As Michael Bass sat, watching TV in the lobby of the Country Hearth Inn where he works at the front desk, he recalled the series of events that led to his incarceration, left an uneducated man buried in debt and eventually caused the breakup of his marriage and the loss of his children.

"I allowed my wife to sue me for child support because the welfare office wouldn't give her benefits if she didn't," he said. "When I got out of jail I was $3,000 in debt."

Bass' story is not unique. Most prisoners upon release from jail or prison carry a substantial amount of debt from the various fees, fines, restitution and child support they are ordered by the courts to pay. A study on prisoner debt conducted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a component of the Department of Justice, and the Justice Center reported that most people who are incarcerated have children under 18.