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Affordability, Accountability, Innovation and Reform


Platinum Equity wholeheartedly supports efforts to reform business practices in the corrections services industry. We are driving a comprehensive reform agenda at portfolio company Aventiv and its subsidiary Securus Technologies to make services more accessible and affordable for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.

Companies involved with Aventiv Technologies, Securus, JPay, and AllPaid
 

Download the Transformation Overview 

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Stories of Transformation

 

Teresa Hodge Aventiv

Aventiv Technologies Formally Launches Independent Advisory Board of Experts and Advocates in Reentry, Rehabilitation, Education

Board Led by Teresa Hodge, a Formerly Incarcerated Executive, Now a Leader in Re-Entry Diverse Cross-Section of Community, Public Policy, and Business Leaders to Accelerate Aventivโ€™s Transformation Empowering Rehabilitative Justice

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Aventiv Advisory Board

New Aventiv Advisory Board โ€˜committed to building a better futureโ€™ for the incarcerated

Open letter explains why powerful leaders are joining Platinum Equityโ€™s efforts to transform Aventiv and the corrections services industry

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Lowndes County Sheriff's Office

Securus tech allows Florida detention center to help the incarcerated keep in touch with children

Called Family Time & Tales, the program enables a child to virtually read a book with incarcerated parent via Securus Video Connect service

SOURCE: WTXL
VIEW
Andre Norman Aventiv

Yahoo! News explains how the incarcerated can benefit from Securus tablets, โ€˜Sec2nd Actsโ€™ podcast

Correctional official: Technology, podcast show incarcerated โ€˜they have the ability to return to normal lifeโ€™

SOURCE: Yahoo! News
VIEW
Aventiv CEO Dave Abel

Aventiv CEO to FCC: We support interim rate caps on inmate calling services

Securus Technologies announces support for FCCโ€™s efforts to lower communication costs for the incarcerated

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Yusef Jackson profile image

Why Yusef Jackson has joined Platinum Equityโ€™s transformation efforts at Aventiv Technologies

The son of noted civil rights leader brings โ€˜spirit of empathy and loyaltyโ€™ to technology company serving corrections sector

SOURCE: Platinum Equity
VIEW
Securus Technologies logo

Securus Technologies applauds Connecticut government after taxpayer funded calls for incarcerated become state law

Legislation is a โ€˜bellwetherโ€™ for other jurisdictions seeking to make communication products more affordable and accessible

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Profile image of Alisha James

Securus Technologies Announces New Expansive Post-Incarceration Unit and Welcomes Community Justice Expert as Program Lead

Launch of Post-Incarceration Business Unit Will Help Securus Create More Second Chance Opportunities and Better Support Incarcerated Individuals Upon Reentry

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Article about Aventiv and subsidiary Securus Technology.

Securus Technologies Provides More Than 340 Million Free Minutes Of Phone Connections For Incarcerated Individuals During Pandemic

In their efforts to keeping families connected and to support re-entry they have offered 41.5 million free phone calls totaling over 341.5 million free minutes

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Korn Ferry article image

Aventiv Technologies commits to diversify workforce through new partnership with Korn Ferry

Partnership Aims to Increase Representation from African American and Hispanic Communities in Aventiv Workforce

SOURCE: SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
VIEW
Aventiv CEO Dave Abel Forbes

Aventiv CEO Dave Abel: How corporations can transform business practices for social good

Establishing a โ€˜clear commitment to principlesโ€™ is the first step on the path to transformation

SOURCE: Forbes
VIEW
Yusef Jackson profile image

Yusef Jackson Joins Aventiv Technologies Executive Team

Mr. Jackson Will Help Lead and Expand Reforms, Develop Community Partnerships and Advise Parent Company Platinum Equity on Business Strategy

SOURCE: SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
VIEW
Aventiv CEO Dave Abel

Aventiv CEO Dave Abel: How business can help formerly incarcerated Americans lead productive lives

Here are four keys for businesses seeking to hire the formerly incarcerated

SOURCE: Forbes
VIEW

Connecticut inmates receive JPay tablets to connect with families, educational opportunities

More than 1,500 tablets distributed to the incarcerated at Connecticut facility

SOURCE: My Record Journal
VIEW

Civil rights leader: Tom Gores and Securus โ€˜making goodโ€™ on promises and tackling reforms that โ€˜no other company in the prison telecom space has matchedโ€™

Securusโ€™ efforts drawing notice after Platinum Equity lays groundwork for transformative agenda

SOURCE: Afro News
VIEW
Securus call center

How Securus partners with technology company to provide jobs, training

Call center employs the incarcerated to help peers remain engaged with loved ones

SOURCE: Inside Indiana Business
VIEW
Securus Technologies logo

Update: Securus reports โ€˜significantโ€™ progress with transformation agenda

Reduction in phone rates, new tablet software highlighted in making products and services more accessible

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW

CEO Dave Abel: Investing in the incarcerated is a win-win for all of society

Aventivโ€™s top executive says improving access to digital technology is a worthy goal

SOURCE: Forbes
VIEW

Leading From the Front

Tom Gores, Securus Technologies and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

SOURCE: Platinum Equity
VIEW
Securus Technologies logo

Securus Technologies Supports the American Cancer Society through the Company's eCard Program during October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Proceeds from the "Fight Against Breast Cancer" eCard category during the month of October will be donated to the American Cancer Society

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Securus Technologies logo

Securus Technologiesโ€™ Unity Platform is the latest investment in the incarcerated community

New JP6S software will help incarcerated individuals to more directly engage in many areas of personal development

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Securus Logo 573x300

Update: Securus Technologies Reports More Than 50 Percent Reduction in Fees for Third-Party Transactions on Calling Accounts

Fees for 3rd party retail transactions reduced to $4.95

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Securus Ashland Graduation

Securus Technologiesโ€™ โ€˜Lanternโ€™ shines brightly in helping 600 students earn degrees from Ashland University

Program โ€˜opens doorsโ€™ for the incarcerated by providing much-needed access to digital education

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Aventiv's new Chief Information Security Officer is Melanie Sankaran

Aventiv Technologies Transformation Advancing With New Additions To Leadership Team

Company Has Now Added New Members to Senior Leadership Team From Outside Traditional Corrections Sector

SOURCE: Aventiv Technologies
VIEW
Securus tablet

Investing in What Matters: Aventiv Technologies Dedicates Additional Resources towards Expanding and Improving Relationships with Those That Mean the Most

Organization progresses on transformation with expanded priorities to address immediate needs for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones impacted by COVID-19

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
QA with Dave Abel is Chief Executive Officer of Platinum Equity portfolio company Aventiv Technologies and its subsidiary Securus Technologie

CEO: How public-private partnerships are โ€˜essentialโ€™ in the transformation of Aventiv/Securus

In Q&A with Platinum Equity, CEO Dave Abel tells how long career in providing tech solutions has prepared him to oversee Aventiv/Securus

SOURCE: Platinum Equity
VIEW
Article about Aventiv and subsidiary Securus Technology.

