This report examines “Inmate Welfare Funds” – special accounts in prisons and jails funded by revenues from the communication fees, commissary purchases, and other charges imposed on people who are incarcerated and their families. These funds are meant to support the wellbeing of people who are incarcerated through “non-essential” purchases, such as sports equipment or educational programming. However, an analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative finds that these “Inmate Welfare Funds” are often under the control of high-ranking prison officials and are frequently used to pay for services or goods that should be paid from government coffers, such as heating systems or courthouse upgrades. In some egregious examples, “Inmate Welfare Funds” were used to pay for staff salaries, gun range memberships, and employee meals.
The report analyzed laws and policies governing welfare funds in all 50 state prison systems and the federal Bureau of Prisons. They found that at least 49 of 51 prison systems have some form of welfare fund, but only a quarter explicitly prohibit certain kinds of spending. Though 14 prison systems have some form of board or committee governing the welfare fund, only 3 systems explicitly allow for people who are incarcerated to serve on the boards.
The report concludes with policy recommendations that would shift the responsibility of essential costs back onto governments, pave a pathway for meaningful participation from people who are incarcerated into oversight boards, and end the subsidization of the mass incarceration system by the people who it imprisons.
You can read the full text of the report here.
Key findings
- Roughly one-third (17 of 49 systems) have no transparency or oversight measures in their policies.
- Only 5 states require that audits be posted publicly where incarcerated people can see them.
- Only 3 systems (California, Minnesota, Vermont) explicitly permit incarcerated representatives to participate in fund governance.
Recommendations
- Ban the use of welfare funds for anything related to staff or operations.
- Cover life’s necessities for all people who are incarcerated from general budgets.
- Include people who are incarcerated and their families on welfare fund oversight committees.
- Remove welfare fund administration from corrections departments entirely.
- Require public accounting of revenues, expenditures, and year-end balances.