For years, Colorado families have had to make unconscionable decisions to afford to stay connected with their incarcerated loved ones. Despite years of pleas for help, Colorado families continue to have to penny pinch just so a child can hear the soothing sound of their parent’s voice for a few minutes. Colorado families need our leaders to take a stand — it is long past due.
Every year, Colorado families spend over $8.8 million lining the pockets of the state’s private telecom provider to talk to their incarcerated loved ones. Many are trapped in a cycle of debt and poverty, and the financial impact is felt most acutely by Black, brown, and low-income communities, which are disproportionately impacted by racist over-policing, harsh sentencing guidelines, and mass criminalization. In fact, over 50 percent of families with an incarcerated loved one struggle to meet basic housing and food needs. One in three families goes into debt just to stay in touch with a loved one behind bars, and women — largely Black and Brown women — carry 87 percent of the burden.
That's why we urge the Colorado legislature to pass House Bill 23-1133, Cost Of Phone Calls For Persons In Custody, to stop charging families for prison communication.
This legislation will clarify that "that the department of corrections (DOC) shall provide communications services of all types, including voice, video, and electronic messaging, to persons in DOC custody in a correctional facility or private prison in the state. In administering the communications services, the DOC is prohibited from receiving any revenue, including commissions or fees, and the communications services must be free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the call."
For more information, click here.
Do you have a story to tell about keeping in contact with family while in custody? We want to hear it.
You can also help us pass this important legislation with your personal or organizational endorsement.