D.C. Office Raises Concerns on Inmate Calling Rates

The Washington, D.C., Mayor’s Office of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing raised concerns about interstate inmate calling rates, in comments posted Tuesday in docket 12-375. “Nearly two-thirds of DC residents convicted of felonies serve their prison sentences outside of the region hundreds or thousands of miles away from home,” the office said: Hearing impaired “individuals who are incarcerated face additional risks and overlapping barriers due to lack of adequate communication access to resources, programs, and ability to connect and communicate with their families over the phone.”