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State-Based Telephone Campaigns

Florida
Every year the families and friends of Florida state prisoners are paying millions of dollars to accept collect telephone calls from their loved ones incarcerated in Florida’s prisons. The rates charged for such phone calls are excessively high, with in-state calls over 5 times as much, and out-of-state calls up to 20 times as much, as collect phone calls outside of the prisons.

To address this problem, Florida Prisoners’ Legal Aid Organization (FPLAO) has now launched the Families Against Inflated Rates Campaign, also known as the FAIR Campaign.

Contact Information:
Families Against Inflated Rates (F.A.I.R.)
Florida Prisoners’ Legal Aid Organization
14365 E. Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL 32826
407-306-6211

Illinois
The Illinois Campaign for Telephone Justice is seeking relief from the high cost of prison telephone calls from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Inmate families and others are charged exhorbitant phone rates and connection fees many times that of ordinary public rates. IDOC receives millions of dollars in commission kickbacks from Consolidated Public Services for an exclusive contract with Illinois. ICTJ wants the state to STOP this extortion NOW and abolish the outrageous connection fees and kickback commissions.

Contact Information:
Illinois Campaign for Telephone Justice
P.O.Box 611
Lombard, Illinois 60148
http://www.illinoistelephonejustice.com/

Maine
Fair Rates for ME worked very hard to pass LD 91 which would have required the Public Utilities Commission to oversee and regulate the Department of Corrections telephone system and produce annual reports with recommendations for improvement. Though that effort was not successful, the group continues to work for better prison phone systems in the state.

Contact Information:
Fair Rates for ME
PO Box 273
Edgecomb, ME 04556
FairratesforME@yahoo.com

New York
The Center for Constitutional Rights, in partnership with Prison Families Community Forum and Prison Families of New York, Inc. has launched the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice. This initiative whose objectives are to achieve equitable rates for phone calls to families with a loved one in prison, consumer choice within the prison telephone system, and fair service without unilateral preemptive cut-offs. Public outrage is the most powerful tool to end the unjustly punitive and discriminatory treatment of prisoners’ families. Marshaling the voices of the wives, mothers, and children who are directly affected, the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice brings this injustice to the attention of the broader public through a range of media, events, legislative advocacy and direct action. These efforts have resulted in the swift passage over the last two years of the Family Connections Bill in the New York State Assembly (A7231), and a companion bill in the Senate (S5299) which has yet to pass. With adequate public pressure, we can achieve the legislative reform urgently needed to terminate Verizon/MCI’s current contract and ensure proper oversight of future telephone service contracts in the prison system.

Contact Information:
New York Campaign for Telephone Justice
Phone: 212-614-6459
E-mail: info@telephonejustice.org
Website: www.telephonejustice.org

OPINION | January 10, 2007 - New York Times
Editorial: A Good Call in New York
Gov. Eliot Spitzer set an important national example by backing away from a longstanding policy of charging prison inmates and their families more than six times the going rate for collect calls made from prison.
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			State-Based Telephone Campaigns Florida Every year the families and friends of Florida state prisoners are paying millions of dollars to accept collect telephone calls from their loved ones incarcerated in Florida’s prisons. The rates charged for such phone calls are excessively high, with in-state calls over 5 times as much, and out-of-state calls up to 20 times as much, as collect phone calls outside of the prisons. To address this problem, Florida Prisoners’ Legal Aid Organization (FPLAO) has now launched the Families Against Inflated Rates Campaign, also known as the FAIR Campaign. Contact Information: Families Against Inflated Rates (F.A.I.R.) Florida Prisoners’ Legal Aid Organization 14365 E. Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32826 407-306-6211 Illinois The Illinois Campaign for Telephone Justice is seeking relief from the high cost of prison telephone calls from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Inmate families and others are charged exhorbitant phone rates and connection fees many times that of ordinary public rates. IDOC receives millions of dollars in commission kickbacks from Consolidated Public Services for an exclusive contract with Illinois. ICTJ wants the state to STOP this extortion NOW and abolish the outrageous connection fees and kickback commissions. Contact Information: Illinois Campaign for Telephone Justice P.O.Box 611 Lombard, Illinois 60148 http://www.illinoistelephonejustice.com/ Maine Fair Rates for ME worked very hard to pass LD 91 which would have required the Public Utilities Commission to oversee and regulate the Department of Corrections telephone system and produce annual reports with recommendations for improvement. Though that effort was not successful, the group continues to work for better prison phone systems in the state. Contact Information: Fair Rates for ME PO Box 273 Edgecomb, ME 04556 FairratesforME@yahoo.com New York The Center for Constitutional Rights, in partnership with Prison Families Community Forum and Prison Families of New York, Inc. has launched the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice. This initiative whose objectives are to achieve equitable rates for phone calls to families with a loved one in prison, consumer choice within the prison telephone system, and fair service without unilateral preemptive cut-offs. Public outrage is the most powerful tool to end the unjustly punitive and discriminatory treatment of prisoners’ families. Marshaling the voices of the wives, mothers, and children who are directly affected, the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice brings this injustice to the attention of the broader public through a range of media, events, legislative advocacy and direct action. These efforts have resulted in the swift passage over the last two years of the Family Connections Bill in the New York State Assembly (A7231), and a companion bill in the Senate (S5299) which has yet to pass. With adequate public pressure, we can achieve the legislative reform urgently needed to terminate Verizon/MCI’s current contract and ensure proper oversight of future telephone service contracts in the prison system. Contact Information: New York Campaign for Telephone Justice Phone: 212-614-6459 E-mail: info@telephonejustice.org Website: www.telephonejustice.org OPINION \| January 10, 2007 - New York Times Editorial: A Good Call in New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer set an important national example by backing away from a longstanding policy of charging prison inmates and their families more than six times the going rate for collect calls made from prison. more