Intervention Fee Procedure

PURPOSE: This rule establishes a process by which a monthly intervention fee is collected from offenders under probation, parole, or conditional release supervision of the Board of Probation and Parole. (1) The following procedures apply to the collection of an offender intervention fee. (A) Except as provided in subsections (1)(E), (F), (G), and (H), all offenders placed under probation, parole, or conditional release supervision of the Board of Probation and Parole are required to pay an intervention fee in the amount set by the department not to exceed sixty dollars ($60) per month. (B) Offenders shall be notified of the intervention fee in the following ways: 1. Offenders assigned to supervision on or after April 30, 2006, shall sign the revised Order of Probation/Parole which includes the standard condition requiring payment of the intervention fee; or 2. Offenders under supervision before April 30, 2006, should be issued a directive pursuant to Written Directive Condition #8, requiring payment of the intervention fee. (C) Fees will be collected as follows: 1. Offenders shall be provided instructions on payment methods and procedures. Staff shall not accept money in any form from an offender; 2. The intervention fee shall be due on the first day of the first full month following placement under board supervision on probation, parole, or conditional release. Initial Parole or Conditional Releases are exempt for the first ninety (90) days. The fee shall be due thereafter on the first working day of each month until supervision is terminated; 3. Payments shall be deemed delinquent after the fifteenth day of the month, including the final month of supervision; 4. Payment vouchers, and payment instructions will be provided to the offender; and 5. Payment instructions to the offender will indicate the following: A. Payments must be submitted directly to the designated collection authority. Probation and parole staff will not accept payments; B. Only money orders, cashier’s checks, or payment via an approved electronic payment service will be accepted. Personal checks and cash will not be accepted; and C. The completed payment voucher shall accompany the payment. (D) Should an offender be declared an absconder, intervention fees will continue to accrue until such time as the case is closed. If the case is active on or after the first day of the month in which the case is suspended and closed, the fee will be assessed for that month. (E) Offenders will be exempt from paying intervention fees under the following circumstances: 1. Offenders released to parole or conditional release are exempt for the first ninety (90) days. At the ninety- (90-) day mark, the case will be reviewed. Should the offender not meet the criteria for a waiver, intervention fees will be assessed beginning with the first day of the month following the determination that an exemption or waiver is no longer approved. If the offender has a dual case, then exemptions still apply and monthly intervention fees do not accrue for ninety (90) days following release. 2. Specialty courts designated by the department, to include deferred prosecution cases are exempted from paying the intervention fee. (F) If the case is an interstate transfer, once the offender departs Missouri and is accepted by the receiving state collection of intervention fees will be terminated. (G) If an offender on probation, parole, or conditional release is subsequently confined in a jail or correctional facility for ninety (90) days or longer, the fee is suspended effective the thirty-first day of confinement. Fees shall resume on the first day of the month following release. (H) If an offender is unable to pay because of having insufficient income, fees may be waived in whole or in part. In these cases, the following steps shall be taken: 1. Offenders, whose total verified income is at or below the insufficient income criteria, may be considered for a waiver. Unemployed offenders capable of being gainfully employed are not eligible for a waiver. An offender’s income is considered insufficient if it is at or below the most recent Federal Poverty Guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Income from all family members in the household is used to calculate whether the waiver is appropriate. If a person lives with his or her family, the combined income of all family members will be used (non-relatives, such as housemates, do not count). For a waiver to be considered, the offender must provide appropriate records to document household income; 2. Once the officer verifies the offender meets one (1) of the waiver criteria above, the officer will complete the Request for Waiver of Intervention Fees and submit it to the district administrator for approval; 3. If approved, waivers are valid for a maximum of ninety (90) days. The district administrator shall make the waiver entry into the computer system. If the officer determines the waiver should be renewed beyond that point, a new Request for Waiver of Intervention Fees must be submitted for approval. However, at any point the officer determines that the offender is again capable of paying monthly intervention fees, supervisory approval is not necessary to rescind the waiver. (I) The following process for sanctions regarding nonpayment shall be applied: 1. The primary collection activity shall be the responsibility of Offender Financial Services; 2. Upon receiving notification from Offender Financial Services that an offender has failed to submit the intervention fee, the supervising officer will remind the offender of the payment obligation, during their next contact; 3. The supervising officer should direct the offender to specific programs or services that will assist him/her in addressing their inability to pay (i.e., financial management program, employment counseling and/or job seeking classes, substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, etc.); 4. When willful nonpayment occurs over a period of ninety (90) consecutive days, the supervising officer shall submit notice of citation or violation report; 5. Sanctions for willful nonpayment of intervention fees include, but are not limited to, the following: A. Written reprimand from district administrator or parole board; B. Travel restriction; C. Community service; D. Increased level of supervision; and E. Shock Detention; 6. Unpaid intervention fees owed by offenders committed to the Division of Adult Institutions (DAI) will be collected from the inmate’s account; 7. All intervention fees collected by the department will be deposited in the inmate fund established in section 217.430, RSMo, with expenditures occurring as authorized through the state budget appropriation process; and 8. Offender Financial Services will send eligible debt, at least annually, to the Department of Revenue for income tax interception. AUTHORITY: sections 217.040 and 217.755, RSMo 2000, and section 217.690, RSMo Supp. 2013.* Emergency rule filed Oct. 6, 2005, effective Nov. 1, 2005, expired April 29, 2006. Original rule filed Oct. 6, 2005, effective April 30, 2006. Amended: Filed Aug. 7, 2006, effective Feb. 28, 2007. Amended: Filed Aug. 1, 2008, effective Jan. 30, 2009. Amended: Filed Oct. 19, 2011, effective May 30, 2012. Amended: Filed Nov. 1, 2013, effective April 30, 2014. Amended: Filed Sept. 28, 2015, effective March 30, 2016. *Original authority: 217.040, RSMo 1982, amended 1989, 1993, 1995; 217.690, RSMo 1982, amended 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2002, 2005; and 217.755, RSMo 1982.