According to advocacy organization Worth Rises, about $12 MILLION a year is spent by families trying to connect with their incarcerated loved ones. That means massive costs for the average family – and massive impacts.
Just one 60-minute phone call can cost almost $20. For low-income people like Diane Lewis, dialing loved ones regularly meant neglecting other bills in the house. And while families struggle, states can make a 68% commission off of those millions!
But the calls are about more than money – they’re critical for children to bond with their parents.
Incarcerated parental separation is traumatic for children and is linked to depression, anxiety, and developmental issues. Over 40% of incarcerated parents lived with their children pre-incarceration, and 1 in 4 Black American children have had an incarcerated parent. Regular phone calls can have a huge impact.
For jails, phone calls are also crucial to organizing a case defense to avoid prison. And researchers found that more prison phone calls are correlated with lower recidivism rates, less drug use, and higher employment rates after release.
Connecticut just made history as the first state to make phone calls free for incarcerated people. In the midst of this cruel and inhumane criminal legal system, families now have the opportunity to stay connected. We can’t take care of each other if we can’t even talk!