Maintaining Family Contact When a Family Member Goes to Prison: An Examination of State Policies on Mail, Visiting, and Telephone Access

• NCJ Number: 198931
• Date Published: November 1998
• Length: 89 pages
• Corporate Author: Florida House of Representatives
• Sale Source: Florida House of Representatives
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded February 2, 2003.

Annotation

This report examines Florida's government policies that impact the families of inmates as they attempt to maintain constructive contact with a family member in prison.

Abstract

Although family and community contacts can have a key role in helping released offenders avoid returning to prison, this report shows that the State has neglected this important resource; indeed, in the last few years it has even erected many impediments for families who attempt to maintain meaningful contact with a family member in prison. This report also indicates that inmate rehabilitation programs lack a focus on family services, improving visitor services, or assistance to the offender in understanding and maintaining positive family relationships. In contrast to the absence of visitor services or programs in Florida, this report profiles the diverse and innovative programs that are operating in other States. Further, this report documents the financial burdens borne by family members of inmates and the extent to which families substantially subsidize the correctional system through their indirect contributions to the inmate welfare trust fund. In addition to having to adjust for the lost income from the inmate, families must also bear additional expenses just to maintain contact with the family member in prison. Families must supply the inmate with writing materials, accept collect telephone calls at high rates, and travel significant distances to visit the inmate. The report recommends that the legislature require that a percentage of the inmate welfare trust fund be spent on improving family contacts; prioritize inmate welfare trust fund appropriations to ensure visitors are not forced to be in inclement weather; create an Office of Family Services within the Department of Corrections; and require the Department of Corrections to study and report back to the legislature on the feasibility of 10 proposals in this report that could facilitate meaningful family contacts with inmates. Appended information from a survey of family members of inmates