Maintaining Family Connections May Have Just Gotten Easier for Michigan Prisoners

In Safe & Just Michigan's (S&JM; www.safeandjustmi.org) Summer 2022 newsletter, their Policy Update section reported potential changes to the phone fees for Michigan's prisoners. 

Currently, phone fees are around $0.18 per minute; however, historically more than 2/3 of that rate has gone to the "special equipment fund" to pay for video cameras, tasers, and protective vests for corrections officers. Despite a legislative prohibition for "kickbacks" on prison phone rates, this fund has accounted for a large portion of the cost of phone calls for Michigan prisoners and their families. 

S&JM reports that the new state budget signed in July eliminates the special equipment fund. This elimination should result in a significant reduction in phone call prices. No announcement has been made yet telling us what the new rates will be, but the new fiscal budget begins October 1st, so we should expect an announcement soon. S&JM reports that the elimination of this special fund will save prisoners and their families over $11 million per year. 

Additionally, House Bill 6363, introduced by Rep. Tenisha Yancey (Harper Woods), would fully eliminate all fees for phone calls made from Michigan prisons. It's unclear how much bipartisan support she has for this bill, but it's refreshing to note that at least one representative recognizes the importance of family connections to reducing recidivism rates among prisoners. 

Yancey's bill also aims to guarantee that more phones are available for prisoner use and that prisoners would be guaranteed up to two hours of phone use per day. Currently, phone availability varies widely by facility and housing unit. The prisoners at some facilities have more money (or their families do), so the phones are always busy. Other facilities, or some housing units, the phones are often available for use. 

One major problem with phone use in some prisons, including where I am currently housed, is that gang members control who can use certain phones at certain times of the day. This practice, which goes unchecked by prison staff, makes phone usage tough for some prisoners. However, Michigan's policy, implemented just over a year ago, now requires prisoners to wait fifteen minutes in between their own 15-minute phone calls. This has freed up some phones that were once controlled for hours at a time by a single prisoner. Some prisoners have found work-arounds to this limitation, but it is still better than it used to be. 

I'm happy to see that phone calls will be cheaper in the short term, and perhaps free in the long term. Although I am in the last stretch of my prison sentence, I am a staunch advocate for supporting the maintenance of family and community connections. It's a no brainer for helping to reduce the likelihood that prisoners will return to prison after their release. 

For more information and insider tips about how to strengthen connections with an incarcerated loved one, please check out my book, Insider's Guide to Prison Life at Amazon.com.