Securus Technologies Debuts the JP6S, the Most Evolved Tablet Constructed to Improve the Wellbeing of Incarcerated Individuals

The introduction of the JP6S is representative of Securus Technologies' transformation commitments, including investing in innovation and responding to customer needs

SOURCE: Aventiv Technologies
VIEW
Platinum Equity CEO Tom Gores commenting on Securus Technologies reform efforts.

Platinum Equity CEO Tom Gores Discusses Transformation of Securus Technologies With Former FCC Commissioners

Tom Gores responded to former FCC Commissioners with an update on how portfolio company Securus Technologies is supporting incarcerated individuals and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic

SOURCE: Platinum Equity
VIEW
Platinum Equity portfolio company Aventiv Technologies and its subsidiary Securus Technologies are committed to reform.

Aventiv Technologies Reports Initial Progress On Reform Commitments

Accomplishments reflect a positive shift in accessibility and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders

SOURCE: Securus Technologies
VIEW
Dave Abel is Chief Executive Officer of Platinum Equity portfolio company Aventiv Technologies and its subsidiary Securus Technologies.

Dave Abel Named Chief Executive Officer Of Aventiv Technologies And Its Corrections Subsidiary Securus Technologies

Mr. Abel Announces Accelerated Transformation Program Focused On Affordability, Accountability, Innovation and Reform

SOURCE: Aventiv Technologies
VIEW

COVID-19 Response

On March 13, the day COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in the United States, Securus began offering free and discounted services to every one of its state and county corrections agency customers.

As of January 27, 2022, the company has provided:

Free Phone Calls

53.2M

Total Minutes

439.7M

Video Connections

7.4M

Email Message Stamps

34.0M

All of these actions to support individuals impacted by COVID-19 are part of a broader effort to transform the company and make services more accessible and affordable for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.

— Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO Tom Gores

Aventiv Transformation Hub

Learn more about how Securus, JPAY and Allpaid are using technology to build a safer and more equitable corrections industry

http://transformation.aventiv.com

Securus News

Access all the latest news from Securus

https://securustechnologies.tech/press/

We have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to address the financial and social needs of the communities we serve, making our services more affordable and accessible while continuing to innovate and help our government partners keep those communities safe and secure.

— Aventiv CEO Dave Abel

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Copyright © 2022 Platinum Equity, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Mergers. Acquisitions. Operations., M&A&O® and Platinum Equity® are service marks or registered service marks of Platinum Equity Advisors, LLC and Platinum Equity, LLC (collectively, “Platinum Equity”). All other trademarks and service marks used in these materials are the property of their respective owners and/or affiliates of Platinum Equity.

DALLAS, February 17, 2022 -- Aventiv Technologies, the leading technology company empowering rehabilitative justice by pioneering the development and deployment of educational platforms as a rehabilitation tool for the incarcerated, today announced the formal launch of a Corporate Advisory Board to help fulfill its aggressive, multi-year commitments to transformation.
 
The board comprises 11 leaders representing a diverse cross-section of constituencies and communities. Its chairperson is Teresa Hodge, a formerly incarcerated business leader turned advocate and President and CEO of Mission: Launch, a nonprofit that works with financial institutions to help the formerly incarcerated get access to capital to start businesses. In addition to Hodge, members of the advisory board include a former Vice Chairman of General Electric; a retired Vice President of IBM; former officials from the FCC and Department of Labor; community activists; and several formerly justice-involved individuals.
 
“Mass incarceration is failing America. The system isn’t working for those inside or their families.  This board is incredibly important to changing the status quo because we understand how important it is to actually listen to diverse voices when addressing the problems in the system, and Aventiv is committed to listening to all of us," said Ms. Hodge, who was named to the Forbes 50 Over 50 list of America’s leading women executives and entrepreneurs. “I have committed myself to reducing the harm prison causes to individuals and their families, especially children. This is based on lived experience for me. We make coming home too hard.  I am pleased to play an impactful role in helping Aventiv use its place inside facilities to improve outcomes for justice-involved families and cement the foundation for systemic change. Once part of the problem, Aventiv is now part of the solution."
 
The board reports to Aventiv CEO Dave Abel and will work cross-functionally with other members of the company’s management team on its sweeping transformation into a modern technology business providing education, re-entry and rehabilitations services in addition to communications.
 
“When I became CEO two years ago, I committed to forever changing this company by transforming how it does business, and by putting the incarcerated people we serve at the heart of every product and decision we make. We have undertaken an ambitious transformation to make investments work for all the people whose lives are affected by the criminal justice system,” Mr. Abel said. “These changes were long overdue. Now we’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a broader suite of technology products and services that support not just communications but also education, reentry, and rehabilitation. This is about saving lives, and I am lucky to have this group of advisors in our boardroom who are going to be instrumental to transforming Aventiv even more, and to helping us advocate for a more just system.”
 
Mr. Yusef D. Jackson, a senior advisor to Aventiv, was instrumental in developing the board structure and roster. He will partner with the incoming chair launching its work and integrating the board into the operations of the Company.
“The formation and launch of the Advisory Board is a crucial step in Aventiv’s ongoing transformation,” said Jackson. “We’ve made notable progress, but to be most effective, we must be better connected as a Company to the communities we serve and have unfettered access to bold, independent perspectives from people who will help guide us in new ways and hold us accountable to our commitment for change. I am confident this group of advocates will hold a mirror to our actions and role as an industry leader, and speak the hard truths necessary to fix a broken system for good. We’re well positioned and ready for the work ahead.” Aventiv also retained the Black-owned corporate strategy and development firm HP Global Advisors to advise the board curation process.
 
 
The 11 Advisory Board members are (full bios can be found HERE:)
 
Johnny Barnes, director of Dream Builders Foundation, former IBM Chief Technology Officer 
 
Jeff Carlisle, attorney and former chief and deputy chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau
 
Teresa Hodge, President and CEO of Mission: Launch, Inc.
 
Tricia “CK” Hoffler, attorney and former President of the National Bar Association
 
Johnel Langerston, founder and president of Urban Born
 
Andre Norman, CEO of Academy of Hope
 
Jane Oates, former U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) official and President of WorkingNation
 
Rick Raemisch, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and former Dane County (WI) Sheriff; currently chief consultant at Falcon Inc.
 
Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation
 
Lloyd Trotter, founder and managing partner of GenNx360 Capital Partners, former Vice Chairman, General Electric
 
KC Wilbourn-Snapp, former school principal, community activist, principal consultant at Inspire the World Training and Consulting, Inc. 
 
 
Each of the Advisory Board members will be paired with C-Level executives at Aventiv who share similar expertise and responsibilities to drive actionable business engagements and ensure the company is best serving the needs of its consumers and customers.
 
Board members will also collaborate with individuals in correctional facilities, their loved ones, community leaders, government agencies, reform advocates, and others on ensuring that Aventiv is fully utilizing its connectivity for those who need it most.
 
The Advisory Board is a key component of Aventiv’s reform efforts to keep families connected easily and affordably, to motivate and inspire, provide access to the fundamental human right of education to individuals during incarceration and create reentry paths to success that reduce recidivism. The board will balance those commitments against the vital security needs of our communities and the requirements of local, state, and federal corrections departments and their staffs.
 
