what is the cost of collect calls from NYS prisons?

[mamota35]

My boyfriend was sentenced and will be sent upstate very soon. I was wondering if anybody has any idea of the price of a collect call from a nys prison? I was told there is a connection fee? then how much is it per minute.
Thank you.

[roc city girl]

EXPENSIVE!!! yes there is a connection fee, not sure how much it is but i am looking at my phone bill here and each 30 minute block is $7.60. Yeah it might not seem like much but let me tell u that crap adds up girl. My total is 538.39!!(OUCHHHH) so is case you are wondering if he is still able to call me, the answer is no!! My shit is blocked.

The sad thing about this is that the NYS prisons have a contract with MCI so basically you can't use any other service. SUCKS HUH!!!

[caprione]

The MCI contract, as I have read about it, is 3 dollars connection and 16 cents a minute, flat rate however close or far you are fromt he faclity. I do not know if the connection rate out of state is the same or not. My guy and I are in NY. We pay approx 12 dolalrs for a half hour call.
Caprione

[LeaAnn]

wow I guess it's different for out of state because my calls are $9

[Summertime]

I just received my phone bill and the fees are $3 connection fee and 16 cents per minute, which totals it to $7.80, plus tax 9.63. A 30 minute phone call, and we are both in NY.

[jnv512]

New York State

Department of Correctional Services

Glenn S. Goord, Commissioner



Public Information Office

(518) 457-8182

www.docs.state.ny.us For immediate release:

Thursday, July 31, 2003



Prison system implementing new inmate collect call phone rates;

Reducing costs for the 83 percent of inmates furthest from home



The Department of Correctional Services will implement new revenue-neutral Inmate Call Home Program rates on Friday, August 1, that will reduce the phone bills paid by 83 percent of the recipients of those inmate-generated, collect-only calls, Commissioner Glenn S. Goord said today.



“The goal of the new rates is increased fairness that also allows recipients to know in advance the cost of these calls,” Commissioner Goord said.



Virtually all inmate calls fall within three groups: intralata (within a local calling area), interlata (between calling areas) and interstate. International calls account for fewer than one percent of volume.



Under the new rate structure, charges paid by recipients of inmate collect calls will drop 6 percent for interlata calls that represent 70 percent of inmate calls. Interstate calls, which represent 13 percent of calls, will decline 9 percent. Intralata calls will double in cost. They represent 17 percent of inmate calls.



Commissioner Goord said, “Implementing fairness and equity has a cost: those who have the benefit of being most able to visit incarcerated loved ones – because they are housed closest to home – will see their telephone charges rise. But 83 percent of call recipients – whose loved ones are incarcerated furthest from home – will see rates drop. Whether the contact is by phone or personal visit, these rates reflect the Department’s continuing commitment to fostering the family ties that most agree are important to helping offenders succeed upon their release from prison.”



The statewide average per minute rate today for all inmate-generated calls is 16 cents – which now becomes the flat rate per minute standard for inmate-generated calls. At the same time, the Department equalized the connection fee paid by all inmates each time they use a phone. To accomplish those goals and make the changes revenue-neutral required:



++Raising the cost of intralata calls from an average of nine cents to a flat rate of 16 cents per minute.



++Raising the current intralata connection fee from $1.58 to the $3 charge already being assessed on all other calls.



++Reducing the varying per-minute ranges for interlata and interstate calls by two and three cents per minute, respectively, to a flat rate of 16 cents per minute.



Commissioner Goord said, “Every inmate who picks up a phone and completes a call will now be charged the same connect fee. Fairness dictates that they should be, regardless of where they are calling. And as telecommunication advances reduce the size of our world, there is no longer a need for long-distance charges to vary based upon time of day or distance.”



He noted that “Standardizing charges allows the recipients of calls to budget them because there will be one rate: Three dollars plus 16 cents per minute.” There were 126 separate per-minute rates under the prior system, based upon area dialed (intralata, interlata or interstate) plus time of day and mileage distance.



The average length of inmate calls vary: 18.05 minutes for intralata calls, 18.60 minutes for interlata call and 18.69 minutes for interstate calls. Like all phone companies, the Inmate Call Home Program rounds any fraction to the next highest minute for billing purposes. Thus, those average calls were all billed as 19 minute calls. Under the new flat rates, the billing cost for a 19-minute inmate conversation will be $6.04 across the board – the $3 connect fee plus 16 cents per minute. That’s compared to a current average 19-minute phone call cost of $6.44 for interlata calls, $6.63 for interstate calls and $3.02 for intralata calls.



Inmates completed nearly 7 million collect-only calls between September 2001 and August 2002, the base year used when computing the rate change plan. Those calls totaled more than 124 million minutes, generating gross revenues exceeding $39 million. The Department’s commission rate is 57.5 percent on those revenues.



More than $5 million in commissions are being spent this year on inmate family-related programs, including $1.1 million for children and nursery programs at Bedford Hills and Taconic prisons for women, $414,000 to support the Family Reunion Program at 16 prisons, $809,540 to provide free buses to transport inmate visitors to prisons across the state, $494,000 for various prison visitor centers, $550,000 for a domestic violence program at Eastern and $81,000 for the medical parole program allowing terminally ill inmates to be released to die at home with their loved ones. Nearly $18 million in additional commissions anticipated this year are targeted for inmate medical care, tests, vaccines and pharmaceuticals.



Unlike residential phone users who pay roughly $30 per month in charges just to have a telephone, the Inmate Call Home Program pays all such charges for today’s 66,909 inmates. In addition, restrictions and monitoring required on an inmate phone system incur charges that do not exist for residential phone customers.



“The security measures attached to the inmate phone system have two purposes,” Commissioner Goord said. “To increase prison security and to enhance public safety.”



The new rates have been approved by the state Public Service Commission. The Office of the State Comptroller has approved the updated contract with MCI, the vendor operating the Inmate Call Home Program, that incorporates the new rates with no other changes. Inmates were advised last month of the new rates via a memo posted in English and Spanish in all state prisons. Rate change notices were also published last month in newspapers as required by law.

[usopwilly]

Yep, my phone got a block..and you know what? I'm paying it slowly. I got other bills and things to take care of. We will use pen and paper to contact each other when I can't go see him.... There has got to be a better solution.... I make long distance calls to NC and they don't come out that much!!!

[jnv512]

You should also check this out

http://www.docs.state.ny.us/PressRel/phoneinfo.pdf

[mamota35]

thank you all so much. This is really helpful and scary too, because I don't know if I'll have the discipline to end the calls when I have to, well I'll see.
Thanks guys.