Corrections Fees Archives - Fines and Fees Justice Center

Guide to New Low Rates and Consumer Protections for Incarcerated People’s Communications Services

Effective January 1, 2025, the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act expands and clarifies the scope of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) authority over incarcerated people’s communications services. To …

This Pennsylvania County Wiped Out Millions in Jail Debt

In 2022, Dauphin County ended its pay-to-stay policy, which charged incarcerated people daily fees for their incarceration, but left the outstanding debts intact. After realizing that collection efforts cost nearly …

Reforming the Shadow Carceral State

Pay-to-stay fees are daily costs imposed on currently or formerly incarcerated people to cover the costs of their own incarceration. Using the repeal of pay-to-stay fees in Illinois as a …

Medical Debt Behind Bars The Punishing Impact of Copays, Fees, and Other Carceral Medical Debt

Early intervention is essential for improving health outcomes, but medical fees often prevent individuals from seeking timely treatment, leading to more severe health emergencies. This issue is especially problematic for …

People in WA Prisons Pay Millions in Fees. Most of It Isn’t Being Used

The Washington Department of Correction manages an “Incarcerated Individual Betterment Fund,” which is funded by fees collected from incarcerated people. Although the fund is intended to improve the welfare of …

Health, Access to Care, and Financial Barriers to Care Among People Incarcerated in US Prisons

Prison residents often come from communities with high poverty and poor health. More than 60 percent of prison residents in the United States have a chronic physical condition and more …

Locked In, Priced Out: How Prison Commissary Price-Gouging Preys on The Incarcerated

Prison commissaries nationwide are exploitative and inconsistent in their pricing. The Appeal underwent a nine-month investigation to collect commissary prices and markups from 46 states. People in prison make pennies …

Locked In, Priced Out

Prison commissaries nationwide are inconsistent in their pricing. The Appeal underwent a nine-month investigation to collect commissary prices and markups from 46 states and created the first national database of …

In Debt Due to Your Own Arrest? The Truth About Fines & Fees

NowThis, in collaboration with Galaxy Gives and Reform Alliance, created a short video detailing how Americans face criminal justice debt. Americans face millions of dollars of debt each year from …

Rosa v. Doe

Rosa v. Doe No. 21-2628, Nov. 20, 2023; WL 8009400 (2d Cir. 2023) Holding When assessing whether an incarcerated person qualifies for a waiver of filing fees in a federal …