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Gathering around the tree to open gifts is the typical Christmas scene for most families.

But for Yusef Jackson, the holiday was a time to help the incarcerated held at the Cook (Ill.) County Department of Corrections.

“Most kids think about what they're going to get under the tree,” Jackson said recently. “For us, the big thing on Christmas was to wake up, put our clothes on and go to the jail and put on programs for the prisoners.

“It was our religious obligation to do so.”

Jackson, whose father is noted civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, has devoted his life to driving structural change in confronting systemic racism.

The attorney and entrepreneur brings that experience to Aventiv Technologies, a diversified technology company that provides solutions to customers in the corrections and government services sectors. Platinum purchased Securus Technologies in 2017; a 2019 corporate reorganization and diversification of products led to the formation of Aventiv, the parent corporation over Securus and JPay.

The reorganization represented the transformation from a corrections telecom company to becoming a diversified tech provider.

Jackson joins Aventiv as a senior executive; he is also an advisor to the ownership group. He has been tasked with overseeing Aventiv’s corrections subsidiary, Securus Technologies, in the ongoing effort to expand and implement more affordable and accessible products with the goal to create better outcomes for the incarcerated.

“We are proud of the reform work Aventiv and Securus have already executed, but we know there is much more to do to drive meaningful change in the company and industry. We are confident that Yusef can affect change through innovation,” Platinum Equity CEO Tom Gores said.

Shortly after Jackson’s appointment, Securus announced the formation of a post-incarceration business unit focused on identifying more opportunities to support individuals after release and provide critical resources to foster successful reentry into society.

The transformation efforts are ongoing with Jackson meeting stakeholders and activists since the announcement.

Some might be surprised at Jackson’s choice to join the company that has been accused by activists of predatory schemes against the incarcerated. But the father of five believes in the transformation mission.

“At our best we can educate people through our platform,” Jackson said. “We can provide GED services, we can provide mental health services, we can provide access to degrees. We can use our platform to register you to vote. We can provide entertainment, podcasts, and educational materials. That's what we do at our best. We have a past, but the past has created opportunities for the future.”

Jackson spoke with Platinum Equity to give an update on his first few months.

(Answers have been edited for clarity and length).

PE: Why did you decide to join Aventiv?

Jackson: When I was first presented with this opportunity, I had to pray on it. I read the reports about the company and was disturbed by some of the practices. But I had a conversation with (Platinum Equity partner) Mark Barnhill and Tom Gores. And I believe that honestly and truly, we're looking for a path to pursue justice in the criminal justice system through the company. We've worked together for many months to determine how we might achieve that goal. One of the things we have discussed is getting people who use our products to express their opinions and their stories about how our products are used. It will help us do a better job of connecting them with their loved ones on the outside.

Jackson: I told Tom that we’re at our best when we connect mothers and fathers to their children, sons and daughters to their parents, and grandparents to their grandchildren. When we're at our best, we give comfort to children that your mother or father is OK. We connect people during their most vulnerable period.

PE: Is there anything in your work experience that informs your work with Aventiv?

Jackson: I ran a company for 15 years in distribution and warehousing logistics and operations. I practice law, and I've run our family foundation for several years. What you learn is it’s about people, decision-making and problem solving, but now I really focus on people. If you can instill that spirit of empathy and loyalty and instill a culture of excellence, it opens so many possibilities. Along with Mark, there are some great people at Aventiv and we're working to continue to transform a culture.

PE: How can Aventiv address issues of systemic racism, inequality?

Jackson: It's no secret that our communities have been over policed, some target communities of color with predatory practices. Redlining is real. That cycle of predation can’t follow us from the neighborhoods to the prison cell. With products like JPay, with our tablet platform products, we can turn a jail cell into a place of learning, which will allow us to significantly reduce recidivism so that we don't end up going back into the same system that we left.

Jackson: We will establish degree programs that will reduce recidivism. When you have a degree, when you have education, you don't go back in that system. That's what our platform has the power to do. We're investing in education programs, we're investing in voter registration programs, we're investing in mental health programs and also second-chance opportunities, so that when you come out, you have a chance to participate in the community. Pricing must be fair. You should not go into debt paying for phone calls to reach your loved ones.

PE: Your passion is noticeable. Where does that come from?


Jackson: Growing up, our phone number was always published, and prisoners always called us. We always accepted the collect calls. So we protested exorbitant phone rates. We've been on picket lines to make prisons safer, more sanitary. So the opportunity to move from protests on the outside, to changing the position of a company on the inside is something that appeals to me. I think there is a tremendous opportunity for Platinum to run a great business and do justice. We have an opportunity to invest in the people who are affected by the system. That's one of the reasons I think Tom is a perfect owner for this, for this company, is that he has the resources and the time to invest in the system to make it better.

PE: You mentioned Gores and Barnhill. Did they have to sell you on joining Aventiv?

Jackson: We worked for five months before I started, and we've spent a lot of time together. We talked about what our goals were, how we align our goals, how we shape objectives for the initiative. Once we got together and determined that we were going to make this company right, it didn't take a much more than that. The only way to affect change is to get on the field. I'm not afraid to be on the field, with this team fighting to make the changes that we're speaking about. It's worth it.

DALLAS, June 17, 2021 -- Yesterday, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 972, legislation that will make Connecticut the first U.S. state to adopt a fully taxpayer funded model for calls made from correctional institutions. Under this new taxpayer funded law, incarcerated individuals and their families will not be charged for calls, making it even easier to communicate with loved ones.

Securus Technologies, which currently operates and maintains the secure calling systems used in Connecticut state correctional facilities, released the following statement:

"We applaud Connecticut lawmakers for passing, and the governor for signing, legislation that will make phone calls free to incarcerated individuals and their families. This important legislation not only provides relief for consumers, it also is a bellwether for other state and local jurisdictions looking for ways to make these products and services more affordable and more accessible.

"As part of its own reform program, Securus has offered both zero commission and fully taxpayer-funded options in all contracts since last year, and the company previously managed a seamless transition in New York City to a free-to-consumers model. As service provider to the Connecticut Department of Corrections, we will work to ensure a seamless transition there as well.  

"To jump-start that transition, we are pleased to have worked with state corrections officials to implement an immediate reduction of 20% in average call rates charged to consumers, effective July 1. Under the legislation, calls will be free to consumers no later than Oct. 1, 2022."

Securus Technologies has been engaged in an ongoing transformation effort to improve access to its services and provide greater support for those impacted by incarceration. Details about the company's progress are available here.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES  
Headquartered inโ€ฏDallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America.โ€ฏ The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visitโ€ฏwww.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 byโ€ฏTom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

Securus Technologies today announced the organization's new Post-Incarceration Business Unit, focused on identifying more opportunities to support individuals after release and provide critical resources to foster successful reentry. The organization has also welcomed Alisha James as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Post-Incarceration team who is responsible for identifying and implementing new ways the organization can prepare and support formerly incarcerated individuals as they re-enter their communities. James' appointment is the latest of a series of executive hires to diversify Aventiv Technologies' – the parent company of Securus - expertise and expand support for those post-incarceration by maximizing the impact of its products and services.

