Date: January 21, 2025
To: Chairman Black and Members, Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions
From: Mallory Rusch, Executive Director, Empower Missouri
Re: Our support for SB 50
As the largest and oldest anti-poverty non-profit in our state, Empower Missouri is committed to improving the quality of life for all Missouri residents through advocacy. Since our inception, Empower Missouri has focused on the criminal justice system and its impacts. Our Community Justice Coalition consists of community advocates and organizations from across the state who work with those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Many coalition members are formerly incarcerated or have currently incarcerated loved ones, and all are connected by a vision for a future without mass incarceration.
We are providing testimony today in support of SB 50 which would, amongst other important components, cap phone call costs in jail facilities across the state. It is imperative that incarcerated individuals are able to stay in communication with their loved ones while they are serving their sentences. Many individuals who are incarcerated have pre-existing mental health conditions, and even those who don’t can suffer great consequences to their mental health brought on by isolation. Maintaining a connection with family fosters a sense of hope, encourages good behavior, and helps maintain important parental and other familial bonds. Incarcerated individuals who maintain strong family ties have an easier time transitioning home and are more likely to succeed during re-entry, benefiting themselves, their families, and their community.
On average, a 15-minute phone call in a correctional facility costs $5.74, while some prisons are charging $1 or more per minute. One study found that more than a third of families with incarcerated relatives went into debt over the costs of staying in touch with their loved ones. Many of these families are already suffering financially from missing a wage earner from the household– they should not go further into debt in order to fulfill a basic human need for connection. Empower Missouri urges this committee to take action to pass SB 50 into law. Thank you for your time and consideration of this matter.
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