BOSTON (SHNS) – Anticipating that sheriffs might tell lawmakers Tuesday that their budgets are burdened by the cost of providing free phone calls to incarcerated people, a coalition that supports the 2023 state law preemptively asked legislators to instead seek savings through consolidation.
The Department of Correction and county sheriffs have since December 2023 been required to provide free phone calls to incarcerated people and their families, and sheriffs over the last year have asked lawmakers to make changes to the program and linked those costs to their above-budget spending in fiscal year 2025.
Expecting that sheriffs may use Tuesday’s public safety budget hearing to again urge limits on the program, the Keeping Families Connected / No Cost Calls Coalition said lawmakers should instead consolidate the county sheriffs’s contracts for communications services to get a better deal…