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Inmate Fee-for-Service Programs

NCJ Number
180875
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 23 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1998 Pages: 7-16
Editor(s)
Susan Clayton
Date Published
1998
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings from a survey of inmate fee-for-service programs in prisons in 43 U.S. jurisdictions and 4 Canadian jurisdictions.
Abstract
Fewer than half of the U.S. jurisdictions reported having some form of co-payment by inmates for incarceration costs. Approximately 20 percent charged inmates in work release programs for room and board; however, almost all jurisdictions charged some fees or have inmates share in some costs. There is evidence that fees and cost-sharing are becoming standard in prisons. Co-payments or fees for educational benefits were virtually nonexistent in Canada, but approximately one-third of U.S. jurisdictions charged for postsecondary and college courses. Education leading up to a GED diploma was free to inmates in all reporting jurisdictions. In Canada, socialized medicine is the rule, and in the United States, three-quarters of the reporting jurisdictions had some co-pay or fee. Still, medical care in U.S. prisons is inexpensive for inmates. Virtually all jurisdictions exerted control over what an inmate can do with his/her wages, and most withheld some wages from the inmate to pay for child support, fines, and fees, in addition to court-mandated garnishments. A table provides the following information for each jurisdiction that responded to the survey: cost to incarcerate one inmate for 1 year, whether inmates pay for room and board, whether fees are assessed on the basis of ability to pay, whether inmates continue to pay costs of incarceration after release, whether there is a problem in collecting fees, and whether any collections are kept by State agencies. Another table shows the following information by jurisdiction: date of data, number in work programs, percentage of overall population, average hourly wages earned per day, whether inmate wages are controlled, and whether inmate wages are garnisheed. Another table shows by jurisdiction whether inmates pay for education programs, health-related programs, and any other programs or services.