To: Jared Torres, Legislative Affairs Director and Rusty McLaughlin, Chief of Classification

Re: FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (FDC) RESTRICTIVE VISITATION POLICY

Currently, a person is allowed to visit only one non-family inmate even if they correspond regularly or the inmate is a friend of the family. Sadly, a first cousin is considered non-family even if they grew up in the same household with the inmate. On behalf of Forgotten Majority, Inc., community advocates/supporters, friends, families of the incarcerated and the offenders themselves, we strongly petition the FDC to amend their restrictive Visitation Policy to allow those considered non-family to visit more than one inmate. The benefits of visitation are proven to be huge and cannot be overstated.

The FSU study, conducted June 16, 2011 by Daniel P. Mears, Joshua C. Cochran, Sonja E. Siennick and William D. Bales, concluded that investing in policies, programs and practices that increase visitation holds the potential not only to reduce offending but also to increase prison order as well as enhance reentry outcomes including increased employment, reduced homelessness and improved family functioning. Take note that visitation is an approach that the public appears to endorse and one that liberals and conservatives would seem equally comfortable endorsing without appearing to be soft on crime and calling for costly programs.

The Minnesota study, authored by Dr. Grant Duwe and Valerie Clark in May 2013 is one of the largest and longest studies ever conducted and includes a five year follow up on 16,420 inmates on the effects of prison visitation. Of all inmates studied, nearly 40% did not have one single visit while in prison. That leaves about 40,000 Florida inmates without a single visit. “This leaves a high likelihood of reoffending and is indicative of a need for policy change,” Duwe said. “Even if the visit is only to update baseball scores, it still lets people know, 'OK, I'm not a throw-away human-being,' " Clark said. Visitation changes thinking that leads to changes in behavior.