A young person does a video call in the video room next to the St. Clair jail lobby. Photo provided in civil complaint against St. Clair County officials and Securus Technologies. Inset: Sheriff Mat King, St. Clair County, Michigan (YouTube/CTV Community Television screengrab, 2021).

Children and families in Michigan say they are being stripped of their right to see their incarcerated loved ones in person for years just so county officials and prison telecom companies and their partners can reap lucrative profits in an illegal kickback scheme while the families suffer long term consequences.

The allegations are found in a pair of class action lawsuits filed last month in Michigan. The class actions are separate, and the group of plaintiffs in both are diverse and are made up of parents and family members of inmates incarcerated in St. Clair and Genesee County, Michigan.

Represented by their parents or guardians, some plaintiffs are as young as just 2 years old. Many are preteens on the verge of life’s big changes from childhood to adolescence and have told the court they are looking for connection and guidance from their parents despite the circumstances.

At least one plaintiff is the mother of an incarcerated woman who alleges that an underlying scheme to cut off in-person visitation in favor of video-call visits only has relegated her relationship with her daughter to a series of dropped calls, slowly eating away at their relationship and contributing to the destruction of their mutual well-being.