Los Angeles County has paid private lawyers nearly $13,000 to pursue $1,004 in debt owed by a Compton woman for time her 16-year-old granddaughter was held in a juvenile probation camp.
The disclosure that the county already had spent nearly 13 times the actual debt owed came at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting as Zev Yaroslavsky grilled county counsel about the billing of Sally Stokes.
Her case is scheduled to be considered by a judge in Eastlake Juvenile Court.
Stokes, the legal guardian for her granddaughter, had appealed the county’s order that she pay $25 a month toward the debt. She argued that because she lived on Social Security payments of $1,650 a month, she could not afford the monthly payments. State law allows counties to bill parents and guardians of minors held in juvenile probation camps and halls for each day the child spends in the system, but it prohibits the billing of those too poor to pay.
In Stokes’ case, county probation officials apparently improperly counted toward her income the foster care payments she received for looking after three other grandchildren.
Full Article and Source:
[UPDATED] County spent nearly $13,000 pursuing grandmother's $1,004 debt
The disclosure that the county already had spent nearly 13 times the actual debt owed came at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting as Zev Yaroslavsky grilled county counsel about the billing of Sally Stokes.
Her case is scheduled to be considered by a judge in Eastlake Juvenile Court.
Stokes, the legal guardian for her granddaughter, had appealed the county’s order that she pay $25 a month toward the debt. She argued that because she lived on Social Security payments of $1,650 a month, she could not afford the monthly payments. State law allows counties to bill parents and guardians of minors held in juvenile probation camps and halls for each day the child spends in the system, but it prohibits the billing of those too poor to pay.
In Stokes’ case, county probation officials apparently improperly counted toward her income the foster care payments she received for looking after three other grandchildren.
Full Article and Source:
[UPDATED] County spent nearly $13,000 pursuing grandmother's $1,004 debt
Absolutely ridiculous and a prime example of nobody watching what's going on.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same thing that happens with most guardianships. The guardian bills for unnecessary work and the judges just rubber stamp the fees.
Some judges are robots with the guardians and lawyers at the controls.
ReplyDeleteI hope those who are giving the grief, get it back in the end.
KARMA
This is outrageous and an example of elder abuse by the county.
ReplyDeleteI guess we shouldn't be shocked, but still I am.
ReplyDeleteIt's as if these people don't have a functioning brain. A child would know better than to spend $13K on $1K debt.
No wonder CA is so deep in debt!