James' new role includes driving multiple initiatives to connect critical post-incarceration resources to those who need it most. With more than 15-years of reentry and criminal justice reform experience, her extensive knowledge of the post-incarceration space will help the company identify the technologies and resources necessary to expand the organization's commitment to promoting better reentry outcomes, which serves as a key pillar of its multi-year transformation agenda.

"More than 2.3 million Americans are incarcerated each year and up to 95 percent of those are eventually released back into society, yet re-entry programs and resources are painfully underfunded and often unavailable for those who need them the most," said Yusef Jackson, Senior Executive and Advisor at Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "If we want to see change in re-entry outcomes and recidivism rates, we need to make change both inside our corrections facilities and outside in our communities. We are excited for Alisha to establish and lead the Post-Incarceration Business Unit at Securus, helping us expand our reform efforts and better serve those who are incarcerated with the resources they need to make a smooth, successful transition back into society."

James brings extensive experience assisting government and private entities with criminal justice reform measures focused on reentry, pretrial, probation and parole. One of her main focuses will be scaling programs to ensure as many formerly incarcerated individuals as possible are served and collaborating with leading executives of shared service departments across the company to improve business practices.

"When Americans are released from prison, they are often not equipped with the resources they need to succeed as they re-enter their communities, perpetuating the cycle of incarceration," said Alisha James, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "That is why I have devoted my career to serving this population and assisting the public and private sector with critical criminal justice reform and reentry initiatives. I look forward to expanding my work and joining an organization that is dedicated to bettering the lives of the currently and formerly incarcerated."

James is the founder and CEO of QwickTouch, a company that creates pathways for seamless re-entry and successful completion of community supervision by utilizing state-of-the-art technology. She also serves as principal consultant and CEO of James Group Consulting, a firm focused on leadership, strategic planning and criminal justice related initiatives. Previously, James oversaw and managed operations of the Community Supervision division for the Tennessee Department of Corrections. She has been widely recognized as an expert in her field, receiving the Top 40 Under 40 in Law Enforcement award from the International Chiefs of Police Association in 2018. She currently sits on the Association of Women Executives in Corrections and American Probation and Parole Association boards.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America. The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

In their efforts to keeping families connected and to support re-entry they have offered 41.5 million free phone calls totaling over 341.5 million free minutes

DALLAS, April 27, 2021 -- Securus Technologies today released its monthly update detailing the total number of free calls, video connections, JPay Stamps, news subscriptions and game downloads it has provided since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The offerings are part of an emergency program Securus deployed with its correctional partners on March 13, 2020, when the pandemic was declared a national emergency. It was developed to support re-entry efforts and help incarcerated individuals stay connected with loved ones during this challenging time.

To date, those free offerings total:

  • 41.5 million free call credits for incarcerated individuals and their families, resulting in 341.5 million free minutes of phone connections;
  • 6.5 million free video connections to friends and families of incarcerated individuals;
  • 25 million free JPay Stamps for electronic messaging;
  • 297,440 free monthly subscriptions to Newsstand;
  • 784,377 free game downloads;
  • Total accommodations for 419 agencies and 758 sites across the United States.

In addition to this ongoing assistance, Securus is offering compassion credits designed to accommodate incarcerated individuals who fall ill with COVID-19. Those credits, which are uploaded onto prepaid cards and distributed by correctional facilities, allow additional free access to Securus phone calls and video connections throughout an individual's medical care. The company is also making free calls available to public defenders at many locations.

For those facilities enabled with Securus tablet technology, the company has introduced select free movie and game titles during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been downloaded almost 2 million times. This expanded assistance is in addition to the no-cost resources, including educational offerings, free eBooks, podcasts and other self-help tools that are always available free of charge.

"Even as restrictions start lifting and in-person visitations become available across the country, technology will continue to play a vital role when it comes to connecting incarcerated individuals to their friends and families," said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "At Aventiv, we remain committed to offering innovative technologies to not only connect incarcerated individuals with their loved ones, but to also provide them with the necessary resources to prepare them for re-entry. I am proud of the work we have done thus far and look forward to identifying more opportunities for our products to positively impact and support incarcerated individuals."

The program is an element of an ongoing transformation effort by Securus Technologies to improve access to its services and provide greater support for those impacted by incarceration. The company continues to work with its partners to garner feedback about the situation on the ground. All support from Securus will be in accordance with the latest public health guidelines to ensure that the support is tailored and responsive to the unique needs of the incarcerated community.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies, today announced a new partnership with Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY), a leading global organizational consulting firm, to help advance the corporation’s human capital goals as part of its ambitious, multi-year transformation agenda. The partnership enables Aventiv to launch a new Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) initiative this month focused on attracting the most talented, diverse workforce.

The program will place special emphasis on Diversity & Inclusion by identifying and placing minority candidates in the company’s workforce, and on Second Chance Hiring by identifying and placing candidates who are formerly incarcerated individuals.

The partnership provides Aventiv with an industry-leading talent acquisition solution including full lifecycle recruitment and streamlined state-of-the-art processes that optimize employer and candidate experience and improve quality of hire. The Korn Ferry partnership will help Aventiv meet its talent goal to grow a high-performing, inclusive workforce that reflects and connects to the communities and customers they serve. The RPO initiative expands Aventiv’s sourcing capabilities to reach underrepresented minorities, specifically women and individuals from the Black and Hispanic communities across the U.S., who have skills and experience to support and grow the organization. Korn Ferry is designing a specialized sourcing channel dedicated to second-chance hiring to drive results toward Aventiv’s commitments supporting the Society of Human Resource Management’s Getting Talent Back to Work initiative.

“We believe that a culture of inclusion comprised of individuals with diversity of experience and viewpoints helps us create the best products and services for our consumers and customers,” said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. “Our partnership with Korn Ferry nationally scales our efforts to add fresh perspectives and varied backgrounds to our organization.”

The new partnership with Korn Ferry continues a year-long effort by Aventiv Technologies to diversify its workforce and address reforms. “We know that a diverse team drives creativity and insight, and we are committed to increasing the representation and career development of African Americans and Hispanics in our workforce, including our management ranks,” said Cindy Pechal, Chief Human Resource Officer of Aventiv Technologies. “We will continue to work with like-minded organizations to make a lasting impact in the communities where we live, learn, and serve.”

Aventiv will provide regular updates about its diversity hiring and inclusion efforts through 2021.

ABOUT AVENTIV TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

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Aventiv Technologies and Platinum Equity today announced the appointment of Yusef Jackson as a senior executive at the company and advisor to the ownership group. Mr. Jackson will help Aventiv’s corrections subsidiary, Securus Technologies, expand and implement an ongoing operational transformation to make current products and services more affordable and accessible, and develop new offerings that help create better outcomes for incarcerated individuals.

He also will facilitate external partnerships with leaders from the civic, educational, and corporate communities; and deepen internal programs to ensure a more diverse workforce at Aventiv that is more connected to the people it serves. Beyond the company and its operations, Mr. Jackson will help advise the ownership team at Platinum Equity as it considers partnerships for the company.

