New Report About Maryland’s Harmful Parole Fees to Be Released at OSI-Baltimore Forum

What:  A forum to release a new report about Maryland’s fees on parolees, featuring co-author Rebekah Diller, deputy director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

When:  11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Thursday, March 26

Where:  Open Society Institute-Baltimore, 201 North Charles Street, Suite 1300

Editors’ note: Parolees are expected to be at the forum and are willing to be interviewed about their experiences with the parole fees. Please call Justin Schaberg at 1-410-234-1091 to reserve a seat. The report is available for download below.

BALTIMORE—Maryland’s policy of charging parolees $40 a month for their supervision creates an unjustified risk of recidivism and should be abolished, according to a new report to be released at a forum sponsored by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore.

Maryland implemented that policy two decades ago to boost state revenues, but the fee is largely uncollectible because parolees are unemployed and unable to afford it. Instead, the fees saddle parolees with debt as they are struggling to find work and housing. As the debt accrues, individuals receive letters threatening revocation of their parole. At the end of a parole term, the state continues to try to collect the debt and in some cases seeks civil judgments that mar credit reports. On average, most parolees are ordered to pay $743 in supervision fees over the course of their parole terms.

“The fiscal benefit is outweighed by the risk that the fee contributes to recidivism, and thereby results in higher incarceration costs,” writes Rebekah Diller, the report’s co-author who will speak at the forum. “The fee is out of step with Maryland’s shift toward supervision policies that promote reentry.”

The system for granting exemptions to the fee is “broken,” the report says, noting that exemptions are rarely granted.

Diller coordinates litigation, policy research and advocacy to improve access to justice for low-income people.  She also works on initiatives to protect the free speech rights of nonprofit organizations that partner with government.  She received her law degree with high honors, from New York University School of Law, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays fellow, and her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Rutgers College.

The report on Maryland’s parole fees was funded by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Abell Foundation. OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal Justice and Juvenile Program seeks to reduce the devastating social and economic costs of incarceration while also increasing public safety.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a nonpartisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. The center’s Access to Justice Project is one of the few national initiatives dedicated to helping ensure that low-income individuals, families and communities are able to secure effective access to the courts and other public institutions.

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Founded by philanthropist George Soros, OSI-Baltimore is a private operating foundation that supports a grantmaking, educational, and capacity-building program to expand justice and opportunity for Baltimore residents. With support from a range of investors, its current work focuses on helping Baltimore's youth succeed, reducing the social and economic costs of incarceration, tackling drug addiction, and building a corps of community fellows to bring innovative ideas to Baltimore's underserved communities.