Financial Justice
Fighting the criminalization of poverty.
Financial Justice program: A model for collaboration and innovation
Misdemeanor cases overload the legal system, causing a backlog of unpaid court debts and diverting resources from public safety. Low income individuals have a higher likelihood to experience poverty and economic injustice preventing them from fully participating in their communities. Small cases can quickly lead to hefty financial burdens, risking incarceration or license suspension, hindering employment and housing prospects, and perpetuating poverty.
Financial Health Pathways, partnering with Experian, educates Class C misdemeanor offenders on financial principles and the long term consequences of entering the criminal justice system. Participants can have their cases dismissed and fines waived once completing the program.
This successful initiative has been adopted by organizations like the Wilco RISE program, Wilco Juvenile Services, and the Travis County Project Engage, providing a transformative solutions for those with traffic violation fines. In 2024, the financial Justice program succesfully expanded to the Dallas County area.
“Access to financial education is a necessary tool to address socio- economic inequities in our community and FHP provides that education to our most marginalized populations. By supporting those most impacted by predatory financial practices, we foster economic independence, break the cycle of poverty, and pave the way for a more equitable and justice society”
Honorable Denise Hernández
Travis County Court at Law No 6
OUR IMPACT
2,566
Cases dismissed
$700,000
In fines & fees waived
3
Participating Counties
Successful Dallas expansion
In 2023, Financial Health Pathways successfully expanded the Financial Justice program into the Dallas County area and solidified partnerships with Judge Valencia Nash, Judge Thomas Jones, Judge Sasha Moreno and Judge Michael Jones.
Creating awareness
Court fines and fees greatly contribute to poverty and financial instability and FHP is committed to raise awareness against systemic barriers. In 2023, we presented our Financial Justice program at the Raise Texas summit at the Federal Reserve Dallas and became Faculty members for the Texas Justice Court Training Center where we will be providing professional development trainings to over 800 judges across the state of Texas.
