Overview

• All per-minute fees, service charges and commissions for calls from tablets or prison phones will end under the new policy effective Aug. 1.
• Corrections Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said the plan removes communication barriers and promotes long-term success after incarceration.
• The change builds on the FCC’s July 2024 cap on inmate call rates following a spring prison strike that halted services for 22 days.
• New York joins California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota in providing free calls to incarcerated individuals.
• Advocates from Worth Rises estimate the policy will save about 30,000 families more than $13 million a year in phone expenses.