Description
When individuals exit jail or the criminal justice system, they are often assessed thousands of dollars in administrative fees. These fees are not intended to be punish; they are intended to underwrite costs for the courts and state and local government. For example, in San Francisco people were charged $50 monthly probation fees; up to $35 a day to rent an electronic ankle surveillance monitor, and other fees to pay for reports, collections costs, or tests. The fees add up to thousands of dollars and hit people right at the moment they are trying to get back on their feet. They strip resources and wealth from low-income people, trap families in cycles of poverty, create barriers to reentry, increase the likelihood of recidivism, and are counterproductive and anemic sources of government revenue.
In July of 2018, San Francisco became the first county in the nation to eliminate all of the local administrative fees charged to people exiting the criminal justice system and eliminated more than $32.7 million in debt stemming from these fees. Counties across the state are advancing similar reforms, and momentum is growing for change. Join this panel to learn more about a statewide coalition that is forming to eliminate these fees, and how you can help be part of the solution
Speakers
 | Anne Stuhldreher, Director of Financial Justice, Office of the Treasurer for the City and County of San Francisco. Throughout her career, Ms. Stuhldreher has advanced innovations in local economic empowerment, civic engagement and public interest journalism. Ms. Stuhldreher has a distinguished track record of working with public officials to create public private partnerships that financially empower lower income residents. In San Francisco, she brought people together to initiate and launch initiatives like: Bank on San Francisco (that spurs banks to create starter accounts for the estimated one in five Americans who don’t have them); the Working Families Credit, and Kindergarten to College. As a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, she helped start the WE Connect Campaign and Bank on California. The “Bank on” strategy that Ms. Stuhldreher conceived is being replicated in dozens of cities. She also served as a Senior Program Manager for the California Endowment, a statewide health justice philanthropic foundation. |
 | Dauras Cyprian, Senior Organizer, All of Us or None Dauras Cyprian is a proud member and the Senior Organizer for AOUON. He spent 26 years inside the system, and is currently in his senior year towards a B.A. in Social Science from San Francisco State University. Before joining LSPC / AOUON, Dauras worked with the Restorative Justice for American Friends Services Committee. Behind the wall he trained as an Alcohol and Drug Use Disorder Counselor, and has also worked as a Peer Counselor and a Literacy Tutor. He co-authored Gang Awareness Recovery for Turning Point. On a quest to raise awareness of Mass Incarceration, Dauras believes that justice should be the main concern of the criminal justice system: laws should protect society and not penalize poverty, mental illness, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. |
 | Stephanie Campos Bui, Clinical Supervising Attorney, Policy Advocacy Clinic at Berkeley Law. Stephanie is a supervising attorney in the Policy Advocacy Clinic at Berkeley Law. In the Clinic, she supervises interdisciplinary teams of law and public policy students in pursuit of non-litigation strategies to address systemic racial, economic, and social injustice. Stephanie currently leads the Clinic’s national efforts to eliminate debt imposed on youth and families in the juvenile justice system. Previously, she worked as a fellow at the East Bay Community Law Center in its Education, Defense, and Justice for Youth Practice. Stephanie graduated from Berkeley Law in 2014 and is a member of the California bar. |