Annual Reports
No Exit Report
We published our most recent report, No Exit: how Maryland’s Debt Collection Practices Deepen Poverty & Widen the Racial Wealth Gap, in 2018.
For too many low-income Marylanders, the debt burden becomes unmanageable and they fall behind on their payments. Maryland law provides numerous ways for creditors to collect from indebted individuals including body attachments and garnishments. To collect State-owed debt, Maryland uses fines, fees, and flags on vehicle registration to compel consumers to pay. Yet, there are few measures within Maryland to provide methods for an individual to repay a debt in an affordable, sustainable manner that doesn’t exacerbate an already fragile financial situation. Payment plans, assistance programs, and legal counsel are rare, and ability to repay considerations are non-existent.
Using a mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis, the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition’s (MCRC) findings reveal the disparate impact of debt and debt collection on communities-of-color for both consumer and civic debt.
Making the Grade Report
Making the Grade, published in 2011, was the first state-level report on the impact for-profit schools have on students. We are conducting ongoing research on issues affecting students, including housing and food insecurity on campuses, and issues with student loan servicing.
Now, more than ever before, higher education is a necessary ladder for students looking to pull themselves into family-sustaining employment and financial security. Unfortunately, the ballooning cost of quality education has placed a massive $1.5 trillion debt load on the shoulders of American students. Predatory for-profit colleges and private career schools prey on vulnerable students and push them deeper into poverty by enrolling them in high-debt, low-return programs.
Making the Grade illuminates the enormous impact predatory for-profit colleges and private career schools have on low-income communities and communities-of-color in our state.