 2006, and the remaining number by April 1, 2007. The mandated programs generated an additional $24.1 million in state revenue for the FY 2006-07 biennium and are expected to generate a minimum of $49 million in state revenue for the FY 2008-09 biennium.
During the FY 2008-09 biennium, program staff will continue to work with counties and cities, as well as audit staff at the state's Comptroller of Public Accounts office, to ensure compliance with the critical components of the Collection Improvement Program. OCA collection staff will continue to provide training and consultation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the collection programs and train new county and city collection staff. In addition, OCA collection staff will seek to establish at least five voluntary collection programs each fiscal year in smaller Texas counties and cities.
OCA continues to have an interest in improving policies regarding the collection and management of offenders' debts, particularly while on probation and parole, and managing the impact of new proposals to increase fees and other charges impacting offenders; these issues are the subject of the Repaying Debts project.
Updated: 26-Mar-2008
