California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation changing a number of rules governing inmate visitations. Senate Bill 843 was signed into law on June 27th. Among several dozen changes and additions to existing state law, the new law states that when the state legislature and governor amend regulations affecting inmate visitation, “among other things, they recognize the value of visitation as a means of improving prison security and must consider both staff and inmates.” The new law adds that beginning July 1, inmates cannot be barred from family visits “solely on the basis of the fact that the inmate has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or sentenced to life imprisonment” and does not have a parole date set by the Board. parole hearings. The Men’s Advisory Council (MAC) met with Associate Director Kelly Mitchell and Associate Director Gary Forncrook about this new law and its implications and changes to the current visitation policy. “Senate Bill 843 now authorizes lifelong family visitation. We have just been informed but we are unable to process requests for overnight family visits until the rules are written. Until we know the criteria, we cannot approve lifelong family visits,” Mitchell said. “Let inmates (general population) know they can contact their counselor to request a family visit. However, applications will not be processed until we receive the criteria from the venue. We will also be meeting with all council members to brief them.” “The only disclaimer that remains is that inmates in close confinement cannot attend family visits,” Forncrook said. “Detainees in close custody are not entitled to family visits. No other exclusion criteria are known at this time.” Therefore, for the time being, all non-custodial inmates interested in family visits may contact their correctional counselor to submit a “Family Visitation Request,” or inmates may request a CDCR-22 Submit form to ‘Family Visitation Coordinator’ for more information. Completed applications must be submitted to Counselors but will not be processed until new regulations setting criteria for family visitation are received by Administration.
Where are spousal visits allowed?
States that allow spousal visits
As recently as 1995, 17 states had spousal visit programs, although federal prisons never allowed it.
Why do states allow family visits?
There are many benefits, but the biggest one is a drastic red increase in recidivism rates. A study in New Mexico (where conjugal visits were recently phased out) showed that prisoners who participated in extended family visits were 70% less likely to end up in prison than those who didn’t.
Family visits are therefore more effective than education in keeping ex-offenders out of prison. The effectiveness of these programs makes sense when you consider that they help maintain relationships between inmates and their loved ones. These relationships are critical to helping inmates adjust to life outside of prison after release.
Waitlist
Inmates must demonstrate excellent prison behavior and serve at least 90 days of their sentence to be on the waitlist in any state that allows overnight visits. Additionally, institutions often bar lifelong inmates and sex offenders from participating in conjugal visits.
In the United States, each state has different rules regarding spousal visitation, or “extended family visitation.”