Free Phone Calls for Oregon Prisoners Will Cost the State $5 million annually

A call to allow Oregon prisoners free phone calls will cost the state $5 million a year. In a report yet to be publicly released, the call is being made by Oregon Corrections Ombudsman Adrian Wulff. He points to a few other states, like California, that provide inmates with free phone calls.

Cost of Calls Hampers Prisoner Reintegration into Society

The Ombudsman says that the high cost of phone calls hampers prisoners from connecting with loved ones. Another setback is the complicated procedure to sign up for a phone call. Wulff says isolating prisoners from access to the outside world is threatening their ‘successful reintegration’ into society.

In a report titled ‘Justice is Calling,’ Wulff says the present system impacts low-income communities and people with limited literacy and digital access.

The cost of phone calls in Oregon is higher than in many other states. The national average is 8 cents a minute, or $1.18 for a 15-minute call according to 2022 statistics, while Oregon charges 9 cents a minute and $1.35 for a 15-minute call.

Wulff says some families are spending $1,000 annually on phone calls to loved ones in prison. He says prisoner earnings can help subsidize the cost of calls, estimating earnings at between $8 and $82 a month. However, prisoners use their incomes to buy toiletries and basic supplies, leaving little left to spare for phone calls.

In his report, Wulff says that a study in 2015 found that one-third of American families go into debt to keep in touch with loved ones in prison. Women are in the majority in this category. The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California-based nonprofit that works on issues of economic and racial justice, conducted the study.

ICSolutions and the Phone Call Verification Process

Oregon Correctional Services contracted with ICSolutions in 2020 to provide phone services at state prisons where 12,000 inmates are housed. The company introduced a 22-step verification process before a prisoner could make a call – this was streamlined to five steps last year.

But Wulff says prisoners complain about the process and some of their families do not want to divulge personal information that is required by the company and has called for an immediate halt to the verification process.

Two dozen employees of the Department of Corrections are paid $808,060 every quarter in salaries by ICSolutions to maintain the telecommunications system.

The Ombudsman Report is Under State Governor Review

Wulff is Oregon’s first Ombudsman appointed in many years and reports directly to the Governor, Tina Kotek.

Since his appointment in 2021, Wulff has come under scrutiny to prove his effectiveness. He has come up against opposition from Department of Corrections leaders and top aides in Kotek’s office. Wulff’s efforts to investigate prison conditions have met with a cold shoulder, according to information in the report obtained by news sources.

Elisabeth Shepard, a spokesperson for the governor, confirmed yesterday (Tuesday) that staff are reviewing the report submitted by Wulff.