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Are you owed restitution? The county might have money for you

The department looks to collect court costs, attorney fees and restitution.
Credit: Kalea Hall/The Enquirer
At left, Kathy Winnie, court collections officer in the judicial enforcement division at Calhoun County Court, works with Court Collections Officer Melissa Harris. The two work to collect court-ordered fees including restitution.

Inside the Calhoun County Justice Center are three Circuit Court collections officers who work in the Judicial Enforcement Unit.

Here, they are cracking down on enforcing court orders that require payments.

The department has been in place for more than a decade and in that time it has evolved.

Initially, the department just collected for the family division — specifically for juvenile probation.

"Now, we are trying to hit all Circuit Court case types," said Kristen Getting, Circuit-Probate Court Administrator/Friend of the Court. "The court speaks through its orders and it's very important for the court to enforce its orders. Even though it is a financial piece of an order it is just as much a court order. It's important that the court have an arm for enforcement."

About a year ago, a third corrections officer was added to expand on what was being collected for domestic and felony cases.

The department looks to collect court costs, attorney fees and restitution.

A recent investigation by Gannett Michigan showed the difficulty of collecting and tracking restitution payments ordered by the state's courts.

Calhoun County Circuit Court was unable to provide how much is owed to the court in restitution because of a conversion in the case management systems, but several officials said the work being done in the department is helping improve collection of restitution and other court-ordered debts.

"We are trying to make not only strides in the amount we collect, but also to clean up our records," Getting said.

Progress had been made.

For felony collections, the department exceeded its goal by about 40%.

In the Circuit Court Clerk's office, where the money is taken and distributed, the progress has been noticed.

"The more aggressive and more successful the collection department is, the more revenue we see," said Teri Jones, chief deputy of Circuit/Family Court. "They have become very aggressive and very successful in collecting older fines and costs and as well new ones."

At the end of each month, the money collected are dispersed, including restitution payments to the crime victims for whom the court has correct names and addresses.

"If we don’t have that information, we contact either the prosecutor's office or the probation office to get the victim’s names or addresses so they can be loaded into our system so we can cut checks and disperse those," said Bruce Huepenbecker, Circuit/Family Court fiscal officer.

While the number fluctuates, the court currently has 20-plus cases in which restitution payments have been made but not dispersed because correct addresses are needed. After two years, any such money is sent to the state's Crime Victims Rights unit.

"We strive to get everything out," Huepenbecker said. "Before collections, we probably never had that money."

To get payments, collections officers start by making contact with the debtor by phone and asking about making payments.

From there, the department works to set up a payment arrangement.

The department can seek a show cause hearing for a debtor to explain why he/she is not paying.

"We have made a lot of contact with people and we have cleaned up our records quite a bit," Getting said. " As much as it is as about the money, it is about people respecting court orders. Staying in contact is a big piece of that."

Getting said the department is always looking to work with debtors and make sure they have the ability to pay. Nobody can be put in jail for not being able to afford to pay.

The goal is to increase the responsiveness of those ordered to make payments.

"Once the community realizes that we are following up on this I think that we will naturally increase people’s responsiveness to the initial orders," Getting said.

Collections is a consistent topic of discussion among court administrators.

"It’s not that the knowledge base isn’t there, it’s more of having the resources to commit to it," Getting said.

The department has been running at its current capacity since before Getting became court administrator last year, but she has made some minimal changes. Under her, the department has looked at other ways to contact people, since mailing costs add up fast.

Social media and internet search capabilities available today have made it easier to track down people who owe debts to the court than it was 10 or 15 years ago.

"We can track people down in much more real time," Getting said. "I think that has made a big difference."

Continuing to stay in contact with the debtor has also helped with collections.

"It’s a balance of trying to figure out what’s worth it to pursue and do we have the resources to do it. Is there more efficient way to do it?" Getting said. "I think that has plagued every court system, because we don’t have the money to put into it."

Those who have been awarded restitution and haven't received it, should go to the Circuit Court Clerk's office with updated address information.

Contact Kalea Hall at (269) 966-0697 or khall@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bykaleahall.

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