Platinum Equity CEO Tom Gores said: “We are proud of the reform work Aventiv and Securus have already executed, but we know there is much more to do to drive meaningful change in the company and industry. We are confident that Yusef can affect change through innovation.”

“Yusef brings needed expertise and perspective to our executive team,” said Aventiv Technologies CEO Dave Abel. “He will play a vital role not only in expanding our reform efforts, but also in broadening our view as we look both inward and outward with respect to employee, customer, and community stakeholders.”

Mr. Jackson said that one of his first courses of action will be to review data and speak with both the families of those incarcerated and members of the incarceration community – past and present. “While I know Securus has undertaken a similar effort, it is important that I understand not only the data, but hear first-hand from affected individuals,” he said.

“The correctional services industry provides critical technology products and services to incarcerated Americans, but the business practices employed by the industry have been rightly criticized and are long overdue for reform.”

Mr. Jackson said that Aventiv and Platinum have demonstrated a clear commitment to transforming the industry. “If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have accepted this position. I am proud to be working with Dave Abel and his leadership team in their effort to improve the company and take their reforms to the next level.” Mr. Jackson joins the Aventiv team with decades of experience as an attorney, entrepreneur, and businessman leading corporate turnarounds, as well as a lifetime of driving structural change to confront systemic racism alongside his family. He has a proven track record in bringing civic groups, religious leaders, local officials, impacted communities, and businesses together for shared causes and mutual goals. He said the vision and commitment to reform are what drew him to the opportunity.

According to research from FWD.us and Cornell University, admissions to local jails have exceeded 10 million each year for at least the last 20 years, and an estimated 6.5 million Americans have an immediate family member currently incarcerated in jail or prison. Incarceration impacts people and families from all walks of life, but disproportionately affects people of color and impoverished communities.

“There are far too many people, particularly from communities of color, caught in the cycle of incarceration,” Mr. Jackson said. “Black individuals are incarcerated five times more and Hispanics at double the rate of whites. The challenges start prior to conviction with an inability to meet the financial expectations of the system. Then, post-release, the stigma of serving time prevents many from finding a job and earning a fair wage. We cannot live up to our ideals or achieve our goals as a nation until this is fixed.”

Ninety percent of those serving time in jail and prison are ultimately released back into society and face uncertain futures without access to educational, job, and community-based second chance programs. Mr. Jackson said that in addition to the work he will be doing to help improve the affordability of communicating with family members while in prison, key areas he will focus on at Aventiv include investing in the development of job and reintegration tools for those who are incarcerated, as well as partnerships with legislators, civil rights organizations, prison reform advocates, law enforcement agencies, and others to eliminate the post-incarceration stigma.

“At Aventiv we have the opportunity to invest in the individuals most affected by the system, connecting them to their families, delivering re-entry resources, and creating a 360-degree circle of strength and real second-chance opportunities,” Mr. Jackson said. “I am motivated to affect meaningful change from the inside out in this company and industry.”

ABOUT AVENTIV TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

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Securus reduced phone rates, provided 50% customer savings, and introduced new tablet software and a pre-paid card with discounted payment services as part of their commitment to actionable reform.
 
DALLAS, TEXAS– Aventiv Technologies and its corrections-services subsidiary Securus Technologies, today reported progress made toward comprehensive, transformation commitments announced in mid-January to make the company’s products and services accountable, accessible, and affordable. These commitments benefit incarcerated Americans and correctional facilitates across the United States.
 
As part of this initiative, Securus aggressively reduced rates for its correctional communications services by renegotiating 59 contracts with local agencies nationwide, to eliminate higher-than-average rates and fees. These efforts have resulted in:
 
  • Rates that continue to decline, bringing the nationwide average cost of a 15-minute phone call to $2.25; and
  • Year to date through October, more than 50 percent of all calls on a Securus platform cost less than $1.00.
 
In addition to these significant rate reductions, Aventiv furthered its commitment to offering industry-leading low-cost options for incarcerated Americans and their families, including:
 
  • Eliminating third-party financial service fees on vendors like Western Union and MoneyGram that resulted in a 50 percent savings for customers.
  • Introducing paySupreme™, a pre-paid card that allows friends and family of incarcerated individuals to send money to a loved one’s trust account at a 30 percent discounted rate.
  • Announced a new subscription pricing model for phone calls designed to provide consumers with a simple, pre-set monthly charge that allows for even more phone conversations with loved ones while simplifying billing and payment. The pilot will be available by the end of 2020 at select sites.
 
Aventiv also deployed several key initiatives that advance the January commitments, including:

 
  • Education, Reentry, & Recidivism
    • Finalized partnership with Televerde – which aligns with Aventiv’s Second Chance Hiring Principles and commitment to further invest in re-entry services — employing forty-five incarcerated women to support customer service efforts with the goal of increasing quality service and empathy in interacting with consumers.  The program’s comprehensive offerings provides real-life job experience, certification and skills and professional development that will change their lives for the better.
      • According to a recent study conducted by Arizona State University’s Seidman Research Institute, incarcerated women who work with Televerde have a recidivism rate that is 91 percent lower than the national average of women released from state prisons according to the Bureau of justice Statistics. 
      • 94 percent of all Televerde graduates are still employed five years after their release and they earn four times the salary of other formerly incarcerated women who did not participate in the program.
    • Deepened commitments to educational offerings and celebrating the 600th degree conferral from our post-secondary Lantern program.
    • Added more than 600 new students to the post-secondary Ashland University program across Arizona, Missouri and North Dakota.
    • Expanded CourseShare content providers by adding Academy of Hope and AccomplishED Ventures.
       
  • Listening & Responsiveness
    • Hosting regular virtual meetings with stakeholders that include facility administrators, elected officials, current and former regulators, industry advocates, families of incarcerated Americans, and the formerly incarcerated to facilitate conversation and better meet their needs.
    • Engaging conversations led to the organization’s eBook catalog to be published on Aventiv.com, helping to provide more transparency for the free offering.
       
  • Technology & Innovation
    • Continuing to invest in the physical infrastructure of the facilities that partner with Aventiv, the organization has invested more than 40 million dollars in technologies in 2020 to date.
    • Launching the new JPS6 tablet and Securus Unity software platform to provide more advanced technological options for incarcerated Americans.
    • Utilizing Securus Technologies’ suite of investigative and security tools, the organization was able to intercept more than 7,000 cases of suspicious activity since January 1, 2020, including threats, violence, witness tampering, financial fraud and other unlawful actions.
 
“Despite the exceptional challenges caused by the pandemic, we have achieved significant progress against our commitments,” said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies. “We have continued investing our technology, leveraged sentiments from key stakeholders to improve transparency, and developed an expansive COVID-19 emergency program all while reducing our rates and creating new and affordable programs for our customers. I am extremely proud of the work our team has done this year and know that even more progress lies ahead.”
 
