This is by state policy to make a handsome profit. Considering the families of prison inmates did nothing wrong and often poor, such a policy seems immoral.
Considering that continuing family contact is very helpful in inmate rehabilitation and morale (which translates to less fights and riots within the prison and less recidisvm crime), it would be good public policy NOT to make a profit on such calls, rather, to encourage such calls at no more than cost or even at a subsidy. The actual toll cost to prisons for such calls is extremely low since states buy long distance in bulk at very low rates; though there is a monitoring cost and that is important for numerous security reasons.
Can cellular and VOIP services receive collect calls placed from traditional locations, such as pay stations or landline phones?
Since VOIP could serve as someone's home telephone service, though ought to be able to receive collect calls. Emergencies happen.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But Lisa, the Corrections Industry runs things, not social workers. The Corrections Industry has no interest at all in keeping guys from going back to prison. They are hoping in fact they do go back. Nothing warms their hearts more than some seventeeen or eighteen year old guy who gets a life sentence with no chance of parole. That _always_ gives them a thrill when they contem- plate the next thirty or so years of that guy's life. So please don't get any weird ideas about 'keeping the family involved' or being able to 'stay in touch with the world, etc'. Corrections has no time nor place for all that rot. The _only reason_ prisons/jails have phones for prisoner use at all is because those liberal Supremes and their 'run-away activist' court required them to do so several years ago. You know the Judiciary which thinks _it_ is in charge of things. Illinois, for example, deliberatly builds its prisons at the far south end of the state -- 300 miles from Chicago -- although 95 percent of the inmates are from Chicago. Their thoughts in Chicago are the prisoner is 'scum' by extension his family must be also.Now regards _Billed Number Screening_, the telco database which (if you choose to get listed on it) allows no collect nor third party billings to your number. Ask your service rep if you want to get listed there. It is a national (inter-telco) database which all telcos consult when someone asks to make a 'collect' call or to 'bill this call on my home phone'. VOIP and cellular are all listed there by default. You _cannot_ 'call collect' to VOIP or cell, and of course VOIP does not even have any 'operator services' anyway, however cell does have operator services, usually brokered through the incumbent telco in the area. I know Prairie Stream (our local telco) for example brokers its operator services from SBC and its directory assistance through SBC also. You cannot 'call collect' to my house either; with the cost of collect/third-party billing calls being so extravagent as compared to the pennies you pay for direct dial (and an 800 number being so cheap these days as well), why take a chance on some phreak or phone phraud person playing a trick on you. PAT]