Learn how to fight back when prisons and jails attack vital ways family stay in touch.
Prison Policy Initiative updates for June 8, 2026 Exposing how mass incarceration harms communities and our national welfare
WEBINAR: Fighting for families: How advocates are resisting attacks on visitation and physical mail [[link removed]]
by Sarah Staudt
Protecting family connections and bonds with loved ones during incarceration is one of the most important [[link removed]] and, increasingly, one of the most difficult things advocates can do. Contact visitation, handwritten cards and letters, and regular phone calls improve mental health outcomes [[link removed]'_Well-Being_Prison_Rule_Breaking_and_Recidivism_A_Review_of_Research_Since_1991] for both people in prisons and the families who love and support them. They also strengthen parent-child relationships [[link removed]] and familial bonds, improve in-prison conduct and make prisons safer [[link removed]], and can significantly increase a person’s chance of success upon release.
Nevertheless, jails and prisons across the country are implementing increasingly restrictive communication policies. Contact visitation is under attack, and more than 30 states [[link removed]] no longer allow incarcerated people to receive physical mail from their loved ones. These moves, ostensibly in the name of security, not only devastate incarcerated people and their loved ones but make us all less safe in the long run. But families are fighting back, championing policies to protect these vital lifelines and the benefits that come with them.
Join the Prison Policy Initiative on July 1 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm EST, as we welcome Jodi Hocking, Executive Director of Return Strong Nevada [[link removed]], and Taj Mahon-Haft PhD, Director of The Humanization Project [[link removed]] in Virginia. We’ll take a closer look at the importance of family connections, learn more about the ways they are under attack, and share strategies to help families fight back.
This webinar will include live American Sign Language and Spanish interpretation.
Register for the webinar [[link removed]]
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Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Other news: Probation and parole trends by state: A look back at the data on ‘alternatives’ to incarceration [[link removed]]
Probation and parole are often touted as "alternatives" to incarceration. But is that true?
In this new briefing [[link removed]], We compiled, corrected, and analyzed 45 years of state-level data, and found that while most (but not all) states have reduced the number of people they’ve placed under supervision, many states have had more people on probation than previously reported.
Leading a campaign to change the criminal legal system in your community? We can help! [[link removed]]
Advocates across the country are working to make the criminal legal system in their area fairer. Often, though, they're under-resourced and stretched thin.
If you're leading a campaign in your community, we may be able to help with research, testimony, and other support. Check out our Advocacy Toolkit [[link removed]] to learn about the assistance we provide and how to contact us.
Please support our work [[link removed]]
Our work is made possible by private donations. Can you help us keep going? We can accept tax-deductible gifts online [[link removed]] or via paper checks sent to PO Box 127 Northampton MA 01061. Thank you!
Our other newsletters Ending prison gerrymandering ( archives [[link removed]]) Criminal justice research library ( archives [[link removed]])
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Prison Policy Initiative
PO Box 127 Northampton, Mass. 01061
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