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Our Sources

Where We Got This Information

Transparency is part of CCJT's name and mission. Every claim in this campaign comes from a verified source, and we want those sources to be easy to find. Below is everything we drew on to build this campaign, organized by subject. If you want to dig deeper into any of it, these are the places to start.

All facts in this campaign are drawn from government enforcement orders, court records, FOIA-obtained contracts, legislative records, and reporting from established investigative outlets.

The Kalamazoo Contract
NowKalamazoo Article 1 (September 2025)
Primary local source. The original FOIA investigation into the jail telecom contract, including the rate structure, commission details, the signing payment, and the Deere family story. This was the first time the full contract terms became publicly available.
nowkalamazoo.org
NowKalamazoo Article 2 (October 2025)
Follow-up coverage of the contract and community response, including how the investigation was reported.
nowkalamazoo.org
NowKalamazoo Article 3 (December 2025)
Coverage of the RFP process and procurement timeline, including commissioner statements on the competitive bid process.
nowkalamazoo.org
Michigan DOC: Official Phone Rate Documentation (2025)
MDOC's official guidance confirming the current per-minute rate for Michigan state prison calls, used as the primary rate comparison throughout this campaign.
michigan.gov/corrections
Federal Enforcement Actions
CFPB Consent Order (November 14, 2024)
Federal enforcement action related to account freezing, fund seizure from inactive accounts, and failure to disclose fee schedules. $2 million in restitution and $1 million civil penalty ordered. File No. 2024-CFPB-0015.
consumerfinance.gov
CFPB Consent Order (Full PDF)
The complete 44-page consent order document.
PDF
FTC Final Order: Data Breach (February 24, 2024)
Federal Trade Commission final order related to a 2020 data breach affecting approximately 650,000 customers. Complaint No. 212-3012.
ftc.gov
Prison Legal News: FTC Data Breach Coverage (May 2024)
Detailed reporting on the FTC order and the circumstances of the breach, including the delay in notifying affected customers.
prisonlegalnews.org
Class Action: Inactive Account Seizure
Prison Legal News: $67M Settlement Coverage (April 2022)
Reporting on the class action settlement over a policy of seizing funds from prepaid accounts that had been inactive for 90 to 180 days. The company acknowledged collecting $96 million from prisoners and their families through this practice.
prisonlegalnews.org
Prison Legal News: $18.7M Attorney Fees Coverage (March 2023)
Coverage of the final order including attorney fee award and case conclusion.
prisonlegalnews.org
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse: Official Case Record
Githieya v. Global Tel Link Corp., N.D. Ga., Case No. 1:15-cv-00986. Full case history and documents.
clearinghouse.net
Mississippi Civil Settlement
Prison Legal News: Mississippi Settlement Coverage (April 2018)
Reporting on the $2.5 million civil settlement related to alleged payments tied to prison phone contract corruption. The company settled without admitting wrongdoing.
prisonlegalnews.org
Company Press Release on Mississippi Settlement
The official public statement on the settlement, noting the company denied any wrongdoing.
prnewswire.com
Price-Fixing Litigation
Prison Legal News: $21.3M Settlement Coverage (April 2025)
Reporting on the preliminary settlement in Albert v. Global Tel*Link Corp., a class action alleging price coordination between competing telecom vendors. D. Md., Case No. 8:20-cv-01936.
prisonlegalnews.org
Prison Legal News: Fourth Circuit RICO Reinstatement (May 2024)
Coverage of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstating the RICO claim after a lower court had dismissed it.
prisonlegalnews.org
FCC Rate Rules
Prison Legal News: FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order (August 2025)
Coverage of the FCC's June 2025 suspension of the 2024 rate caps, which had set $0.06/min for prisons and up to $0.12/min for jails.
prisonlegalnews.org
Stateline: FCC Raises Rate Caps (November 2025)
Reporting on the November 2025 FCC order replacing the 2024 rules with higher interim caps, while reinstating the ban on site commissions and ancillary fees, effective April 6, 2026.
stateline.org
State Free-Call Policies
Stateline: New York Free Calls (August 2025)
Coverage of New York State's free prison phone call program taking effect August 1, 2025, and context on the six states that have moved to free or substantially reduced-cost calls.
stateline.org
New York DOCCS: Free Phone Call Policy
Official NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision page confirming the free-call policy effective August 1, 2025.
doccs.ny.gov
Colorado Sun: Colorado Free Calls Legislation (May 2023)
Coverage of Colorado's passage of House Bill 1133, making phone calls free in state prisons and youth detention facilities.
coloradosun.com
Commission Model and Industry Context
Axios: Site Commission Explainer (May 2021)
Source for the Peter Wagner quote on how site commissions drive up call rates nationally.
axios.com
Prison Policy Initiative: State of Phone Justice (2019 and 2022)
PPI's research on jail and prison phone rates nationally, commission history, and state-by-state data.
prisonpolicy.org/phones
Prison Policy Initiative: Michigan and Minnesota Jail Data
PPI data on in-person visitation bans at Michigan jails, including the finding that a majority of jails surveyed have banned in-person visits entirely.
prisonpolicy.org
GettingOut (ViaPath): Age Policy for Jail Phone Platform
Platform terms confirming that GettingOut services are intended for users 18 and older, relevant to the question of children's access to incarcerated parents.
gettingout.com
Research on Family Contact and Community Outcomes
Folk, Stuewig and Tangney (2019): Family Contact and Post-Release Mental Health
Peer-reviewed study showing more frequent family contact during incarceration predicts better mental health outcomes in the first year after release. PubMed PMID 30859871.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Urban Institute: Phone Calls and Incarceration Outcomes
Research linking regular phone contact with reduced anxiety and depression during incarceration and stronger family bonds upon release.
urban.org
Georgetown University: Phone Costs and Mental Distress
Study documenting a statistically significant relationship between higher call costs and worse mental health outcomes for incarcerated people, independent of other factors.
repository.library.georgetown.edu
Prison Policy Initiative: Family Contact Research Roundup (2021)
PPI's compilation of peer-reviewed research on the relationship between family contact during incarceration and outcomes after release.
prisonpolicy.org
Council of State Governments Justice Center: 50 States, 1 Goal (2024)
National report finding state-level reincarceration rates are 23% lower than in 2008, with family connection identified as a key component of successful reentry programming.
csgjusticecenter.org