For relatives of inmates locked up in Georgia's prisons, the
bureaucracy of the Department of Corrections often seems as
impenetrable as the iron bars and razor wire incarcerating their loved
ones.
Many relatives feel as if they are being judged for the sins of
their imprisoned kin, when dealing with wardens, prison guards and
administrators, even employees answering telephones. They say they
face brusque or rude treatment, unresponsiveness to questions and
uneven enforcement of visitation rules.
Last year, Rep. Alan Powell (D-Hartwell), a member of the
budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, was contacted by a
constituent after prison guards admonished her for what she wore for a
prison visit. Powell convened a public hearing, and others voiced
complaints. Their concerns gave rise to Georgia's first advocacy group
for inmate relatives, Fairness to Prisoners' Families.
It also resulted in the Department of Corrections' holding
quarterly meetings, in which wardens and other administrators listened
to inmate families and friends. The next meeting is Thursday at the
Department of Corrections' central offices in Milledgeville.
Debbie Brumbelow, whose teenage son is serving a 10-year prison
sentence for armed robbery, said she felt alone in her struggles with
Corrections until she became involved with Fairness to Prisoners'
Families.
"It really helped me, dealing with people who worked within the
sytem, in teaching me I wasn't the only person who had to deal with
that," Brumbelow said. "And helping me with the confidence level in
knowing, if I can lobby at the state Capitol and lobby with
representatives nose to nose, I can certainly deal with people in the
system."
Brumbelow, general manager of a Catholic retreat in Sandy Springs,
said she has learned that persistence is the best way for inmate
relatives to help their loved ones on the inside.
"It's like having a child in school," she said. "If you want to
know what's going on, what do you do? You get involved."
Not a prisoner lobby
With as many as 600,000 people on the visitation lists of Georgia's
more than 47,000 prisoners, relatives believe that they have enough
power to help shape prison policies.
The Department of Corrections already acknowledges making changes
as a result of the recent show of unity by inmate relatives. For
example, Corrections officers no longer are allowed to make judgment
calls on inappropriate dress by visitors to inmates. An officer in
charge of a shift must do so, Corrections spokeswoman Scheree Lipscomb
said.
Fairness to Prisoners' Families stresses that its mission is to
help inmates' families navigate the bureaucracy of the Department of
Corrections and the Board of Pardons and Parole, not to seek the
release of prisoners The group, working with Corrections officials,
has produced a handbook to help friends and families of inmate
relatives. Now, it is working with the state Board of Pardons and
Paroles to produce one explaining the early-release process.
During the 2003 General Assembly session, the group sponsored an
"Inmate Relatives' Day" for members to meet lawmakers.
Legislators initially believe there is no constituency for
inmate-related issues, said Sara Totonchi, a lobbyist for the Southern
Center for Human Rights, a prison-reform law group affiliated with the
family group.
"Once they receive a handful or two of phone calls or letters from
family members communicating about their loved ones who are
incarcerated, their eyes start to open and they become more
open-minded about who all their constituency is," she said.
Necessities cost money
Positive family support also can be good for the prison system,
said Marion Clein, coordinator of Fairness to Prisoners' Families.
"Families and friends hold prisoners accountable for their behavior
while in prison, encouraging them to serve their time peacefully and
in accordance with prison rules," she said. "In addition, support from
loved ones motivates prisoners to use whatever tools for
self-improvement, such as vocational training or GED classes, are
offered by the prison."
The group also is trying to change some of the prison system's
policies, particularly those that hit inmate families in the
pocketbook.
In prison, every visit to a doctor costs $5. Every time an inmate
is written up for a violation, it costs $4. Inmates need money for
commissary visits, to buy stationery, snacks, over-the-counter
medicine and toiletries.
Security is a concern
The state took in $17 million in fiscal 2002 in collect telephone
calls that inmates placed to family and friends.
Because Georgia is one of the few states that does not pay inmates
for the work they do in prison, it falls to inmate families, many
already poor, to pick up the tab.
Corrections officials say they want to work with inmate relatives
to improve communications. Spokeswoman Lipscomb acknowledges that
breakdowns occur but says the department does not try to thwart
relatives. "We must be consistent in what we do," she said. "And we
realize that."
The fees charged inmates are no different from costs incurred by
people on the outside, Lipscomb said. Most of the money goes back into
the system for inmate programs, such as substance-abuse classes, she
said.
Many of the complaints about Corrections arise because of the
department's mission of security, she said.
"We're trying to meet the needs of the inmates and their families
while trying to protect the public from the people that are locked
up," Lipscomb said. "Because some of them have committed horrific
crimes."
