Collection Improvement Program

Withdrawing Funds from Inmate Trust/Commissary
Accounts for Court Costs, Fees, Fines and Restitution

1. The offender has never had a Order to Withdraw Funds; or
2. The offender’s Order to Withdraw Funds predates the Harrell decision (June 5, 2009)¹ and TDCJ is no longer enforcing that withdrawal order.

• Examine each case for the type and length of sentence.
• Offenders convicted of a state jail felony who were sentenced more than two (2) years ago probably have exited the system.
• Offenders sentenced to prison who have served more than one-third (1/3) of their sentence (unless there is a deadly weapon finding or it is a sex crime) probably have exited the system.
• For each case in which the offender is likely to still be incarcerated, list the number of years sentenced to state jail or prison versus the probable release date.
• Look for the offender on FUGINET or the TDCJ’s database (http://offender.tdcj.state.tx.us/POSdb2/index.jsp) after identifying candidates who are likely to be in TDCJ.
• Prepare Order to Withdraw Funds in cases with shorter sentences first and then move to the cases with longer sentences.
• Finalize your Order to Withdraw Funds once you have determined the offender’s unit location and the TDCJ number.

• TDCJ will not accept mail before the offender is actually incarcerated.
• TDCJ requires certain information to be included in an Order to Withdraw Funds.
• Unacceptable Order to Withdraw Funds will be returned by TDCJ to the clerk with suggested wording for resubmission.
• The Order to Withdraw Funds must have a TDCJ Number or a SID Number. (A TDCJ Number is preferred however, if no TDCJ Number is available, the SID Number must be used.)
• Do not send copies of orders and judgments to TDCJ’s Office of the General Counsel.

• The clerk will receive one check representing withdrawals from multiple cases.
• An attachment to the check will list the names of the offenders, their cause numbers, their TDCJ numbers, and each amount that is included in the check that is allocated to each cause number.
• The check is likely to arrive about six weeks after the offender account Order to Withdraw Funds is sent to TDCJ.

• Send an email to Lynn.Clark@TDCJ.state.tx.us:
• Request a “Read Receipt” for the email so that you know when it has been read.
• In the subject line: “Stop Inmate Trust Account Withdrawal: Paid in Full”.
• In the body of the email: “The amount owed by offender (insert offender’s full name), TDCJ Number (insert TDCJ Number) and cause number(s) (insert cause number(s)) has been paid in full. Please stop withdrawals from the offender’s Inmate Trust Account for this cause number(s).”
• Include: Your name, title, address, and telephone number at the bottom of the email.
• Ms. Clark will call you or respond by email only when there is a problem.

1. How much will be withdrawn from an offender’s Inmate Trust Account?
2. Once the Order to Withdraw Funds is processed into the TDCJ computer system, there will be an “initial amount” withdrawn from the offender’s Inmate Trust Account and an amount withdrawn every time there is a deposit, if any, to the account. Beginning June 1, 2010, the initial standard withdrawal amount is:
   1. 15% of the account balance up to and including $100, plus
   2. 25% of any portion of the account balance that is between $100.01 and $500 inclusive, plus
   3. 50% of any portion of the account balance that is more than $500.
         For example: If the Inmate Trust Account balance is $800.00, the initial withdrawal would be $265.00.
      

      15% of the first $100 =	$15.00
      25% of the next $400 =	$100.00
      50% of the next $300 =	$150.00
      Total	$265.00

      
      
   The standard withdrawal amount for subsequent deposits is 10% of the deposit.
   
