The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) and the Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCCR) have provided resident access to the Securus Technologies, LLC telephone system at the Public Safety Facility (PSF), City Hall and the Adult Corrections Facility (ACF) since 2015. The previous amendment (Board Resolution 20-0290) provided for installation of video visitation services at the PSF, two free phone calls per resident per week at both facilities through 2020, contained provisions for DOCCR to pay for two free phone calls per resident per week at the ACF starting in 2021, and extended the contract until 12/31/23. 

This agreement provides for replacement of the ACF video visitation system to include remote video visitation and extends the agreement an additional year to 12/31/24. The vendor will provide two free phone calls per week and one free video visit per week at both facilities through the extension period. The new video visitation system will align with the phone system at both facilities and the jail video visitation system installed in 2020.

In 2019 ACF residents made or received approximately 71,500 phone calls, and PSF residents made or received 843,000 phone calls through Securus Technologies, LLC. As a result of COVID-19, in person visitation at resident facilities was eliminated. In March, 2020, Amendment 3 to Agmt A153963 implemented an emergency billing model that included free phone calls to ensure residents could maintain contact with their family and friends during the pandemic. The County agreed to cover the costs of all calls from residents housed at the ACF and the first three calls for residents housed at the PSF or City Hall at a reduced rate provided by Securus Technologies, LLC.  Costs incurred by the County between March and December 2020 for phone calls from the PSF, City Hall and ACF were submitted for reimbursement under the CARES Act.

The original contract directed the resident paying all costs for phone calls from the PSF, City Hall and ACF. The Law, Safety and Justice line of business departments continue their practice of evaluating and considering revisions to client fee schedules as part of the annual budget process, as well as ensuring that the relationships of the residents with their family and friends are maintained. DOCCR's 2021 and 2022 budgets have included funding to cover the cost of 2 phone calls for residents at the ACF. 

The cost of the ACF video visitation system, including installation of new hardware, software and implementation services at both the men’s and women's facility, is $269,862.  Annual licensing, maintenance and support for the system is $37,762. The vendor will provide 38 resident visitation stations (27 men’s and 11 women’s), 25 visitor visitation systems (17 men’s and 11 women’s). On-site video visitation services are provided without charge. Friends and family can use an application on their smart phone or PC to conduct a video visit remotely at a cost of $4.00 per 20-minute session. Phone call pricing has been the same since 2016 at $0.14 per minute. 

Securus Technologies, LLC. headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, is the largest communications provider for residents of correctional facilities. They serve more than 3,400 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1.2 million correctional facility residents.

Funds for this agreement are included in the respective 2022 budgets for DOCCR and the Sheriff’s Office.