The Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls Coalition Urges the Legislature to MakePrison Phone and Jail Phone Calls Free, Fully Funded, and Guaranteed in the MA FY23 Budget

The Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls Coalition Urges the Legislature to MakePrison Phone and Jail Phone Calls Free, Fully Funded, and Guaranteed in the MA FY23 Budget

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Boston – June 2, 2022 – After years of organizing, language ensuring free phone calls for people incarcerated in Massachusetts jails and prisons has passed in the House and Senate budgets for the first time. The Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls Coalition deeply thanks Sen. Creem, Rep. Tyler, and all the legislators and legislative staffers who have worked so diligently to move the policy this far. But we know there is more work to do. 

Going into the Conference Committee, affected families want legislators to know that the strongest No Cost Calls policy requires calls to be free, fully funded, and guaranteed. 

“We have worked around the country to make prison and jail communication free from California to Connecticut. Through this work, we have learned that a minimum guarantee of call time is critical to the successful implementation of such policies. Without such guarantee, the Legislature risks undermining its sincere intention to increase communication access for families and their incarcerated loved ones. Families need more than the Legislature’s intention, they need its protection,” said Bianca Tylek, executive director at Worth Rises. 

Right now, Massachusetts jails and prisons don’t restrict how many minutes incarcerated people can talk to their loved ones on the phone each day. Calls are limited by what families can afford, and many families go into debt to stay connected. The Legislature must ensure that this current level of contact does not decrease once calls are free. This is a best practice in jurisdictions where the policy is already in place. For example, there are no limits on minutes in San Francisco, and no problems have been reported. And as Senator Creem mentioned in her floor speech before the Senate adopted her budget amendment, the whole state of Connecticut guarantees minimum minutes to incarcerated people. Certain sheriffs have already confirmed that they will impose new restrictions on phone time in response to this policy change unless the Legislature guarantees access. We urge the Conference Committee to maintain the continuity of unlimited calls by barring any new caps on calls and to guarantee 120 minutes available to each person, each day. 

“It may take more than one 20-minute call to get a full update on your mother’s hospital stay and talk with your siblings about palliative care options, or to help your 10-year-old with her science homework, or to discuss the strategy on a complex motion for bail with your lawyer. And on some days, you might need to be able to do all three. Allowing the sheriffs and DOC to place new limits on calls will undermine the purpose behind this policy: keeping families connected. It’s essential that as the Legislature removes the financial burden of these expensive calls, each person is guaranteed access to 120 minutes of calls per day, and the number of calls each person can make remains unrestricted, as it is right now,” said Katy Naples-Mitchell, staff attorney at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice. 

Our families and friends – some of the Commonwealth’s most economically burdened taxpayers and residents – need this relief this year. We strongly support the House language creating a $20M Trust Fund dedicated to communication services, which sheriffs and the DOC can access for reimbursement only after submitting proof of their quarterly spending on communication services. That Trust Fund should be in the final FY23 budget, to take effect this year. 

“Incarcerated people and their loved ones are most vulnerable at the point of transitioning, from freedom to incarceration and beyond. Having telephone access to our families, loved ones, and children is an essential component to preserving family stability as well as overcoming the mental challenge of adjusting to being recently separated from each other,” said Leslie Credle, founder and executive director of Justice 4 Housing, Inc. 

Last week certain sheriffs misrepresented their budgets, claiming that $20M would not make up for their lost site commissions from phone calls. The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association’s own data shows that the sheriffs receive $3.4M annually from site commissions, and sheriffs previously agreed that $10M would cover free calls. An analysis by Coalition member Worth Rises estimated an even lower amount to be the annual cost to the state: $8.2M. The sheriffs and the Department of Correction already receive a combined $1.3 BILLION annually, and their budgets increase every year even as the incarcerated population continues to decline. The $20M Trust Fund, a revolving fund that will preserve any unspent resources for reimbursement in future years, will more than cover the annual cost of making communication services free for affected families. 

“We hope the Conference Committee will rise to protect the spirit of No Cost Calls: to truly keep our families connected, calls should be free, fully funded, and guaranteed. We can’t let phone access decrease as a result of passing this historic legislation to lift up some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable families,” said Bonnie Tenneriello, senior attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts. 

For more information, please contact Aaron Steinberg at asteinberg@plsma.org. 

