No Cost Calls
Full title: An Act to Keep Families Connected (S.1494) / An Act Relative to Telephone Service for Inmates (H.1796)
Lead Sponsors: Sen. Cindy Creem; Rep. Chynah Tyler
The Issue
Right now, families are charged exorbitant fees to maintain vital connections with incarcerated loved ones. The DOC charges 12 cents per minute, and most County Sheriffs charge 14 cents per minute: $2.40 and $2.80 for a 20-minute call, plus fees for putting money on an account. This is a regressive tax on the most marginalized families that also harms public safety by limiting communication and weakening community bonds. Families currently spend more than $14 million per year on service the State could get for around $3 million by negotiating a better contract.
Such fees also exacerbate racial inequities. While only 22% of the state’s population is Black or Latinx, more than 54% of the people imprisoned by the Department of Correction are. Black and Latinx children are, respectively, nine and three times more likely than white children to have a parent in prison. As communities already struggle with the high cost of housing and health care, no one should be forced to choose between basic needs and maintaining contact with loved ones.
Making it easier for people to stay in touch benefits us all: numerous studies have shown that regular, ongoing contact with loved ones promotes successful reentry. Free communication is a sensible, cost-effective, and humane investment.
The Solution
The Keep Families Connected/No Cost Calls bills would provide calls at no cost to all people incarcerated in state prisons and county jails and houses of correction and ensure that other forms of communication, such as video calls, are also provided at no cost, so that incarcerated people and their loved ones can sustain healthy communication.
Contact Your Legislators
Find your legislators’ contact information here.
4/20/2023 update: Ask your House Rep. to cosponsor budget amendment #1559 to guarantee access to free phone calls in the House budget! Click here to learn more and call or email your Rep.
Families across Massachusetts are charged exorbitant fees to maintain vital connections with incarcerated loved ones. This is a regressive tax on the most marginalized families, and the MA Legislature can end it. I urge you to support the Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls legislation (S.1494) / (H.1796) filed by Sen. Cindy Creem and Rep. Chynah Tyler).
As communities already struggle with the high cost of housing, health care, and transportation, no one should be forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries and maintaining contact with loved ones. Moreover, making it easier for people to stay in touch benefits us all by promoting public safety: numerous studies over 50 years have shown that regular, ongoing contact with loved ones promotes successful reentry after incarceration.
- The most important program to incarcerated people and their families is NO COST CALLS #mapoli #KeepCamiliesconnected check out nocostcallsma.org for more information!
- @YOURSENATOR @YOURREPRESENTATIVE Please co-sponsor H.1796 & S.1494 ! Families pay $14 MILLION in MA to talk to their loved ones behind bars; 1 in 4 women have an incarcerated loved one and struggle to pay phone bills. #mapoli Pass #NoCostCalls to #KeepFamiliesConnected! Go to nocostcallsma.org for more information
- Did you know it costs up to $440/month for families to talk to their incarcerated loved ones? Talking to family is priceless, but that phone bill is too high!@YOURSENATOR @YOURREP please co-sponsor H.1796 & S.1494 to #KeepFamiliesConnected and pass #NoCostCalls! #mapoli Go to nocostcallsma.org for more information
- @YOURSENATOR @YOURREPRESENTATIVE Please co-sponsor H.1796 & S.1494 . #NoCostCalls is a powerful investment in our families, communities, and state! #KeepFamiliesConnected #mapoli check out nocostcallsma.org for more information
- Listen to what people have to say about why #NoCostCalls are so important to #KeepFamiliesConnected: bit.ly/nccvid and then ask your rep and senator to co-sponsor H.1796 & S.1494 check out nocostcallsma.org for more information
- For too long, families have been forced to pay inflated, unaffordable rates to stay connected with their incarcerated loved ones.” H.1796/S.1494 will help end this predatory practice in #Massachusetts.#KeepFamiliesConnected. Pass #NoCostCalls. #mapoli check out nocostcallsma.org for more information
- Prison phone companies have profiteered from lucrative contracts with prisons & jails while families with incarcerated loved ones pay the price. #NoCostCalls legislation (H.1796/S.1494 ) will remove this terrible burden. #KeepFamiliesConnected #mapoli Go to nocostcallsma.org for more information
- The high cost of prison communication can no longer be ignored. H.1796/S.1494 will help remove cost as a barrier to communication with loved ones and support systems. #KeepFamiliesConnected. Pass #NoCostCalls. #mapoli Go to nocostcallsma.org for more information
- I’ve been following the #NoCostCalls movement, and want to see progress soon to stop corporate profiteering and support families who are struggling to stay in touch! #KeepFamiliesConnected #mapoli check out nocostcallsma.org for more information
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
Choosing between paying rent or buying groceries and being able to connect with loved ones is a decision no one should be forced to make, but Massachusetts is currently forcing this dilemma on thousands of families across the Commonwealth. Families are being charged exorbitant fees to maintain vital connections with incarcerated loved ones — a regressive tax on the most vulnerable populations of the Commonwealth.
