Families in Pennsylvania are struggling to maintain critical connections with their incarcerated loved ones simply because they cannot afford the excessive cost of phone calls.

With promising recent political elections and renewed energy, families and allied advocates are gearing up again to move legislation that would make prison and jail calls free. Until then, families are paying the price to stay connected.

The impact is devastating:

• Pennsylvanians spend over $20 million annually to stay connected with incarcerated loved ones.

• One in three families goes into debt to afford phone and video calls.

• 87% of those carrying this burden are women — largely Black and brown women.

Strong family connections and community ties improve facility safety, support rehabilitation, and increase successful reentry — or, in other words, they boost public safety. We should be encouraging communication and connecting families — not exploiting it.

SB 231 and HB 1506 would require prisons and jails to provide communication services at no cost to incarcerated individuals and their families, addressing the current system in which families pay exorbitant rates set by the telecom provider Securus.