Technology Bridges Gap Between Inmates, Relatives

Equipment often used for teleconferencing and distance learning is helping Cleveland, Ohio-based families reconnect with inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. The project, called Project IMPACT (Incarcerated Mothers, Parents And Children’s Televisitation Program), is coordinated by the Cleveland Eastside Ecumenical Consortium, a religious group, in order to help the more than 16 percent of prison inmates who are from the Cleveland area visit their families.

Often the distance is too far to travel and the prison environment too difficult on some family members, which is why the program is beneficial to families and inmates.

The prison itself benefits, because televisits are used as a reward for good behavior and visitors do not have to pass through security. Since September, more than 50 visitations have occurred using the technology with more families ready to participate, says consortium head Carol Gates.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the