It’s long past time for California to end civil assessments and court fees that heap debt on people on top of their punishment.
![Stephanie Jeffcoat, a community organizer for A New Way Of Life, an organization that assists in housing formerly incarcerated women, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on August 16, 2021. . "Every time I would go back [to jail] I'd be seperated from my kids," Jeffcoat said. "During one of my times that I was incarcerated my youngest child was adopted out." Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters](https://i0.wp.com/calmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/081621_StephanieJeffcoat_PU_04.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
It’s long past time for California to end civil assessments and court fees that heap debt on people on top of their punishment.
