Strengthening Visitation Rights
Full title: An Act to build restorative family and community connection (H.2591 / S.1720)
Lead Sponsors: Rep. Marjorie Decker; Sen. Liz Miranda
The Issue
In 2018, the Department of Correction (DOC) passed severe restrictions on the number of individuals who may visit incarcerated individuals. These included limiting the number of individuals on a pre-approved visitor list and the number of times said list can be changed each year, creating a burdensome application for visitors, imposing strict dress codes, and limiting the number of individuals anyone can visit.
Visitation is crucial to the well-being of families, children, incarcerated individuals, and even prison employees. Research has shown that visitation is an effective strategy in reducing recidivism and thereby enhancing public safety. Children of incarcerated parents are less likely to be incarcerated themselves if they visit their incarcerated parents. Visits help incarcerated individuals maintain relationships in their outside community which makes re-entry into the community much more likely to be successful.
Given that visitation enhances public safety, reduces recidivism, and promotes rehabilitation, our prisons and jails should be fostering the maintenance and growth of positive bonds between incarcerated individuals and their friends, family, and broader community—not limiting these relationships.
The Solution
This bill strengthens and secures the rights of incarcerated individuals to receive visits and maintain relationships with their friends and loved ones without unnecessary interference from the state.
It does so by taking steps such as the following:
- Rolling back limitations that have been placed on the number of unique individuals who are allowed to visit an incarcerated individual and the ability of incarcerated individuals to update such a list
- Requiring that the DOC only gather the personal information necessary for the safety and security of the institution
- Ensuring that incarcerated individuals can have reasonable physical contact with visitors and the ability to hold their minor children
- Requiring that dress codes are implemented in a reasonable manner and with respect for visitors’ religion, race, class, culture, gender identity, and sexual orientation
- Ensuring that loved ones may see their incarcerated friends and family members if they are transferred to a hospital and in critical condition or in imminent danger of death
Contact Your Legislators
Find your legislators’ contact information here.
I am writing today to urge you to co-sponsor “An Act to Build Restorative Family and Community Connection” (S.1720/H.2591).
This bill will strengthen family and community connections by ensuring visits with incarcerated individuals are much more accessible. This bill would protect access to daily visits, eliminate draconian caps on the number of visitors someone can see, create child-friendly spaces, and reduce discrimination.
This is important to me because in-person visits are a lifeline for so many people, and this bill would help keep families connected by making visits more accessible.
- Families and loved ones deserve to stay connected. We need to eliminate arbitrary restrictions on visitation in prisons and jails.
- No Cost Calls was a big win for strengthening the connections between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. Let’s build on that with the Visitation Bill.
- Let’s #KeepFamiliesConnected by eliminating excessive, arbitrary restrictions on visitation in prisons and jails.
- Did you know that people can be turned away from visiting incarcerated loved ones because their skirts are too short or they are wearing jeans. Is this the 1950s?? Let’s pass the Visitation Bill and eliminate these throwback restrictions.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
No blue jeans. Skirts measured with rulers to ensure they aren’t too short. No tank tops. No boots. No glitter.
No, we aren’t talking about a throwback high school dress code. These arbitrary restrictions exist today when people try to visit incarcerated loved ones.
Massachusetts has excessive restrictions on visitation in prisons and jails, with dress codes not even the half of it. People who travel long distances can be turned away, denied the right to visit family members. Arbitrary caps on visitors break family connections. MA can and should be better than this.
A set of bills in the State House (H.2591/S.1720) would fix this. These bills would strengthen family and community connections by ensuring visits with incarcerated individuals are much more accessible. These bills would protect access to daily visits, eliminate draconian caps on the number of visitors someone can see, create child-friendly spaces, and reduce discrimination.
MA took an important step when we passed No Cost Calls, guaranteeing free phone communication between incarcerated individuals and loved ones. Let’s build on that progress by eliminating these archaic, punitive restrictions on visitation.
Read More
- Bales, William, and Daniel Mears. “Inmate Social Ties and the Transition to Society: Does Visitation Reduce Recidivism?” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 45, no. 287 (2008). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237298166_Inmate_Social_Ties_and_the_
Transition_to_Society_Does_Visitation_Reduce_Recidivism.
- Mohr, Gary. An Overview of Research Findings in the Visitation, Offender Behavior Connection. (Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, 2012). –http://web.archive.org/web/20151106090251/http://www.asca.net/system/assets/attachments/5101/Mohr%20-%20OH%20DRC%20Visitation%20Research%20Summary.pdf?1352146798.
- Rabuy, Bernadette, and Daniel Kopf. “Separation by Bars and Miles: Visitation in State Prisons.” Prison Policy Initiative. October 20, 2015. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/prisonvisits.html.
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