Aventiv also continued the organization’s commitment to working with our facility partners to provide free and reduced rate communications options for incarcerated Americans and their loved ones so they can stay connected during the unprecedented pandemic. To date, those offerings include:

 
  • 30.2 million free calls, totaling 215.9 million free minutes of phone connections
  • 5.5 million free video connections
  • 16.1 million free JPay Stamps for electronic messaging to 507,000 incarcerated individuals
  • 172,729 free monthly subscriptions to Newsstand
  • 613,788 free game downloads
 
Aventiv and Securus will continue to release progress updates on the organization’s transformation commitments, including making products and services more affordable and accessible. For past progress reports and a detailed overview of the company’s commitments, goals, and achievements, visit https://transformation.aventiv.com/.
 
ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America.  The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that
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Oct. 8, 2020
Mr. Michael Govan
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Dear Michael and Trustees,

Thank you for your time and dialogue last week in speaking to the important issues of social justice, racial justice and criminal justice reform as it relates to the board’s service on behalf of the museum.

I was happy to answer questions about Platinum Equity’s investment in Securus Technologies, and to detail our comprehensive efforts to transform the company and make its products and services more affordable, more accessible and more supportive of incarcerated individuals and their families.

I understand that leading from the front on these issues is not for everyone, but I appreciated the support from those board members throughout this process that have praised Platinum’s commitment to reform and taken the time to understand the breadth of our execution plans and transparency of our efforts.

As some board members know, long before this issue surfaced I pledged 100% of my personal interest in Securus to meet the challenges of reform, and to be sure all families in need have the opportunity to connect. We have developed a philanthropic effort alongside the business reforms, and we welcome any of you that are interested in this topic to reach out and continue our conversations.

We didn’t know when we acquired Securus that it would become a nexus for addressing the political, social, racial and economic issues roiling America today. But now that we are here, we will not shy away from the hard work ahead. We’ve made substantial progress but there is more to do. We are investors and business operators, not activists, but we embrace the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in support of social justice, racial equity and criminal justice reform.

We are change agents shouldering the hard work of reform in the corrections services industry. We’re fighting entrenched opposition from critics on one side who think we’re moving too far and too fast, and on the other side who think we’re not moving far enough or fast enough. Some of those critics would prefer we break the company rather than fix it or sell it rather than reform it. We choose instead to make a difference by doing the work.

Paraphrasing a salient question at last week’s board meeting: “Okay Tom, we appreciate your efforts to ‘take the hill’ and reform Securus. But why does LACMA have to take the hill with you?”

The simple answer is: You don’t. Effective immediately, I resign my position on the board and forego all ties to the institution.

Each of us has a choice to step up and face hard truths about race and justice that boiled over this summer but have simmered in our country for generations. I choose to step up and address these issues out loud and out front, as I always have across all of my business and personal interests.

I accept at face value your concern that this is all too much of a distraction from the institution’s core mission. My decision to step away from the board is based on relieving LACMA of any further distraction and ensuring that the transformation work at Securus, and in all of our businesses, continues to move forward with vigor and passion.

I will continue to lead from the front on these issues. The work is meaningful and important, and leadership requires the willingness to persevere in order to effect positive change.

I wish each of you well, both individually and on behalf of LACMA.

Best regards,
Tom Gores

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DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2020 -- Securus Technologies is proud to announce the company will be donating fifty percent of proceeds from the company's "Fight Against Breast Cancer" suite of eCards to the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help in the fight against a disease that takes thousands of lives each year.  According to cancer.org, breast cancer death rates in the U.S. are higher than those for women than any other cancer, besides lung cancer.  Donating financial support to the ACS will help to fund and conduct cancer research, support patients and spread the word about prevention.

The cost to attach an eCard to an email is one Stamp, and the proceeds from all the Stamps used in the month of October for the "Fight Against Breast Cancer" eCard category will be donated to the ACS.  Incarcerated individuals along with their loved ones in almost 40 states can purchase and attach any of the 20 customer-crafted greeting cards celebrating hope for breast cancer survivors and all those touched by the disease. 

"Too many mothers, daughters, sisters and friends are battling this disease – it has to stop," said Jade Trombetta, Senior Manager, Communications and Social Media for Securus Technologies.  "We have proudly supported this cause for years and thank all other organizations and individuals who prominently wear pink and support the fight against breast cancer during the month of October, and throughout the year.  Together we can beat this."

"We envision a future where our daughters –our children –will no longer live with the threat of breast cancer," said the National Leadership Team for the American Cancer Society. "Unfortunately, that future is at risk. The impact of COVID-19 will reduce our ability to fund cancer research by 50% in 2020 --our lowest investment this century if current trends continue. We can't and won't allow progress to be put on hold because of COVID-19. At risk are more and better treatments and discoveries that will improve and save lives."

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America.  The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of nearly 1.5 million volunteers dedicated to saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer. From breakthrough research, to free lodging near treatment, a 24/7/365 live helpline, free rides to treatment, and convening powerful activists to create awareness and impact, the American Cancer Society is attacking cancer from every angle. Visit cancer.org for more information.

The organization combined the best elements of classic JPay and Securus platforms to provide one, comprehensive software program that can integrate into any correctional facility.
 

DALLAS, Sept. 29, 2020 -- Securus Technologies today introduced the organization's newest digital offering to the corrections industry, the Securus Unity Platform. As the pioneers of tablet technology, Securus leveraged the organization's nearly ten-years of tablet knowledge and practical in-facility experience to build a software platform that can be customized to operate in any correctional environment. The comprehensive software is only available on the new JP6S tablet and services are delivered completely wirelessly. Additionally, a significant benefit of the Securus Unity Platform is providing access to critical content such as free education and re-entry resources to all incarcerated individuals where the software is available.

The Securus Unity tablet software enables incarcerated individuals to more directly engage in their own educational, vocational, health and communication development and minimizes dependence on availability of in-person resources.  In a facility environment that has nonstop activity, providing solutions that improve efficiency and maintain security are top priority.  The Securus Unity Platform was built to make it simple for facility staff to administer and manage tablet usage with the ability to regulate and message individual users, the entire population, or a segmented group of individuals. With built-in wireless capabilities, the JP6S delivers the Securus Unity Platform wirelessly, removing the need for kiosks which eliminates burdens such as long lines to sync tablets for upgrades or send and receive communications.  The comprehensive platform comes equipped with the full suite of Securus applications and each facility determines the applications they would like to offer their population. 

"We are the most experienced tablet technology provider in corrections with nearly a decade of knowledge and learnings from introducing new programs, customizing solutions, advancing security measures and accessing invaluable user feedback.  We used all of it to build the Securus Unity Platform," said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies.

The Securus Unity Platform can operate on different delivery models through the JP6S devices to accommodate the various needs of prison and jail facilities.  For example, the Community Tablet model makes devices available for daily use to the entire population with free access to critical content such as educational programming, re-entry resources, addiction recovery services and more applications built to prepare individuals for success upon release. There are no charges for access time, tablet usage, ebooks, podcasts or educational resources.  Individuals can subscribe to a MakeMine account, which is a monthly subscription model that creates access to paid applications on the JP6S devices such as media, e-messaging and phone-on-tablet on any Community device.  Facilities can also offer a Personal Tablet model, providing each incarcerated individual with their own device to access the same free critical content as well as paid applications.  The device hardware is returned to the facility once the individual is released and is automatically converted back to a Community Tablet. Facility staff operate the Command and Control Officer Tablets to help manage and control usage, deploy information and other security features to help increase safety.

