Ensuring Access to Quality Communications for Incarcerated People: Options for Advocates and State Legislators

This report offers options for advocates to make sure that incarcerated people and their families receive good quality communications whether they pay for communications or not. Recommended measures represent a holistic strategy to dismantle the barriers of silence and distance. The proposed legal frameworks and standards are designed as enforceable rights to guarantee that communication—a lifeline for those incarcerated—remains unbroken and clear. With this report, UCC Media Justice lays down a legislative blueprint that, if followed, promises to uphold the dignity of incarcerated individuals and their families by ensuring their voices are heard and connections maintained and ultimately aiding in their successful reentry into society.