On July 15th, Governor Wolf signed-off on Pennsylvania's $45.2 billion dollar budget. The budget includes approximately $2.2 billion for the state Department of Corrections. Prisons continue to be Pennsylvania's third largest state expenditure, after human services and education.  

Unfortunately, the Commonwealth did not allocate funds for prison monitoring.

Thanks to many of you, however, several legislators came forward to champion the cause. Because of your calls, emails, letters, and visits to legislative offices, many legislators deeply and personally understand the need to protect and promote the safety, health, and dignity of people in prison.

Thank you for your invaluable support. This is not the end. We will be gearing up again to help lawmakers understand how a modest state commitment to prison monitoring can make a huge difference in promoting the safety, health, and dignity of Pennsylvanian's behind bars.