The No-Cost Calls/Keeping Families Connected Coalition is a coalition of over 60 organizations that endorse this policy, including Black and Pink MA, the Massachusetts Bar Association, Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, GLAD, Justice 4 Housing, and Families for Justice as Healing. 

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MA Supreme Court: Sheriff Hodgson Can Keep Prisoners’ Phone Fees

MA Supreme Court: Sheriff Hodgson Can Keep Prisoners’ Phone Fees

WBSM
By Kate Robinson
May 17, 2022

The state’s highest court has affirmed today that Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is legally authorized to collect revenues for his office through phone service fees.

A May 2018 lawsuit taken by four people against Hodgson and county telephone contractor Securus Technologies had claimed that payments from the contractor to the sheriff’s office constituted “illegal kickbacks.”

Since the phone service contract was awarded in 2011, the plaintiffs alleged, phone fees at county facilities have doubled.

But in a decision from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court published Tuesday, the court stated that a state law from 2009 does in fact allow sheriffs to raise office revenues through inmate calling service contracts.

Litigation Director for Prisoners’ Legal Services James Pingeon stated that the court decision “makes it clear that the legislature needs to pass the current No Cost Call bill in order to prevent the sheriff from continuing to charge families exorbitant telephone commissions to fund the costs of running the jail.”

“Site commissions are essentially legalized bribery that for too long has facilitated the enrichment of major telecom corporations over the wellbeing of Massachusetts taxpayers,” he noted.

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SJC says sheriffs can charge commissions for prison phone calls

SJC says sheriffs can charge commissions for prison phone calls

Court leaves issue up to Legislature

Commonwealth Magazine
By Shira Schoenberg
May 17, 2022

MASSACHUSETTS SHERIFFS HAVE the legal authority to raise revenue from contracts for inmate phone calls, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday.

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, whose office was at the center of the lawsuit, called the decision “a win for taxpayers.” “In a decision released today by the SJC, the court has supported my efforts allowing my fellow sheriffs and I the authority to generate outside revenues rather than looking to our residents, who are already overburdened by rising costs and financial hurdles brought on by record inflation,” Hodgson said in a statement. “This decision is not only a victory for the taxpayers and citizens of Massachusetts, but also for sheriffs who continue to manage our corrections operations in a fiscally responsible manner.”

The case stemmed from policies implemented by Hodgson, who had for years collected hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in fees charged to inmates and their loved ones for telephone calls. Although the conservative Republican sheriff has been a lightning rod for criticism over a range of tough prison policies, the contract is not unique. Almost all the county jails in the state have at times charged high rates for phone calls, though the practice has recently become more limited. Hodgson’s office said the revenue pays for the phone technology and for prison programs.

A group of former inmates, an attorney’s office, and a family member of a former inmate, represented by Prisoners’ Legal Services, the National Consumer Law Center, and private attorneys sued over Hodgson’s contracts. They argued that a 2009 state law, which brought the county sheriffs under the control of state government, does not allow sheriffs to charge inflated fees and collect commissions from inmate phone calls.

Jim Pingeon, litigation director at Prisoners’ Legal Services, said the decision essentially throws the question back to the Legislature. “From our perspective, this decision makes it clear that the Legislature needs to take action to pass the bill that’s pending before it that would make telephone costs free to families,” Pingeon said.

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AG’s Office Issues Warning About Scams Targeting Friends and Family of Incarcerated People

AG’s Office Issues Warning About Scams Targeting Friends and Family of Incarcerated People

Partnering With Massachusetts Department of Correction, Prisoners’ Legal Services, and Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association in Providing Tips on How to Protect Against Fraud

Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
May 2, 2022

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS), and the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) to advise residents with incarcerated loved ones to be wary of scams that offer to make or improve connections between those in correctional facilities and their friends and families for a fee.

These scams target the families and friends of people who are currently in jails, Houses of Correction, and state prisons, offering deceptive or fake services that are often advertised online, over social media, and in print media. In some cases, scammers purportedly offer supplemental calling plans, including false promises of “unlimited minutes,” to connect with incarcerated people. However, Massachusetts does not currently offer unlimited calling plans in any jail, House of Correction, or prison. Ultimately, these scams fail to provide promised services, even after taking hundreds of dollars from consumers. 

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Letter to the Editor – December 29

Letter to the Editor – December 29

The Somerville Times
December 29, 2021
Aaron Steinberg

To the Editor:

Every day, incarcerated people and their loved ones shoulder exorbitant costs to call each other because for-profit companies charge about four times the actual cost of phone service. As a result, one in three families with a loved one in prison will go into debt to maintain regular contact with incarcerated relatives. The financial burden of these calls is particularly onerous for low-income people.

