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AMNA NAWAZ: For years,
advocates have argued that

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incarcerated people in
the U.S. are overcharged
for basic phone calls.

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It's a less well-known issue,
but essential for prisoners and
their families. This winter,

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a new law went into effect aimed
at capping the price of those
calls in prison and jail. But

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even as prices have come down,
a new report is sounding the
alarm about the escalating

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costs of essential non-phone
services for video and
electronic messaging as well.

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Our communities correspondent
in New Orleans, Roby Chavez,

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has been looking into
all of this as part of
our series Searching for
Justice, And he joins me now.

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Roby, it's great to see
you. Thanks for joining us.

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So, bring us up to speed
on these prices. Why does

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it cost so much for
incarcerated people to keep
in touch with their families?

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ROBY CHAVEZ: Well, look,
Amna, it is a huge burden.

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Some families tell us
they spend anywhere from
$400 to $500 a month

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just to stay in touch with their
incarcerated loved ones. Now,

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there are many issues that
impact these high costs of these
phone services. Number one on

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that is a lot of these prisons
get commissions from their phone
service providers. Advocates

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say they're getting
kickbacks, and that is what
keeping these prices high.

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There's also a lack of
competition out there.
Only a handful of providers
are giving services

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to prisons and jails across
the country. And the one thing
we hear from families is,

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in addition to the high
cost of the calls, they
also are inundated with

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extra fees just to deposit
money or open or close one
of these phone accounts.

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But there is help on the
way. As you mentioned,
federal regulations,

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including a law signed by
President Joe Biden in January,
will put a cap in place

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for in-state calls.
Previously, there was a
cap only on out-of-state
calls. Back in 2018,

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prices in jail ranged
from $10 to $15 for a
15-minute call. Today,

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it's a lot lower. The average
is about $3 a call, but family
members say it's still too much.

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Now, advocates warned that
there are still higher

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prices for other communication
services, like video calls,

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e-mail-like services and using
tablets, because all of those
technologies remain unregulated.

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AMNA NAWAZ: And, Roby,
why are these calls
so important? I mean,

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what do we know about the
connection between public
safety and making sure

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that incarcerated people are
connected to the outside world?

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ROBY CHAVEZ: There's a lot
of research that shows that
it leads to better outcomes,

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while people are in prison,
better behavior, better health.

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And then, once people
are released from prison,

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if they have these good
support circles in place,
then that makes reentry much

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more successful. And studies
show that it lowers the
recidivism rate. In fact,

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those people who had no contact
with loved ones were six times
more likely to end up in prison.

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Now, these high costs are such a
burden to families, particularly
in states like Louisiana,

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where more than 50 percent of
the population is considered
working poor. Those costs add

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up. We spoke with one family
member who told us she spends
about $300 a month just so her

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four daughters -- her
four children, rather, can
speak to their grandfather,
who is incarcerated.

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The reason that matters
is, because the burden
falls on these families,

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they then become financially
unstable and are more than
likely not able to help their

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family members once they
are released from prison.
And the reason that that

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matters is because a lot of
people who are released from
prison have a lot of debt,

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like $13,000 in fees and
fines that were incurred
when they were sentenced.

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AMNA NAWAZ: So, Roby, the
prices for phone calls have been
coming down. That is good news.

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But what about for
other services to stay

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connected? Are families still
being overcharged on those?

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ROBY CHAVEZ: Yes, Amna,
as we wait for those new
regulations to be put

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in place by late next
year, advocates are already
warning that some of the

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costs have already
shifted to other forms of
communication and technology.

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In fact, a report was
released last week by the
Prison Policy Initiative.
They warned that prison

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telecom companies are evading
regulations and making
money off of those kinds of

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services like text-based
electronic messaging,
similar to e-mail, but
comes with limitations.

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The cost to send those
e-messages varies. It could
be free to 50 cents in places

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like Alaska and Arkansas. At
least 43 state prisons now
offer some type of electronic

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messaging options. Again,
these type of messaging,
it's not like regular e-mail,

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because it lacks certain
features, has arbitrary
restrictions like character

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limits. And attachments
like photos and videos,
those all cost extra.

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So most advocates believe we're
moving in the right direction,
but there are still some gaps.

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AMNA NAWAZ: That is our
communities correspondent,
Roby Chavez, joining
us from New Orleans.

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Roby, thank you so much.

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And you can read more of
Roby's reporting online
at PBS.org/NewsHour.