Giving Compass' Take:

• Prison Policy Initiative shares detailed information for counties to improve the accessibility of essential jail services including phone calls. 

• What is the cost of jail communication in your county? How can funders encourage counties to act on these established practices? 

• Read about why the cost of phone calls from jail matters.

The average cost of a phone call from a Texas county jail is 44 cents per minute — which can add up to hundreds of dollars a month for families trying to stay in touch — but Dallas County may soon lower its rates to 1 cent per minute. How? The county is aggressively renegotiating its contract with jail phone provider Securus, prioritizing getting the lowest rate possible for the families making the calls.

For other counties wondering how to negotiate contracts that treat consumers more fairly, we’ve just published three “best practices” guides. Our three guides cover the three most common types of telecommunications contracts in jails: contracts for phone services, contracts for video calling technology, and contracts for electronic tablets.

The simplest and best policy for a county is to pay for these services out of its general fund, thus making communication free.

For counties that won’t go that far, though, it’s still possible to write a jail contract that holds the vendor accountable, and allows families to stay in touch without paying dearly.

Read the full article about fairer contracts for jail services at Prison Policy Initiative.