With in-person visits suspended at many prisons due to COVID-19, telephone and video calls have become a lifeline for incarcerated people. For incarcerated people, financial barriers to communicating with loved ones are punitive – not rehabilitative – as many studies show that sustained outside contact promotes successful reentry and helps prevent recidivism. We must move away from a carceral system that disproportionately punishes marginalized communities. Right now, we are at a critical juncture for meaningful reform.

Currently, legislators and a coalition of advocacy organizations are fighting to make phone calls free for incarcerated people in Massachusetts. Senator Cynthia Creem and Representative Chynah Tyler have introduced bills S. 1559 and H. 1900, which would provide telephone calls at no cost to incarcerated people in all state prisons, county jails, and houses of correction. Already, cities and states, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Connecticut, have passed similar laws, and now it is time for us to do the same in Massachusetts.

You can help Massachusetts families stay connected by contacting your local representative and voicing your support. Please contact our Somerville representative, Christine P. Barber, at (617) 722-2220 or Christine.Barber@mahouse.gov. Contacting her is a simple gift that could help so many incarcerated people and their loved ones.

Aaron Steinberg
Somerville, MA

For relatives of the incarcerated, holidays are marked by grief and loss

For relatives of the incarcerated, holidays are marked by grief and loss

The Boston Globe
December 23, 2021
By Julia Carlin

Shanita Jefferson filled a Christmas package with 75 family photographs, some handwritten letters, and a drawing from her daughter. She sent it to her mother at MCI-Framingham Correctional Facility.

Jefferson, of Weymouth, said she hates knowing that her mother, who has been in prison for 31 years, will receive only photocopies of the letters — and pictures void of her smell and the lasting imprint of her touch.

On Jefferson’s third birthday, her mother was convicted and sentenced to life without parole. On every holiday since, Jefferson recognizes the time that has elapsed. Her “soul aches” as she hears her mother’s voice age through the phone.

The grief that Jefferson feels over the holidays is shared by thousands of families across the state with incarcerated relatives, who grapple with the acknowledgment of their loved ones’ mistakes and wrongdoings but nonetheless long to be with them.

Many families said it’s particularly hard for their children and grandchildren to understand why their family can’t be together. Jefferson has an 8-year-old daughter of her own.

“It’s a really hard time for folks who are incarcerated and their families,” said Elizabeth Matos, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, which works to protect the civil rights of prisoners. They experience a heightened level of isolation during the holidays, she said, which can break people down and “disconnect people from the support systems they need to survive.”

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Can sheriffs collect lucrative commissions from inmate phone calls?

Can sheriffs collect lucrative commissions from inmate phone calls?

Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments in case seeking to limit fees

Commonwealth Magazine
October 27, 2021
By Shira Schoenberg

FOR YEARS, Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson’s office collected hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in telephone fees paid by family members, attorneys, and others who received calls from county jail inmates. 

Similar structures are set up across the state’s county jail system, and advocates for prisoners have long been trying to get the Legislature to curb the at times exorbitant fees charged by jails for inmate phone calls. They say the fees exploit low-income families and make it difficult – and costly – for inmates to maintain ties that help them during their incarceration and make it easier for them to reintegrate into society once they are released. 

On Monday, the Supreme Judicial Court will hear a case involving Hodgson’s office, which could limit county sheriffs’ ability to profit from telephone calls from jail by eliminating their authority to collect commissions from telephone companies handling inmate calls. 

Bonnie Tenneriello, an attorney for Prisoners’ Legal Services, which is representing plaintiffs who are challenging the fees, argues that the way contracts are set up incentivizes sheriffs to choose a bid that benefits their office, rather than the inmates. “These kickbacks provide perverse incentive for counties to not get the lowest rate but get the best commission,” she said. 

The facts of the case are straightforward. In 2011, Hodgson entered a contract with Securus, a private telecommunications service, to provide phone service in the Bristol House of Correction. Under that agreement, Securus would pay the sheriff’s office 48 percent of gross revenues from all calls that were made, plus annual payments of $205,000 for administrators and technology. Hodgson received more than $1 million in commissions between August 2011 and June 2013. The money was collected from recipients of calls from inmates. (When an inmate calls someone, it is the person who accepts the call, not the inmate, who pays.) 

