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| Virtual Visits Debut in Pennsylvania Prisons |
| By Dana Razzano, Internet Reporter |
| Published: 08/30/2001 |
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Inmates in four of Pennsylvania's prisons may be getting more visitors than ever thanks to a high-tech, innovative new program. The Family Virtual Visitation Program allows families to visit their incarcerated loved ones through live videoconferencing. Parties have cameras on both ends, transmitting their images to one another. 'Our goal is to improve and enhance any mechanism that helps to foster family relationships,' said William DiMascio, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. In coordination with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, virtual visits take place at the Prison Society's Philadelphia Office. Part of the stimulus for the program was the DOC's former policy of housing inmates as far away from their incoming county as possible, leaving many prisoners up to nine hours away from their family and friends, said DiMascio. For those prisoners' families, the cost and complexity of scheduling transportation resulted in very few to no visits. This program helps meet the needs of those prisoners in very rural facilities. Bringing Joy To Visitors Since the program's debut in May, results have been overwhelmingly positive. 'I can't do [the results] justice,' said DiMascio. 'It is just so incredibly heartwarming.' One of the first virtual visitors hadn't seen her son in more than three years because she lacked the means to get to the facility to see him, recalled DiMascio. When she saw her son's image on the screen in front of her and realized they were able to talk and see each other in real time, the two of them were grinning from ear to ear. 'She was just delighted,' he said. 'The word that keeps coming to my mind is joy. Visitors have been truly joyful.' Twenty-five inmates from facilities in Crawford, Northumberland, Indiana and Schuylkill Counties have the opportunity to receive virtual visits. The inmates given the most consideration to be part of the program were those enrolled in a parenting program and those who had not received a personal visit within the past 12 months, said DOC Spokesperson Lisa Aaron. Virtual visits are not meant to replace physical visits, but merely to use as a crutch until a personal visit can be arranged. For families with children, they can conveniently schedule an after-school virtual visit and be home in time for dinner to prepare for school and work the next day. Visits last up to one hour, in a room designed to promote a comfortable and family-friendly atmosphere, with couches and toys for children. Anyone on an inmate's visitor list is allowed a virtual visit and the room can accommodate up to five people at one time. Visitors must fill out paperwork and go through identification checks at the Prison Society and all visits are recorded, with the knowledge of the inmate and visitors. The Prison Society keeps track of all visitor information and sends it to the inmate's facility for their record keeping. Reconnecting Families 'Pennsylvania has the largest population of life-sentenced prisoners in the country,' said DiMascio. 'Though this program was not targeted for this population, families tend to drift away. Parents may die and spouses go on; this [program] can provide stabilizing assistance in terms of helping people serving time.' The Family Virtual Visitation Program comes in conjunction with a number of other positive programs developed for state inmates. DiMascio said there was a fair amount of negative reaction initially by inmates because they thought the program was designed as a way to eliminate contact visits. However, the DOC has taken several steps to reassure inmates of their commitment to continue and increase personal visits. The DOC has subsidized a low-cost busing program out of Philadelphia that will travel to each of the 23 state prisons every other month to encourage personal visits. The round trip cost is five dollars, but DiMascio insists that no one will be turned away if they don't have the funds. Additionally, the state recently rescinded its policy of sending inmates to facilities as far away from their home as possible. 'People who are now coming into the system will not automatically get sent off [miles away],' said DiMascio. According to DiMascio, 'all of these moves are good signs that we're moving in the right direction.' The busing program and the policy change have come along at a key time and are sending a good message to inmates that the Family Virtual Visitation Program is just another means of helping them connect with their families, he said. Looking Ahead The idea of virtual visits had been discussed for several years prior to its implementation, said DiMascio. Two county facilities in Florida have videoconference visits, which served as a base for the development of the Family Virtual Visitation Program, said Aaron. Pennsylvania's statewide program is one-of-a-kind and the state is 'a leader in technology for virtual visitation,' she said. The project was funded through a three-year $134,000 Federal grant. According to DiMascio, depending on the success of the program, funds distributed in the second year of the grant will likely be used to open virtual visitation facilities in Pittsburgh and possibly bring additional prisoners to participate in the program. There are currently two virtual visitation rooms in the Prison Society's Philadelphia office. The success of the Family Virtual Visitation Program is being monitored through evaluations given to guests to fill out at the end of their virtual visit. Once the funding from the grant is finished, the program will be fully re-examined to determine where it should be available, how many virtual visitation rooms are needed, what effects it may have on staffing and where to find a funding source, said DiMascio. The expansion of the program depends on how accepting people are of the process, but DiMascio is optimistic. 'I would hope that we could create visitation centers in a half-dozen locations around the state, so people are never too far removed, within at least two hours, to get to a site,' he said. Resources For more information on the Family Virtual Visitation Program, contact: Pennsylvania Prison Society 2000 Spring Garden Street Philadelphia, PA 19130 Phone: (215) 564-6005 Toll Free: (800) 227-2307 E-mail: geninfo@prisonsociety.org www.prisonsociety.org or contact: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections 2520 Lisburn Road P.O. Box 598 Camp Hill, PA 17001-0598 Phone: (717) 975-4862 www.cor.state.pa.us |
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