Changes Proposed to Inmate Financial Responsibility Program
The IFRP or Inmate Financial Responsibility Program is the program in the Federal Bureau of Prisons where the BOP takes money out of an inmates “trust fund” or “commissary” account to cover court costs, fines and restitution. The IFRP program was implemented in 1987 to ensure that inmates began to address their financial responsibilities related to their conviction while they were still in prison.
For decades the typical FRP payment (as it’s known in prison) was simply $25 per quarter for inmates who did not work at Unicor. Inmates that worked for Unicor (Federal Prison Industries) would pay half of their monthly salaries but made much more than inmates that had other Federal Prison jobs.
It pretty much didn’t matter how much you owed, the $25 quarterly payment was a staple and of course for those that owed millions, that barely made a dent.
But what this did do was allow inmates families, loved ones, friends and support networks to put money on their “books” (or trust fund accounts) for phone calls, emails and to buy things at commissary. For example, the BOP does not supply inmates with non-uniform clothing like sweats, shorts and t-shirts, rather just their uniforms, so inmates without money on their books were stuck with hand me downs or wearing their uniforms all the time.
More that this though is that the “trust fund” at every Federal Prison is used to off-set the cost of inmate needs, recreation services and things of that nature. Sporting equipment, arts and crafts supplies, teaching materials, even washers, dryers and hot water heaters are all purchased with “trust fund” money, or the profit from commissary sales and communications.
Now, because a small group of inmates like R. Kelly and Larry Nassar, have had tens of thousands of dollars on their accounts, the BOP has proposed changing FRP to up to 75% of the deposits on an inmate’s account. This means that rather than your inmate being able to buy essentials, commissary and paying for phone calls and emails, they will have to pay their fines and other responsibilities.
To those on the outside this may make perfect sense, however these inmates will still be obliged to pay these things back when they leave prison at a much more aggressive and appropriate level. Taking 75% of their trust fund money will not only cripple the inmates, but will cripple all the inmates and many functions reliant on the “trust fund” money. If FRP does change to 75% than we can expect a dramatic down shift in commissary profits which are used to fund many other important things.
Their is a public comment period still open for this until February 18, 2025. If you’d like to comment, please click this link.
7 responses to “Major Changes Proposed To Inmate FRP Program”
This will be terrible to inmates especially those that are aged, with medical issues. Most inmates are supported by families and this puts an undue burden on those families. They should not change the FRP system. They also need to pay inmates more money on their jobs. Making 12 cents ah hour and then taking 75% is disgusting.
I do not support it because when incarcerated individuals are unable to pay, the financial burden unfairly shifts to their families, who may already face economic hardship. This can create a cycle of poverty and stress for loved ones who are not responsible for the crime that was committed.
An alternate solution should be explored such as giving the option for inmates to work four hours a day to reduce restitution. Which can create a sense of responsibility and work experience for inmates.
Sounds like a great idea commiting a felony shouldn’t mean you get a free ride
This is a horrendous proposal and serves only to punish the family members of those incarcerated even further. The federal government and public at large already views inmates as deserving of punishment and deprivation of their rights; they are seen as a number, rather than a human being and loved one. If you have never had the unfortunate experience of a loved one being incarcerated, consider yourself very blessed. Watching a loved one endure the hardships of being incarcerated is even further perpetuated by the government’s overreach into any opportunity to remain connected with their family and friends. If the federal government / BOP wants to have access to restitution prior to the release of the inmate, than home confinement and opportunities to allow the inmate to work a job that provides a sustainable income need to be evaluated. It is unjust and inhumane to incarcerate these loved ones and deprive them of their basic human rights. I would encourage anyone who believes that this is a good proposal to speak to loved ones of inmates first. Empathy goes a long way to conveying how detrimental this government overreach will be.
I believe a greater focus needs to be on minimizing the waste of taxpayer dollars to incarcerate non-violent criminals and stop punishing the loved ones of those incarcerated. We are already having to learn to get by without primary income earners, husbands / wives / significant other, sons / daughters, fathers / mothers, brothers / sisters ,etc.
Furthermore, I encourage the media to reach out to loved ones of inmates and let the general public know what really happens when a loved one is incarcerated. Rather than hiding behind diplomatic policies and procedures that are often not practiced or realistic to do so, due to staffing shortages and other limitations, show the world what really goes on for these individuals. Follow the people and tell their stories, and those of their loved ones.
Inmates and their families are already facing hardships. A change like this will exacerbate the financial issues both inmates and loved ones already have to navigate. In addition, if the goal is rehabilitation and in this case repaying fines, restitution etc. why not allow inmates to earn more with the jobs they have in prison? Or allow those in camps or programming to work while in these programs? Or how about the system create a program that employees inmates upon release? Because BOP knows that most inmates won’t be able to secure employment due to their records upon release. So, yes it would make sense to place this financial burden on inmates families. Makes a lot of sense! BOP and the entire system could care less about the hardship of those who are already oppressed by a discriminatory wacky system.
My family and I are lower income. I am on disability due to health issues. I cannot afford to have to buy phone time for my inmate. The money that our family puts on commissary already takes from our children whom are already having a hard time with our circumstances. Having to spend money so they can communicate with our inmate is going to put more of a financial stress on our family and kids. Also 500 minutes a month isn’t enough time. It’s roughly one 15 minute phone call a day. So now the inmate has to pick and choose who the call, shorten phone calls, and stretch these minutes to stay in touch with love ones. Doing this just adds more stress to families and inmates.
That’s absolutely unnecessary. The payment they get for work is ridiculously low already and the money they get from family is to support the loved one to get by in the most dignified way possible. Taking it away when they already lost so much is horrible.
They just need to think of those inmates that doesn’t have a family and a support system on the outside.what are they supposed to do?