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Thursday hearing will tackle Massachusetts bill that would provide free phone calls from prisons and jails

Thursday hearing will tackle Massachusetts bill that would provide free phone calls from prisons and jails

The Berkshire Eagle
October 21, 2021
By Danny Jin

Working for $5 per week while behind bars, Jasmin Borges could afford just one 20-minute phone call with her daughters each week.

“When I came home 12 years later, nothing could prepare me for the cold, dark truth that I didn’t know my daughters,” Borges said at an Oct. 4 legislative hearing. “I had to learn my daughters. I had to learn their personalities, their likes and dislikes.”

Borges, now an organizer for the Massachusetts Bail Fund, was one of more than 25 speakers at the hearing who advocated for a bill that would make phone calls free for people incarcerated in Massachusetts. A similar bill was on the slate for a Thursday hearing by the Legislature’s committee on public safety and homeland security. The new hearing begins at 10 a.m. and can be accessed at malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/3990.

“If the state and counties believe in rehabilitation, they must pay for the treatment and programs in prison, not extract that money from prison families who cannot afford it and have to ration their calls because [costs are] so inflated,” Bonnie Tenneriello, a staff attorney for Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, said at the Oct. 4 hearing.

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Sheriffs Agree To Shave Costs Of Phone Calls For Inmates

SHERIFFS AGREE TO SHAVE COSTS OF PHONE CALLS FOR INMATES

June 22, 2021
WBUR News
By Colin A Young

Every sheriff’s department in Massachusetts has agreed to provide people incarcerated at county jails and houses of correction with at least 10 minutes of free phone calls each week and to reduce the cost of subsequent calls, the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association announced.

Currently, each county sheriff’s department can set its own cost for inmate telephone calls. The money raised is put towards educational programs, vocational skills training and other services designed to prepare inmates for re-entry into society. While the state Department of Correction charges 10 or 11 cents per minute for phone calls, some sheriffs have charged more than 40 cents per minute for calls, according to Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts.

In addition to making the first 10 minutes of phone calls each week free for inmates, the state’s 14 sheriffs also agreed to charge no more than 14 cents a minute after the initial 10 minutes expires.

“My fellow Sheriffs and I know that contact with friends and loved ones is an essential component for preparing justice-involved individuals for successful reentry into society,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association. “This unanimous decision by the fourteen Sheriffs is reflective of our commitment to those in our care and custody. As the nature of corrections continues to evolve in the Commonwealth, we are proud to re-affirm our commitment to maintaining and strengthening familial bonds.”

The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association said the new policy will go into effect no later than Aug. 1.

Last week, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed a law making telephone calls free for inmates and their families. Prisoners’ Legal Services backs a bill (S 1559/H 1900) filed here by Sen. Cynthia Creem and Rep. Chynah Tyler to provide telephone calls for no cost to incarcerated people at all state prisons and county jails and houses of correction.

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Massachusetts sheriffs agree to provide inmates with 10 minutes of free phone calls each week, cap on charges above 10 minutes

MASSACHUSETTS SHERIFFS AGREE TO PROVIDE INMATES WITH 10 MINUTES OF FREE PHONE CALLS EACH WEEK, CAP ON CHARGES ABOVE 10 MINUTES

June 22, 2021
MassLive
By Colin A Young

Every sheriff’s department in Massachusetts has agreed to provide people incarcerated at county jails and houses of correction with at least 10 minutes of free phone calls each week and to reduce the cost of subsequent calls, the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association announced.

Currently, each county sheriff’s department can set its own cost for inmate telephone calls. The money raised is put towards educational programs, vocational skills training and other services designed to prepare inmates for re-entry into society.

While the state Department of Correction charges 10 or 11 cents per minute for phone calls, some sheriffs have charged more than 40 cents per minute for calls, according to Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts.

In addition to making the first 10 minutes of phone calls each week free for inmates, the state’s 14 sheriffs also agreed to charge no more than 14 cents a minute after the initial 10 minutes expires.

“My fellow Sheriffs and I know that contact with friends and loved ones is an essential component for preparing justice-involved individuals for successful reentry into society,” said Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, who serves as president of the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association. “This unanimous decision by the 14 Sheriffs is reflective of our commitment to those in our care and custody. As the nature of corrections continues to evolve in the commonwealth, we are proud to re-affirm our commitment to maintaining and strengthening familial bonds.”

The Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association said the new policy will go into effect no later than Aug. 1.

Continue reading…