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Utah Prisoner Advocate Network

UPAN | A nonprofit community advocacy group supporting the families of Utah inmates.


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📬 The July 2026 U

📬 The July 2026 UPAN Newsletter is now available!

This month’s 10-page issue includes timely information, practical guidance, and updates for incarcerated individuals, families, and advocates across Utah.

Inside this issue:

• Property loss concerns following recent mass housing moves
• Preparing for release and building a new vision for the future
• Housing and case management support available through Utah Case Management
• Ongoing prison phone issues at USCF and CUCF—and how families can document and report them
• An overview of UPAN’s medical advocacy work
• Updates on parenting and family-focused courses
• Higher education opportunities inside Utah’s prisons
• Why commissary is often a necessity and lifeline—not simply a luxury
• Recognition of Doug Fawson as the recipient of UPAN’s 2026 Dream Maker Award

Please note that UPAN will not hold a monthly meeting in July.

Our next meeting will be:

📅 Monday, August 10, 2026
🎤 Presenter: Valerie Worrell with the Utah Department of Corrections
📱 Topic: Inmate Tablets

UPAN meetings are free and open to the public. They are available through Facebook Live and can also be viewed afterward on the UPAN Facebook page.

Please read and share the July newsletter with others who may benefit from this information. Knowledge, documentation, and connection remain some of the strongest tools families have when navigating Utah’s correctional system.

Read the July newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/utahprisoneradvocate/…

“Empowerment and Growth Through Knowledge and Unity”

#UPAN #UtahPrisonerAdvocateNetwork #UtahCorrections #PrisonFamilies #FamilySupport #Reentry #PrisonEducation #MedicalAdvocacy #CriminalJusticeReform ... See MoreSee Less

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It costs about $70,000 each year to imprison one person in the United States. For women, who are the fastest-growing incarcerated population in the country, that cost is 25 to 75 percent higher, according to a new report shared with The 19th.

The additional costs — between $87,000 to $122,000 per woman annually — stem from unique staffing, administrative and health care needs compared with those of men, the independent nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) found.

The number of women under correctional control is projected to reach 1.1 million by 2035 — a 10 percent increase from 2022 — and includes women across state and federal prisons, jails, probation and parole.

The economic impact of this growth in women’s incarceration extends to the public cost per incarcerated woman, as well as the loss of unpaid household and caregiving labor that must be replaced when a woman is imprisoned.

CCJ estimates that the value of this loss in household labor to be $2.8 billion annually in 2025, and projects this will rise to $3.8 billion by 2035. The overall cost to incarcerate a growing number of women is expected to rise from between $23 billion and $26 billion in 2025 to $30 billion to $34 billion by 2035.

“Because no national data source reports the full cost of women’s imprisonment, this analysis relies on multiple estimates to establish a plausible range,” the report says.

A second CCJ report, also published Tuesday, focuses on what happens when governments intentionally reduce the number of incarcerated women.

The report says reducing the amount of time served by 50 percent would result in an “estimated net annual cost savings range from $61.8 million to $94.1 million in Illinois and $68.3 million to $102.7 million in North Carolina.”

✍️: Candice Norwood, justice reporter
📸: Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images ... See MoreSee Less

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About UPAN

The Utah Prisoner Advocate Network (UPAN) is dedicated to supporting families and loved ones as they navigate the challenging journey of incarceration. When a friend or family member is incarcerated, it can be an overwhelming experience, as supporters face the complex rules, regulations, and restrictions of life separated by bars. UPAN works to make this transition less complicated and isolating by providing resources and support for families while also advocating for better conditions and fairness within Utah’s correctional facilities. Please visit our About Page to learn more.

Follow UPAN on Linktree
All of our important links are now in one place! https://linktr.ee/utahprisoner

Associations

UPAN is a proud coalition member of People Not Prisons, a group of advocacy groups working on behalf of people with mental health conditions, people recovering from substance use disorders, and men and women caught up in Utah’s criminal justice system.

Donate | Federal EIN Number: 90-1021189

The Utah Prisoner Advocate Network (UPAN) is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Your contributions are tax-deductible and directly support our mission to create positive change. Information about an UPAN’s tax-exempt status and filings can be found on the IRS website. To make a donation and join our efforts, please visit our Donations page.

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Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 464
Draper, UT 84020

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