"We are the most experienced tablet technology provider in corrections with nearly a decade of knowledge and learnings from introducing new programs, customizing solutions, advancing security measures and accessing invaluable user feedback.  We used all of it to build the Securus Unity Platform," said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "The platform is smart, empowers incarcerated users with access to features and services they want and creates efficiencies for our customers. We are committed to investing in the incarcerated community and proud of the work that went into this level of innovation."

Availability of the Securus Unity Platform varies by agency.

About Securus Technologies LLC

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America.  The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

Fees for 3rd party retail transactions reduced to $4.95
 
DALLAS, TEXAS–Aventiv Technologies and its corrections-services subsidiary Securus Technologies today announced that it has renegotiated pricing on third party vendor contracts.  Consumers pay processing fees for cash deposits to fund telephone accounts by third party retail vendors such as Western Union and MoneyGram.  These new prices result in a combined total cost reduction for consumers of more than 50 percent. The reduction comes amid an expansive and holistic corporate transformation launched in January, with the goal of making products more accountable, affordable, and accessible.
 
“We are proud to have reduced third-party financial transaction fees by more than 50 percent for our telephone account customers,” said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. “We know there is more work to be done, but we continue to deliver on our promise to make our services as affordable and accessible as possible.”
 

“We are proud to have reduced third-party financial transaction fees by more than 50 percent for our telephone account customers,” said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies.


Aventiv will continue to release progress updates on the organization’s transformation commitments, including making products and services more affordable and accessible. For past progress reports and a detailed overview of the company’s commitments and goals, visit https://transformation.aventiv.com/.
 
ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Securus Technologies, a subsidiary of Aventiv Technologies, serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America.  The Aventiv organization is committed to providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.
 

DALLAS, Sept. 2, 2020 -- Securus Technologies today announces that its Lantern Program has helped 600 incarcerated students earn bachelors and associates degrees from its partner, Ashland University. Created in 2016, Lantern is a first-of-its-kind learning management system built specifically for corrections to provide incarcerated students access to digital education. It has grown to become the largest digital education program for the incarcerated in the U.S.

Lantern is an interactive, cross-functional, and full-service education platform, built to provide incarcerated individuals access to digital college courses so incarcerated individuals can work towards earning their college degree.   The program features corrections-grade tablets and draws content from a network of reputable academic providers. In addition to Lantern, incarcerated individuals also have access to GED prep courses, personal development content and thousands of free KA Lite educational videos, which have been downloaded more than 22 million times across subjects ranging from accounting to astronomy.

"Education changes lives and for those working to return home it is a critical step. Six hundred individuals have earned their college degree, either during incarceration or post-release, and there will be many more," said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "We're extremely proud of this milestone and we look forward to celebrating many more graduations."

"Education changes lives and for those working to return home it is a critical step. Six hundred individuals have earned their college degree, either during incarceration or post-release, and there will be many more," said Dave Abel, president and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "We're extremely proud of this milestone and we look forward to celebrating many more graduations."

Securus Technologies helps prepare incarcerated individuals for reentry by providing education, self-help, entertainment, and communication resources. Users have the ability to learn important job skills and access education at no cost, not only to improve their lives, but also to better their communities.

"Earning a college degree can change the trajectory of a person's life, whether they're incarcerated or not," said Todd Marshall, Ph.D., Vice President for Correctional Education and Innovation at Ashland University. "We partnered with Securus because we knew the value it would bring; the fact that it has grown to this size gives us great hope for the future of the program."

"Lantern got me back on track, challenging me to improve myself and focus on reentering society with a degree that would open doors," said M.R., former Lantern student. "For many in the incarcerated community, access to technology and access to education are nearly impossible. The fact that Securus provides these education resources at no cost changed my life.  I'm now working towards my Master's Degree; ten years ago I would have never even dreamed of earning any kind of degree."

For more information, visit the Lantern program website.

ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES:
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, an Aventiv Technologies company, serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, incarcerated individual self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies connecting what matters®. For more information, please visit SecurusTechnologies.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

Company Has Now Added New Members to Senior Leadership Team From Outside Traditional Corrections Sector
 

Aventiv Technologies continues to deliver on its promise to transform the company by bringing in individuals from outside of the traditional corrections space to broaden and diversify the perspective of its corporate leadership team. Over the past year, the company has hired seven new individuals to its executive team in addition to new president and CEO Dave Abel. The new leadership brings expertise in the consumer products, technology, financial services and education sectors and will add to the core of experienced executives already in place at Aventiv and its subsidiaries.
 
Most recently, the company added Cindy Pechal as its Chief Human Resources Officer. Ms. Pechal has over 30 years of experience developing and executing on the strategic human capital blueprint  for organizations ranging from startup tech companies to Fortune 50 financial & consulting services firms. She is recognized for transforming the People experience while aligning Human Resources priorities to yield high performing business outcomes.

Ms. Pechal’s hiring is part of a multi-year executive restructuring designed to advance the transformation agenda envisioned by CEO Dave Abel. The transformation will improve affordability, increase accountability, and prioritize continued investment in technology. This includes the creation of two new positions that are focused on executing the company’s new commitments: VP of Strategy & Transformation Alex Dougherty is charged with refining Aventiv’s strategic outlook and executing on necessary transformational activities to see the enterprise achieve its goals, while VP of Corporate Affairs Joanna Acocella is charged with soliciting input from external experts and other key stakeholders and ensuring transparency and public accountability.

Aventiv also announced the hiring of Melanie Sankaran as Chief Information Security Officer.  Sankaran brings a background of leading-edge information security in the financial services industry to the role.  She will be responsible for advancing the overall enterprise security vision and approach in line with the transformation agenda.

“I was named in January to drive and accelerate a transformation of the organization. Bringing these leaders into the Aventiv family adds a more expansive array of perspectives that will build on the important work being done by our existing leadership team and drive that transformation forward,” said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies. “New talent helps bring new energy into any organization, and I look forward to working with our entire executive team to deliver more value for our customers and build an industry-leading culture of accountability.”

Aventiv has already made significant strides toward its transformation commitments. The company has reduced call rates by an average of 30%, renegotiated outlier contracts to further lower rates, implemented quarterly consumer formers with formerly incarcerated individuals, and signed the Getting Back to Work Pledge.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the company worked with almost 400 agencies to provide free credits for its services during the pandemic, nearly 20 million free phone calls, 4.7 million free video connections, and 8.9 million free JPay Stamps for digital messaging.

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Organization progresses on transformation with expanded priorities to address immediate needs for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones impacted by COVID-19
 

DALLAS, Aug. 10, 2020 -- Just six months since launching a transformation agenda under new CEO Dave Abel, Aventiv Technologies and its corrections-services subsidiary, Securus Technologies, today reported significant progress in accelerating an expansive, holistic reform of corporate policies and practices. 

