Despite a $182 billion annual cost, the U.S. correctional system perpetuates itself: At least 95% of all state prisoners will be released from prison at some point, yet more than 50% of them reoffend within three years.
A key driver of high recidivism is the systemic negligence of the carceral experience. While much attention is given to interventions post-release, rehabilitation inside correctional facilities is largely invisible to the public. This dynamic results in approximately 2 million incarcerated persons being locked in a “time capsule”—the world passes them by as they serve their sentences. This is a missed opportunity, as simple interventions like accessing educational resources and maintaining family contact during incarceration can cut recidivism by up to 56%. Reduced recidivism translates into more robust workforce, safer communities, and higher political participation. The new administration should harness the momentous bipartisan interest in criminal justice reform, audit the condition and availability of rehabilitative resources in prisons and jails, invest in digital and technology infrastructure, and sustainably end mass incarceration through building meaningful digital citizenship behind bars.
Challenge and Opportunity
In the post-COVID-19 world, robust and reliable technology and digital infrastructure are prerequisites for any program and resource delivery. However, the vast majority of U.S. correctional facilities still lack adequate technology infrastructure, with cascading effects on the availability of in-prison programs, utilization of digital resources, and incarcerated people’s transition to the free world.
As many other institutions quickly embrace new technology, prisons lag behind. In Massachusetts, prisons struggle to provide even basic rehabilitative, educational, and vocational training programs due to a shortage of hardware devices, such as tablets and Chromebooks, and insufficient staffing. Similarly, in Florida, internet access is constrained by legislation and exacerbated by a lack of funding. Many prisons are forced to limit or entirely cancel programs when in-person visits are inaccessible, due to either COVID-19 restrictions or simply insufficient transportation options for resource providers. Consequently, only 0.5% of incarcerated individuals are enrolled in educational courses. The situation is equally dire in juvenile detention centers from California to Louisiana, where poor access to educational opportunities contributes to low graduation rates, severely limiting future employment prospects for at-risk youths.
Despite these systemic challenges, there is a strong, bipartisan recognition of the need to improve conditions within the carceral system—and therefore a unique opportunity for reform.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has passed the most comprehensive regulations on incarcerated people’s communication services, setting rate caps for various means of virtual communications. Electronic devices, such as tablets and Chromebooks, are gradually being accepted in correctional facilities, and they carry education resources and entertainment. Foundationally, federal investments in broadband and digital equity present a generational opportunity for correctional facilities and incarcerated people. These investments will provide baseline assessment of the network conditions and digital landscape in prisons, and the learnings can lay the very foundation to enable incarcerated people to enter the digital age prepared, ready to contribute to their communities from the day they return home.
This is just the beginning.
Plan of Action
Recommendation 1. Invest in technology infrastructure inside correctional facilities.
A significant investment in technology infrastructure within correctional facilities is the prerequisite to transforming corrections.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity (DE) programs, sets a good precedent. BEAD and DE funding enable digital infrastructure assessments and improvements inside correctional facilities. These are critical for delivering educational programs, maintaining family connections, and facilitating legal and medical communications. However, only a few corrections systems are able to utilize the funding, as BEAD and DE do not have a specific focus on improving the carceral system, and states tend to prioritize other vulnerable populations (e.g., the rural, aging, veteran populations) over the incarcerated. Currently incarcerated individuals are difficult to reach, so they are routinely neglected from the planning process of funding distribution across the country.
The new administration should recognize the urgent need to modernize digital infrastructure behind bars and allocate new and dedicated federal funding sources specifically for correctional institutions. The administration can ensure the implementation of best practices through grant guidelines. For example, it could stipulate that prior to accessing funding, states have to conduct a comprehensive network assessment, including speed and capacity tests, a security risk analysis, and a thorough audit of existing equipment and wiring. Further, it could mandate that all new networks built or consolidated using federal funding be vendor-neutral, ensuring robust competition among service providers down the road.
Recommendation 2. Incentivize mission-driven technology solutions.
