Prison Phone Changes & Outreach

[Courtesy of Center for Constitutional Rights] Hello, Sorry for the delay in further updating you about April 1 changes to the prison telephone contract and our efforts to reach out to families statewide. We FINALLY got word from DOCS about what families should expect on April 1, 2007 (please see below). Because it took so long to get answers from the Governor and DOCS, our postcards have not yet arrived at the office! We will be getting the postcards tomorrow to use for outreach in NYC. If you contacted me earlier this wee wanting some sent to you, we will still send to you in hopes that you will distribute in your community as early as possible. In the meantime, if you are planning to reach out in your community THIS WEEKEND and are able to print the attached flyer (English & Spanish text included), please do so! It has all of the information that is mentioned in the postcard. For those in NYC who would like to help with bus outreach, we will be doing outreach Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. Please see below for how to meet up with us and help out! The more folks we have, the more we can get the word out! In this email: ************************************************ NEWS ON APRIL 1 CHANGES OUTREACH MATERIALS & PLANS FOR NYC FEEDBACK NEEDED FROM FAMILIES ************************************************ Also, much thanks and praise should go out to Rafael Mutis who quickly translated information we received from Gov. Spitzer on Tuesday into Spanish so we could sent the postcards to print right away. Thank you, Rafael!_____________________ _____________________ lauren melodia | center for constitutional rights | 666 broadway 7th floor | ny ny 10012 | 212.614.6481 NEWS ON APRIL 1 CHANGES The following text is a response from DOCS in regards to the questions we have been asking since Gov. Spitzer announced his elimination of the state’s 57.5% commission from the NYSDOCS prison telephone contract. As you’ll notice, they failed to give us real answers about many of our concerns. All the more reason why we need YOU to help us build pressure and continuing pushing for change! From DOCS: 1. Why is there only going to be a 50% reduction in rates, when the commission is 57.5%? In consideration of the rates dropping, there is an anticipated increase in call volume. National data suggests that if call rates drop 10%, call volume will increase 5%. Based on our current infrastructure, DOCS projects that we have enough phones to handle a 20-25 percent increase in calls on April 1, 2007 without disrupting service to inmates/families. DOCS monitors call volume. If volume increases 18% or more within the six months of April-Sept 2007, DOCS contract allows for a further rate reduction of 7.5%. This will provide sufficient time and data for us to increase phones if we need to and further reduce rates. 2. The phone bills will go down 50%, effective April 1, 2007. Does this mean the surcharge (currently $3) will now be $1.50 and the per rate minute (currently 16 cents) will go down to 8 cents? What is the new rate going to be? Correct - phone rates will be $1.50 to connect and $.08/minute effective April 1, 2007. 3. Currently the rates are the same whether or not people are calling local, in-state or out-of-state. Will that stay the same? Yes - phone rates will be the same for local/in-state and out of state calling. 4. What will happen to those families with blocks on their phones? The phones were blocked because they were unable to pay the high rates. Phones are blocked for the following reasons: the customer asked for it to be blocked; the phone is incapable of receiving a collect call (i.e. gov't phones);the customer has not paid their phone bill; the customer's local phone company does not have a reciprocal billing arrangement with MCI/Verizon. That process will not change - the Department must be able to ensure that calls are blocked when individuals do not wish to receive calls from inmates (Crime Victims frequently request this for example). The phone company must have a method to control bad Dept. When customers pay their back bills, phone service can be restored. DOCS and MCI customer service are committed to assisting families with the nuances of navigating the local service issues. 5. There was discussion about a further drop in rates once the April 1 contract went into effect? Is there any more information on this? How would this work? If volume increases 18% or more within the six months of April-Sept 2007, DOCS contract allows for a further rate reduction of 7.5%. This will provide sufficient time and data for us to increase phones if we need to and further reduce rates. 6. Are there any details on the RFP process starting in August 07 for the 2008 contract? The State Finance laws and procurement guidelines limit what DOCS can disclose about the RFP, but the focus will be to provide inmate call services at best value, while maintaining the system requirements to provide security and protection for customers and crime victims. 7. There are also rumors circulating among prisoners, as well. Some have heard they are getting debit cards on April 1, 2007. Others have said that MCI customer service reps have said, "We don't know anything about this decision by the Gov. and our rates are not changing April 1, 2007." Clearly, we need to dispel these myths." Debit cards are not being introduced. The system will remain a collect-call only system for the duration of the existing contract. MCI has begun to notify their customer service representatives that it is appropriate to acknowledge that call rates will decrease on April 1, 2007. They did not do that prior so that customers would not be mislead into thinking that current calls could be made under the new rates. The Department will notify the facilities of the changes. OUTREACH MATERIALS & PLANS FOR NYC As mentioned before, we are printing postcards with information about the contract changes and our unmet additional demands in regards to the prison telephone contract. If you have contacted me previously to have some sent to you, we will send them out TOMORROW and they should arrive early next week. While we were hoping to hit the streets statewide to distribute the information this weekend, the information WILL STILL BE RELEVANT next week, and I encourage you to consider finding a way to reach out to families in your area in whatever way you can. If you were planning on hitting the streets this weekend, please see the attached flyer which you can print for those purposes. NYC Plans: We will be reaching out to families at bus stops around the city Friday, March 30th and Saturday, March 31st. The more people we have, the more boroughs and stops we can reach! If you live in or near NYC, please join us! Our plan now is to reach out to the bus stops on 34th Street and Columbus Circle in Manhattan. However, if you live in Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx, please stop by Friday anytime in the afternoon or evening to pick up postcards and reach out in your borough. Please call 212.614.6481 and/or email [email protected] to sign up for bus outreach! FRIDAY, March 30th OUTREACH 7:00PM Meet at CCR (666 Broadway, 6th Floor) We will send out teams to 34th Street, Columbus Circle and possibly outer boroughs based on our numbers. 8:00pm – Leave CCR to go to stops 8:30 – 10:30pm Outreach at stops SATURDAY, March 31st OUTREACH 7:00PM Meet at CCR (666 Broadway, 6th Floor) We will send out teams to 34th Street, Columbus Circle and possibly outer boroughs based on our numbers. 8:00pm – Leave CCR to go to stops 8:30 – 10:30pm Outreach at stops If you are unable to meet up at 7:30pm but would still like to help, please contact me at 212.614.6481 or [email protected] and we will figure out a way for you to meet up with one of the teams. FOR EVERYONE: We all need to do our part to inform our families, friends and loved ones on the inside of these changes, as there are a lot of rumors circulating and confusion. Please write you loved ones on the inside and let them know what changes are occurring with the contract on April 1, 2007. Please forward this email to your friends and family who are also affected by this contract and call or write those you know that do not have email access. FEEDBACK NEEDED FROM FAMILIES This week, some interesting phone calls have been coming into our office; we need to hear from you to find out if these are rumors, affect only certain individuals or if these issues affect EVERYONE. Please let me know: Have you or anyone you know received any letters from MCI or Verizon announcing the contract being transferred to Global Tel Link? Have you or anyone you know been contacted by MCI/Verizon about opportunities to receive refunds? If your answer is YES to any of these questions, please send me copies of any letters you have received by mail or fax. Please call and give me a heads up, as well!