Repeals 42-56-38.1 and requires the department of corrections to provide free communication services to inmates and juveniles held in residential placement or detention centers and requires that those facilities provide in-person contact visits.

Rhode Island Bill Summary: Free Prison Communication Services

This bill would require the Rhode Island Department of Corrections to provide free communication services to people held in adult correctional facilities, as well as to juveniles held in residential placement or detention centers. This means inmates and detained youth would no longer have to pay for phone calls, video calls, or other forms of communication with family members and others on the outside. The bill also repeals an existing law (Section 42-56-38.1), which currently governs how communication services in correctional facilities are handled.

In addition to free communication, the bill would require these facilities to allow in-person contact visits — meaning physical, face-to-face visits where inmates or detained youth can be in the same room as their visitors, rather than communicating only through glass or screens. Both provisions would apply to adult inmates and juveniles in state-run or state-supervised facilities.

The people most directly affected by this bill are incarcerated adults, detained juveniles, and their families. Currently, phone and video calls from correctional facilities can be expensive, and costs are often borne by family members on the outside. If passed, this bill would eliminate those costs entirely. Facilities themselves would also be affected, as they would need to adjust their operations and potentially absorb the costs of providing these services.

The bill was introduced in the House Judiciary Committee but has been recommended to be held for further study, meaning it has not yet moved forward in the legislative process.