Expanding mandatory access to social benefits for incarcerated individuals will incentivize mission-driven technology innovation and adoption in this space.
There have been best practices on how to do so at both the federal and state levels. For example, the Second Chance Pell restored educational opportunities for incarcerated individuals and inspired the emergence of mission-driven educational technologies. Another critical federal action was the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (specifically, Section 5121), which mandated Medicaid enrollment and assessment for juveniles, thereby expanding demand for health and telehealth solutions in correctional facilities.
The new administration should work with Congress to propose new legislation that mandates access to social benefits for those behind bars. Specifically, access to mental health assessment, screening, and treatment, as well as affordable access to communication with families and loved ones on the outside, will be critical to successful rehabilitation and reentry. Additionally, it should invest in robust research focusing on in-prison interventions. Such projects can be rare and more costly, given the complexity of doing research in a correctional environment and the dearth of in-prison interventions. But they will play a big part in establishing the basis for data-driven policies.
Recommendation 3. Remove procurement barriers for new solutions and encourage pilots.
Archaic procurement procedures pose significant barriers to competition in the correctional technology industry and block innovative solutions from being piloted.
The prison telecommunications industry, for example, has been dominated by two private companies for decades. The effective duopoly has consolidated the market by entering into exclusive contracts with high percentages of kickback and so-called “premium services.” These procurement and contracting tactics minimize healthy competition from new entrants of the industry.
Some states and federal agencies are trying to change this. In July 2024, the FCC ruled out revenue-sharing between correctional agencies and for-profit providers, ending the arms race of higher commission for good. On a state level, California’s RFI initiative exemplifies how strategic procurement processes can encourage public-private partnerships to deliver cutting-edge technology solutions to government agencies.
The administration should take a strong stance by issuing an executive order asking all Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities, including ICE detention centers, to competitively procure innovative technology solutions and establish pilots across its institutions, setting an example and a playbook for state corrections to follow.
Recommendation 4. Invest in need assessments, topic-specific research and development of best practices through National Science Foundation and Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Accurate needs assessments, topic-specific research, development of best practices, and technical assistance are all critical to smooth delivery and implementation.
The Department of Justice, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), offers a range of technical assistance (TA) programs that can support state and local correctional facilities in implementing these technology and educational initiatives. Programs such as the Community-based Reentry Program and the Encouraging Innovation: Field-Initiated Program have demonstrated success in providing the necessary resources and expertise to ensure these reforms are effectively integrated.
However, these TA programs tend to disproportionately benefit correctional facilities where significant programs are already in place but are less useful for “first timers,” where taking that first step is hard enough.
The new administration should work with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the BJA to systematically assess and understand challenges faced by correctional systems trying to take the first step of reform. Many first-timer agencies have deep understanding of the issues they experience (“program providers complain that tablets are not online”) but limited knowledge on how to assess the root causes of the issues (multiple proprietary wireless networks in place).
The NSF can bring together subject matter experts to offer workshops to correctional workers on network assessments, program cataloging, and human-centered design on service delivery. These workshops can help grow capacity at correctional facilities. The NSF should also establish guidelines and standards for these assessments. In addition to the TA efforts, the BJA could offer informational sessions, seminars, and gatherings for practitioners, as many of them learn best from each other. In parallel to learning on the ground, the BJA should also organize centralized task forces to oversee and advise on implementation across jurisdictions, document best practice, and make recommendations.
Conclusion
Investing in interventions behind the walls is not just a matter of improving conditions for incarcerated individuals—it is a public safety and economic imperative. By reducing recidivism through education and family contact, we can improve reentry outcomes and save billions in taxpayer dollars. A robust technology infrastructure and an innovative provider ecosystem are prerequisites to delivering outcomes. As 95% of incarcerated individuals will reenter society one day, it is vital to ensure that they can become contributing members of their communities. These investments will create a stronger workforce, more stable families, and safer communities. Now is the time for the new administration to act and ensure that the carceral system enables rehabilitation, not recidivism.
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