Statement

The State Budget Fails Families on Prison Communication Fees

Lawmakers had the chance to ease the cost of staying in touch with incarcerated loved ones, and left it out of the budget

By

Published on Jun 30, 2026 in Economic Justice

Tonight, New Jersey’s legislative budget committees approved the state budget bill S2027/A5327. The budget did not include funding to reduce or eliminate prison communication fees.

In response, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) releases the following statement:

Marleina Ubel, Senior Policy Analyst, NJPP:

“This budget missed a real opportunity to help some of New Jersey’s most vulnerable families. When someone is incarcerated, the families left behind pay the price — and prison communication fees make that price steeper. When families can’t afford to stay in touch, those relationships fray — and kids pay the price, through more anxiety, more behavioral struggles, and barriers to staying connected to a parent they need. Eliminating these fees and keeping families connected would cost less than one percent of the Department of Corrections budget and save New Jersey families $15 million annually.

“These fees fall hardest on Black and brown families, who are incarcerated at vastly higher rates in New Jersey than anywhere else in the country. The state should be doing everything it can to keep families connected, not letting prison communication companies profit off of families who have no other choice.”

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Author

  • Marleina Ubel, State Policy Fellow, has been a dedicated advocate for underrepresented groups throughout her academic career. She began her undergraduate work at Valencia College and earned a transfer scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she earned a B.A. in Philosophy. As a PIKSI fellow, she spent a summer at MIT challenging demographic disparities in institutions of higher learning. She is currently pursuing her M.S.W. in Management and Policy at Rutgers University. Her most recent research has focused on the negative impacts of public policy on low-income fathers. Marleina lives in Lambertville with her husband and daughter.
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