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Stimulus Debit Cards Unusable For Prison Inmates In At Least Four States
By Jimmy Jenkins
February 6, 2021
Like other Americans, inmates and their families are struggling financially. CARES Act stimulus payments for inmates, which were granted after a legal challenge, help offset the myriad expenses inmates are responsible for, like telephone calls or medical needs.
The first payments were by check, but state prisons have been unable to process the second round of stimulus payments because the IRS distributed the money using debit cards.
Corrections Departments in Arizona, California, Florida, New Mexico and New York all report receiving the cards for inmates who qualify CARES Act payments. The states have communicated the problem to the IRS, but it’s unclear what steps the federal agency will take to fix it.
The IRS distributed the second round of stimulus money to eligible inmates using debit cards, which state prisons are unable to process. Correctional officials have communicated the problem to the federal agency, but it s unclear what steps the IRS will take to fix it.
Like other Americans, inmates and their families are struggling financially. CARES Act stimulus payments for inmates, which were granted after a legal challenge, help offset the myriad expenses inmates are responsible for, like telephone calls or medical needs.
The first payments were by check, but state prisons have been unable to process the second round of stimulus payments because the IRS distributed the money using debit cards.
Table of Contents
COVID-19 Extends Sentences for Some Incarcerated People
A person waves a Black Lives Matter flag across the street from Elmira Correctional Facility in New York, protesting the conditions faced by people incarcerated there during the pandemic. Advocates say states could make better use of systems allowing “good time” credits to reduce prison populations.
Kit MacAvoy
SOPA Images/SIPA USA via The Associated Press
Editor s Note: This story was updated January 20, 2021 to clarify a quote from New Jersey Assembly member Christopher DePhillips.
Nearly every day, Jan Salvay checks for her nephew’s name on the Nevada Department of Correction’s website: Nicholas, 39, jailed in a credit card forgery case. Then she checks the state’s list of deaths in custody just to make sure his name isn’t there.