Research shows that when people who are incarcerated get to see their family members in person, it helps them not just emotionally but in other ways too. One study showed a 25 percent drop in misconduct by people while incarcerated, and another study found a 26 percent decrease in recidivism.

So, if practitioners and policymakers want to make our communities safer, they can start by making it easier for families to visit their loved ones in jails and prisons. Here are four ways to increase access.

  1. Improve correctional facilities’ communications 
    Families often struggle to find clear information about when and how to visit their loved ones in jail or prison. This confusion can lead to fewer or no visits at all. Correctional facilities can help by improving how they communicate and deliver information to families.
  2. Adapt family search procedures to make them easier for children
    The environment and processes required to visit a family member in prison or jail, like the required searches, often feel intimidating. However, there are ways to make these visits more comfortable and family friendly.
  3. Offer more time and ways to connect
    Providing various visiting options, like contact visits, noncontact visits, and extended visits, caters to different needs and helps support positive connections. Contact visits, where families can interact more freely, are generally seen as the best for children’s psychological well-being. In contrast, noncontact visits, often conducted behind plexiglass, can be upsetting, particularly for young children.
  4. Make phone calls cheaper or free 
    For those who cannot visit in person, offering low-cost or free video and phone calls can provide a lifeline. Correctional systems can follow the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation‘s lead by providing low-cost or free options. A 15-minute call from a state prison can be expensive—costs range between $0.14 and $4.30—with the average for jails costing three times as much, for a total estimated $1.3 billion in costs to families. The costs of video visits are also high, at an estimated $12.95 per 30-minute call.

Read the full article about jail and prison visits by Evelyn F. McCoy and Bree Boppre at Urban Institute.