Call to Action: Please Contact Oregon Legislators About CenturyLink Problems

Table of Contents

About the Issue

In June 2020, Oregon Dept of Corrections (ODOC) switched communication providers from Telmate to CenturyLink. This introduced a number of problems including removing instant messages, ~~making video visits impossible with any Apple device~~ [iPhone app was released July 22, 2020], and creating long lines for phones inside prisons. No family member has been able to visit since March 13 due to Covid-19, so these communication methods are all we have.

I created a petition asking DOC for 10 changes that would improve the situation. It has over 1000 signatures and many moving comments. Now is the time to make our legislators aware and ask for their support.

What to Write

Here is what I recommend including in your letter:

Say that you are a resident of their district
Briefly describe the problem
Include any ways it has personally impacted you
Remind them that no family has been able to visit since March 13 due to Covid-19, making these communication methods the only way to stay in contact
Link to the petition for more info
Ask them to call Colette Peters at 503-945-0927 and ask her to fix these problems
Sign with your name

Scroll down to the bottom of this page for a sample letter.

Who to Contact

Legislators

There are four types of legislators you can contact:

U.S. Senators for Oregon – Ron Wyden (choose “Share Your Opinion”) and Jeff Merkley.
U.S. Representative in Congress
Oregon House Senator
Oregon House Representative

You can also write Governor Kate Brown.

You can find your representatives by going to Who Represents Me in Oregon and entering your address. They are different depending on where you live, except Oregon’s U.S. Senators, which are the same for everyone in Oregon and are linked above.

DOC

Here are some people at Oregon Department of Corrections you can also try contacting:

Colette Peters, Director: 503-945-0927, colette.s.peters@state.or.us.
Charles Kliewer, Administrative Services, listed as Program Administrator in the CenturyLink contract: 503-945-9029, charles.p.kliewer@doc.state.or.us.
Forest Ledbetter, Administrative Services, listed as Program Manager in the CenturyLink contract: 503-945-0905, forest.l.ledbetter@doc.state.or.us
Please don’t copy/paste the sample letter to these people, it won’t make any sense as it is written to target legislators.

Sample Letter

It is best to use this as starting place and write your own if you have time. Be sure to change the signature if nothing else.

Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) switched communication providers from Telmate to CenturyLink in June 2020. This has introduced a long list of problems that have made it much harder for Adults in Custody (AICs) and family members to stay in touch with each other. We have lost services we have come to rely on to maintain our families and relationships, and had to deal with a confusing and overwhelmingly complex and broken system.

We have created a petition with 10 changes both large and small that would restore the capabilities that we used to have, and remove obstacles that were introduced with the switch. For example, we can no longer send instant messages, and there are not enough phones so there are long lines inside the prison.

See our petition here:
https://www.change.org/OregonPrisonFam

For more background:
https://oregonjustice.org/problems-oregon-prison-centurylink-switch/ 
https://www.streetroots.org/news/2020/06/25/new-centurylink-contract-adds-communication-barriers-oregon-prisoners

Can you call Colette Peters, Director of ODOC, and ask her to make these changes to restore children and family's ability to stay in touch with loved ones in prison? No family has been able to visit since March 13 due to Covid-19, so these communication methods are all we have now. You can reach her at 503-945-0927 or colette.s.peters@state.or.us.

There is no statute I am aware of requiring ODOC to provide a functional or affordable phone or electronic communication system. We are at their mercy. As a Senator, you have far more power than we do. Please help.

Sincerely,

A family member of an inmate in an Oregon prison
And all the other prison families in Oregon

P.S. Please read the "reasons for signing" on the petition here:
https://www.change.org/p/oregon-doc-remove-obstacles-to-communication-for-prison-families/c

Here are some excerpts:

"My grand daughter can no longer have video visits with her dad and with no visiting, this is the worse case scenario for a child with an incarcerated parent."

"I can no longer video visit with my loved one in prison. We have a 3 year old child who already asks why we can’t visit daddy right now. Video visits were the one thing we had that kept him connected to his daddy. Now, just because I use a Mac, I am not able to video with my husband and my son has very little contact. Video visits have always been a major help, but now more than ever with in person visits closed. Please find a way to make video visits available for those of us who use Mac products. We should not be excluded from contact with our loved ones because of the computer we own."

"This new system will terminate texting between father and daughter... A shame"

"The children need to be able to talk with fathers. You are not just hurting the inmate you’re hurting the family’s Involved."

"This new phone/text/email “system” doesn’t allow my family to have the closeness we once shared by using gettingout [Telmate]. It’s been literally days without any contact from my brothers. We are used to texting or talking everyday. It made a huge difference for our family."

"While my family is at the end of "our " sentence, we understand that the only way to reduce recidivism is through family connections. Making that less possible, in the midst of this pandemic, is unusually cruel and goes directly against the mission statement of the Oregon DOC"

Call to Action: Please Contact Oregon Legislators About CenturyLink Problems

About the Issue

What to Write

Who to Contact

Legislators

DOC

Sample Letter

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About the Issue

What to Write

Who to Contact

Legislators

DOC

Sample Letter

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