Initial Findings and Recommendations
Our first year was about identifying and understanding community pain points, generating buy in from key players, advancing doable solutions, and getting initial traction on reforms. We also worked to raise awareness of the problem and potential solutions. We formed and chaired a countywide San Francisco Fines and Fees Task Force with participation from the courts, key city and county departments, legal service providers, and community groups. When reviewing fines and fees, our goals were to hold people accountable, while ensuring that consequences are proportionate to the offense and do not disproportionately impact low-income San Franciscans. In May of 2017, we released a report outlining our initial findings and recommended reforms in several policy areas, including transportation fines and fees, quality of life citations that are often issued to people struggling with homelessness, and child support debt owed to the government.