While only 21 percent of the state’s population is Black or Latinx, more than 54 percent of the people imprisoned by the Department of Corrections are. Black and Latinx children are, respectively, nine and three times more likely than White children to have a parent in prison. As communities already struggle with the high cost of housing, health care, and transportation, no one should be forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries and maintaining contact with loved ones.
Moreover, punitive policies targeted at the families of incarcerated individuals leave us all worse off: numerous studies have shown that contact with loved ones promotes lower recidivism rates and successful reentry.
The Legislature can end this injustice by passing legislation — such as that filed by Sen. Cindy Creem and Rep. Chynah Tyler (S.1494 / H.1796) — to ensure that calls as well as other means of communication (e.g., electronic communication or video calls) are provided at no cost. Last session, both the House and Senate passed such legislation, but it faced opposition from Gov. Baker. With a new session and a new administration, it’s time to do what’s right.
Read More
- Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls website
- Ahrens, Lois. “Governor Needs to Make Welfare of Those in Jail Her Concern, Too (Letter).” Boston Globe. March 10, 2023. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/10/opinion/governor-needs-make-welfare-those-jail-her-concern-too/.
- Stout, Matt. “Healey Is Pushing a Plan to Make Calls Free in Massachusetts State Prisons — with Limits.” Boston Globe. March 7, 2023. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/03/07/metro/healey-is-pushing-plan-make-calls-free-massachusetts-state-prisons-with-limits/.
- Pettus, Ashley. “Feature Follow-up: The Fight for No-Cost Calls Continues.” DigBoston. July 19, 2022. https://digboston.com/feature-follow-up-the-fight-for-no-cost-prison-calls-continues/.
- Dunker, Lisa. “Incarcerated People Should Have Access to All Calls They Need (Letter).” Boston Globe. June 1, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/01/opinion/incarcerated-people-should-have-access-all-calls-they-need/.
- Editorial Board. “In Prison, Phone Calls Home Aren’t a Frill. They’re as Important as Food and Clothes.” Boston Globe. May 20, 2022. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/20/opinion/prison-phone-calls-families-are-no-frill.
- Roth, Rachel. “Why Free Calls from Prison Make Sense for Massachusetts.” MassLive. March 25, 2022. https://www.masslive.com/opinion/2022/03/why-free-calls-from-prison-make-sense-for-massachusetts-viewpoint.html.
- Graham, Renée . “A Lifeline Between Loved Ones Shouldn’t Cost So Much.” Boston Globe. October 10, 2020. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/10/opinion/lifeline-between-loved-ones-shouldnt-cost-so-much.
- Marinucci, Carla. “San Francisco Becomes First County in the Nation to Offer Free Calls to Jail Inmates.” Politico. August 10, 2020. https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/10/san-francisco-becomes-first-county-in-the-nation-to-offer-free-calls-to-jail-inmates-1306715.
- Pipia, Lindsey. “Many Families Struggle to Pay for Phone Calls with Loved Ones in U.S. Prisons.” NBC News. December 31, 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/many-families-struggle-pay-phone-calls-loved-ones-u-s-n1107531.
- Tenneriello, Bonita and Elizabeth Matos. “The Telephone Is A Lifeline For Prison Families. And Calls Are Outrageously Expensive.” WBUR. January 27, 2020. https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2020/01/27/cost-of-phone-calls-prison-bonita-tenneriello-elizabeth-matos.
- Wagner, Peter and Alexi Jones. State of Phone Justice: Local Jails, State Prisons and Private Phone Providers. Northampton, MA: Prison Policy Initiative, 2019. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/state_of_phone_justice.html.
- Williams, Timothy. “The High Cost of Calling the Imprisoned.” New York Times. March 30, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/us/steep-costs-of-inmate-phone-calls-are-under-scrutiny.html.
Talking Points & Sample Tweets