   Note: TDCJ uses an antiquated computer system for this process and currently does not have the programming resources to change the withdrawal percentage.
2. If offender is convicted in multiple cases and there are, as a result, separate judgments, is a separate withdrawal order required for each case?
3. It is suggested that only one Order to Withdraw Funds which combines the court costs, fees, fines and restitution owed on the multiple separate cases, be issued. (See Sample Withdrawal Order Form 3. at www.txcourts.gov/oca/collections/woform for sample Inmate Trust Account Order to Withdraw Funds form.) [Note: Generally, the cause number for the case with the longest sentence should be used. This cause number will be placed at the top of the Order to Withdraw Funds form. TDCJ will enter this cause number and add an “X” at the end of the cause number to help identify that this cause number is for multiple cases. When the clerk receives a check with that cause number, the clerk will decide how to allocate the amount received to the appropriate case(s) and the item (for example, court costs) within the case(s).]
3. Where does TDCJ send the checks?
4. The check will be sent to the requestor. Information as to where a check should be sent is usually part of the standard Inmate Trust Account Order to Withdraw Funds, as exemplified by the following excerpt from a McLennan County order:
   
   
   On receipt of a copy of this Order, the department (Inmate Trust Account) shall withdraw money from the offender’s Inmate Trust Account, hold the same in a separate account, and shall forward said money to the McLennan County District Clerk, P.O. Box 2451, Waco, Texas 76701 . . .
4. Does the clerk need to send a copy of the original judgment with a new Order to Withdraw Funds when an offender is sent back to prison after his/her parole has been revoked?
5. Yes, TDCJ requires a new Order to Withdraw Funds with the amount of the outstanding balance on the order, along with a certified copy of the original judgment. The outstanding balance will reflect any court costs, fees, fines and restitution payments made while the offender was out of the TDCJ facility. A copy of the original judgment, new Order to Withdraw Funds, and bill of costs showing the original amount owed and credits received must also be sent to the offender. (Note: When an offender is released (paroled) from a TDCJ facility, the withdrawal of funds ceases and is not restarted until the proper documentation are sent to the offender and TDCJ.)
5. Why did I receive one more payment when I sent an email to stop withdrawals?
6. When TDCJ receives a deposit for an offender’s Inmate Trust Account that has a withdrawal order(s), 10% is deducted for each order and placed in an escrow account with the remainder of the deposit credited to the offender’s Inmate Trust Account. Once a month checks are issued to the clerks from the escrow account and all escrow subaccount balances are zeroed out. If the stop withdrawal email is processed after funds have been deposited in the escrow account, the amount in the escrow account will be included in that month’s payment.
   
   Note: The excess amount must be returned to TDCJ. TDCJ will credit the offender’s Inmate Trust Account.
6. Why did I receive a withdrawal from an offender for less than $1.00?
7. TDCJ has limited computer programming resources. It would be relatively simple to program the computer to exclude an offender on the clerk's monthly check when the withdrawal amount is below a certain threshold amount. However, the amount remaining in the escrow account would have to be included on a monthly check when an offender is released from a TDCJ facility. Including this process in the normal offender release process and marking the offender's record/amount so it would be included in the next monthly check even though the withdrawal amount may be less than the threshold amount, would take significant programming time.
7. Is there a list of offenders who had Inmate Trust Account withdrawal orders prior to the June 5, 2009 Harrell decision that are no longer valid? (A copy of the new Order to Withdraw Funds and the original judgment must be submitted to TDCJ for these offenders.)
8. Yes, TDCJ has provided an Excel spreadsheet file to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) that includes: TDCJ Number, Offender’s Name, Cause Number, Court Code and Case Date. The file contains 14,175 cases with 10,691 different inmates (an inmate may have more than one case). Please note that TDCJ has determined that this information must not be made generally available to the public. Accordingly, while OCA is making this information available to you, you must not make this information available to the public.
   1. Please review TDCJ’s Court Codes Spreadsheet for your courts’ codes. If you do not find your courts’ codes on the spreadsheet, you do not have any TDCJ withdrawal orders issued prior to the Harrell decision (i.e., June 5, 2009).
   2. To obtain the spreadsheet that contains the TDCJ Number, Offender’s Name, Cause Number, Court Code and Case Date, send an email that includes your name, title, office location, phone number and your official email address to berny.schiff@txcourts.gov.
   3. Notify the offender even if this was done prior to the Harrell decision. (See Step Three for instructions.)
   4. A copy of the new Order to Withdraw Funds with the amount of the outstanding balance noted, and a certified copy of the original judgment must be sent to the TDCJ Inmate Trust Fund.

Updated: 14-May-2013