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Cecilia Fenwick has been on home detention for nearly 90 days and the fees associated with her electronic monitoring services have put a strain on her wallet.

鈥淛uly the 1st, I was released from Baltimore County Detention Center and ever since I鈥檝e been paying my home detention, every piece, every few weeks,鈥� she said during a phone interview Wednesday.

Fenwick was referred to the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT) to help her pay up to $243 for her home monitoring service every few weeks.

Iman Freeman, the executive director of BALT, said the program Fenwick joined was launched after a public defender reached out to see if BALT would allocate some of their bail funds to help a client afford home detention at the beginning of the pandemic.

鈥淲e started with that client and then, eventually, it ballooned into something that we were not prepared for,鈥� Freeman said during a phone interview.

Since then, BALT has spent $197,243 on home detention with one of two electronic monitoring companies that service Baltimore.

Del. Stephanie Smith (D-Baltimore City) sponsored a during the 2021 session that requires the state to use federal pandemic relief funding to pay electronic monitoring and home detention fees for some defendants, including those who qualify to be represented by a public defender.

Smith鈥檚 bill will run through summer 2022 and took effect on July 1.

But, according to a letter sent from Freeman to Maryland District Court Chief Judge John P. Morrissey, the state had made no payments on behalf of eligible Marylanders as of Sept. 20.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any [lawmakers] were aware of the fact that people were being made to pay in the middle of the pandemic 鈥� and then, also, plot twist: the courts were closed, which means that people were on the box for much longer than I think anyone anticipated,鈥� Freeman said Wednesday afternoon.

Bradley Tanner, a spokesperson for the Maryland Judiciary, said that the Department of Budget and Management notified the Judiciary in July that $5 million was being allocated to its budget for this pretrial services program, which is expected to begin in October 鈥� three months after the bill went into effect.

According to Freeman鈥檚 letter, BALT currently owes Advantage Sentencing Alternative Programs (ASAP) $36,000 鈥渢hat should have been, by law, submitted and processed by the State over 2.5 months ago.鈥�

Freeman鈥檚 been warned that BALT clients won鈥檛 be accepted by the home monitoring service if they don鈥檛 pay up immediately.

ASAP projects that BALT will owe $74,385 by Oct. 1. Some of that figure includes clients鈥� 鈥減ast due鈥� bills, Freeman said.

A difficult implementation

Freeman said that, during a conversation with Smith and House Judiciary Chair Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) this week, both lawmakers made it clear that the state would not make retroactive payments despite the fact that the law took effect July 1.

Neither lawmaker could be reached for comment. Tanner confirmed that retroactive payments would not be made.

鈥淯nfortunately, such a reimbursement was not provided for in the bill,鈥� he wrote in an email.

Now, Fenwick said that ASAP has been 鈥渢hreatening鈥� to tell the judge presiding over her case she鈥檚 late on payments, which could send her back to jail. Her trial date is scheduled at the end of October.

鈥淚 got three small children,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a mother 鈥� I鈥檓 a single mother, at that 鈥� seeking help, trying to find programs.鈥�

And the home monitoring company has already begun to reject clients represented by BALT.

According to Freeman鈥檚 letter, ASAP refused to take on a juvenile client earlier this month because he said he would be covered by BALT.

During a Wednesday phone interview, Freeman said her organization rushed over to the ASAP office to 鈥済ive them cash鈥� for this client, and has done so for at least two other people.

But some aren鈥檛 so lucky: according to Freeman, there鈥檚 at least one person in jail because they couldn鈥檛 afford to pay for home detention, and another has been unable to get his monitor removed because he owes money to ASAP.

She also said these non-payment notices are new.

For the year-and-a-half聽that BALT has worked with ASAP, they鈥檝e never sent out non-payment notices and would even refer people to BALT if they began to fall behind on payments.

In some cases, BALT clients are facing financial hardship for cases that are never prosecuted.

According to an analysis done by Freeman鈥檚 team on Wednesday, of 181 people who received financial home monitoring assistance from BALT, at least 14 have had their charges dismissed, 鈥渨hich means that all of this money that we spent was for not,鈥� she said.

Freeman said she never expected a 鈥渟eamless transition鈥� in implementing the new law. But she had hoped that state officials and lawmakers would take responsibility for its implementation 鈥� or lack thereof.

鈥淚f you know that it鈥檚 difficult and you know that there are people that are being harmed by it, 鈥� you should do your damnedest to make sure that they鈥檙e not, right?鈥� she said.