Rebuilding Lives. Strengthening Communities.

Improve visitation facilities and procedures to encourage increased
contact, when appropriate, between prisoners and their families
during incarceration and to enhance the quality of prison visits.
Recommendation
Issue
Most of the 27 correctional institutions in Illinois are
located downstate more than 100 miles from the City of
Chicago. 10 For those who do not have access to a car and
for those with limited financial resources, visiting some of
these prisons is virtually impossible. Prison visiting
schedules are restrictive and permit visiting only on certain
days and at certain times, often conflicting with work
and school schedules. A study by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that as the distance between a prisoner’s
home and the institution of incarceration increased, the
percent of visitors steadily decreased. 11
Moreover, the actual prison visit itself can be a trying
experience. Visitors often arrive at the institution uninformed
about the rules, and must wait in long lines before
filling out the requisite forms and being processed
through security. 12 For example, visitors, even those from
other states, may be turned away because they did not
know to bring, and therefore lack, appropriate forms of
personal identification. 13 Once inside the institution, general
conditions often contribute to frustration. Vending
machines may be the only source of food. At some
facilities, families may not use cash, but instead are
required to purchase $10 cash cards from the institution
to buy a bag of chips. 14 When the weather is bad, visitors
must spend an additional 50 cents to store their coats in a
locker. 15
In Illinois, only a few prisons have “child-friendly”
visitation areas. Elsewhere, children visit with their
incarcerated parent in the general visitation area. For
reasons of safety, security and order, visiting children may
have to communicate with the incarcerated parent
through Plexiglas screens, 16 and this can pose a
tremendous psychological barrier for children who are
accustomed to connecting with a parent through physical
contact. 17
INSPIRATION FROM THE FIELD:
SAN QUENTIN VISITOR’S CENTER IN CALIFORNIA
San Quentin Visitor’s Center, also known as House on the Hill, is managed by Centerforce, an
organization that offers assistance to prisoners, former prisoners, and family members of prisoners.
The House on the Hill provides childcare services, an emergency clothing exchange for visitors who
are denied a visit due to their clothing, hospitality services and waiting areas, and transportation services
from local transportation centers and from the processing unit to the visitor center. It provides information
on local resources, general health and wellness, bus routes, area hotels and car rentals. The House
on the Hill also presents a video tracking a day in the life of a San Quentin state prisoner to answer the
typical questions posed by visiting children.
Sources: Centerforce/Friends Outside Information Sheet;Tara Regan (Children and Family Program Director, Centerforce), interview with Julie
Wilen, November 1, 2005.
MAYORAL POLICY CAUCUS ON PRISONER REENTRY
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