Education, reentry and recidivism represent one of the key pillars in the transformation effort.  An additional 13,456 incarcerated students gained access to post-secondary educational programming through Securus' digital education platform since March alone, a critical connection to help improve recidivism rates. 

In addition to enrolling thousands for free educational programming, Aventiv deepened its commitment to supporting re-entry services and creating opportunities for the formerly incarcerated. For example, so far in 2020, the company has:

  • Provided initial seed funding to help launch Freedom Rides, a non-profit that assists formerly incarcerated individuals in purchasing vehicles so they can safely travel to jobs or classes.
  • Built upon the existing corporate job application that "bans the box" and broadened hiring practices by defining allowable types of felony convictions and specified roles to which limits apply.
  • Signed the Society for Human Resource Management's Getting Talent Back to Work Pledge and 10% of new hires since January have prior records.

In addition to efforts centered around education, the organization also furthered its responsibility to execute against commitments made in January, which include:

  • Accessibility and affordability:
    • Securus renegotiated contracts with 56 correctional agencies, reducing call rates that had previously exceeded national averages.
    • Securus began offering commission-free and agency-paid options for telephone calls to both existing and new institutional customers.
  • Technology and Innovation:
    • Aventiv has invested more than $2.3 million in new infrastructure and the development of new technology including further strengthening cyber security measures.
  • Transparency
    • The company initiated a process to develop a terms-of-use policy to memorialize comprehensive data privacy standards for its products. That policy will now be released by the end of 2020 due to COVID-19.
    • Aventiv commissioned a cost analysis by an independent third-party, which is on-track to be released by the end of 2020.
  • Listening and responsiveness:
    • Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Aventiv leadership continued an ongoing series of listening sessions with advocates for the incarcerated, individuals impacted by incarceration, and correctional and communications experts. Stay-at-home orders severely limited in person access, and CEO Dave Abel continued holding virtual sessions continued throughout the second quarter.

"In January we said we were going to change the way this company operates, and make our services more affordable and accessible," said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies. "Since then we've made real progress toward that goal while also modifying our 2020 blueprint to heavily focus on providing supplementary support for our customers since the entire nation was jolted by the impact of COVID-19. The need for human connection - particularly during a pandemic - drove a shift in priority and we're proud of the efforts we have made to date.  We know there's more work to be done, and we'll continue to work closely with our agency partners to drive positive change in the correctional technology industry."

Against the backdrop of the devastating and wide-spread impact of COVID-19, organizations nationwide rethought operations, accessibility and introduce thoughtful approaches to supporting customer needs; especially those serving vulnerable communities such as the incarcerated.  Since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, Aventiv has worked with its partners across the United States to provide millions of credits for free e-messages as well as free and reduced rates for video chats and phone calls. To date the company has provided:

  • Accommodations for 397 agencies at 737 distinct facilities.
  • 22.4 million free call credits for incarcerated individuals and their families, resulting in 170.8 million free minutes of phone connections
  • 4.9 million free video connections to friends and families of incarcerated individuals
  • 10.6 million free JPay Stamps for electronic messaging

Aventiv Technologies launched in October 2019 as part of a corporate reorganization reflective of the company's progression with distinct business lines for government payments (AllPaid) and corrections services (Securus Technologies and JPay). Since being acquired by Platinum Equity the company has undergone substantial changes with a major emphasis on eliminating certain past practices, enhancing and expanding others, and transforming from a traditional corrections telecommunications service provider into a broad technology innovator.

To see a full list of Aventiv's commitments and ongoing updates on the company's progress, visit http://transformation.aventiv.com/.

ABOUT AVENTIV TECHNOLOGIES
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Aventiv Technologies serves more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,100,000 incarcerated individuals across North America, Aventiv is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

Dave Abel was using the phone on Sept. 11, 2001.

Working for PricewaterhouseCoopers, he was discussing a business trip scheduled for the following day.

While looking out his Arlington, Va., office window, he watched in horror as an American Airlines plane flew into the Pentagon.

The evacuation order came, but before leaving, he looked out the window again and turned his glance downward.

He saw a swarm of people walking across the Francis Scott Key Bridge, trying to escape Washington D.C.
The next day, Abel and PwC colleagues went to work, tasked with protecting the United States’ aviation system.

After the unthinkable 9/11 terrorist attacks, which claimed nearly 3,000 victims, Abel worked for teams at PwC and IBM that were integral to the the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, which is charged with protecting the traveling public.

After more than a year with Securus Technologies, Abel can recall a career with many examples of business – along with governing bodies – improving outcomes for the public.

“It cannot be done without the participation between those two,” Abel told Platinum Equity recently.

He called public-private partnerships “absolutely essential.”

That is one reason he was tasked to lead the transformation of Securus, a prison communications firm acquired by Platinum in 2017. In January, he was promoted to CEO of Aventiv Technologies and its subsidiary, Securus.

The goal is to establish Securus, which provides services to approximately 3,500 correctional facilities in all 50 states, as a change agent and industry leader in terms of best practices.

A complex task.

According to the Sentencing Project, a nonprofit working to ensure a fair and just criminal justice system, the U.S. has imprisoned 2.2 million people in prisons and jails, a 500 percent increase over the last 40 years.

By providing needed services to more than 1.2 million incarcerated individuals across North America, Securus has the juggling act of balancing the needs of its customers (local governments) and consumers (the incarcerated).

The company has drawn the ire of activists critical of the prison industrial complex.

Predatory phone rates, faulty technology and privacy concerns are among the issues cited by activists; some are calling for Platinum to divest from its investment.

The company has responded aggressively to address those issues under the leadership of Platinum and Abel.
  • According to company officials, the average cost of a call using the company’s secure calling platform has been reduced significantly as of late July.
  • The company has developed and deployed new technology to reduce reliance on third-party payment services, eliminating their fees and bringing savings to impacted consumers.
  • The company convened consumer forum with formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in Detroit to hear firsthand about their experiences and how to better serve which will be used to inform future development efforts.
  • As the country still copes with the COVID-19 pandemic which has severely impacted prison populations, the company has partnered with local governments to provide millions of free calls and more than 80 million free minutes to incarcerated individuals and their families.
  • In a nod to changing times centered around criminal justice reform, the company has pivoted to planning for a welcomed future that forecasts falling incarceration numbers.
Over the course of two interviews with Platinum, Abel, 51, eagerly discussed the past and the path forward.

Many topics were addressed. It is clear Abel thinks the company is on the right path.

But he concedes there is still much work to do.

(Questions and answers have been edited for clarity).

Platinum Equity: There is an increased awareness of systemic racism in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. What challenges are presented to a company providing telcom services to prison populations, which disproportionately come from communities of color?

Dave Abel: It's the reason that I came here. I've been primarily focused on the public sector, and I am really attracted to places that have significant change issues. When the opportunity to come here came along, I absolutely jumped at the chance. Platinum and I have seen eye to eye on this since the day that I walked in the door. We are part of an industry that has good as its core mission. Our primary purposes are to connect humans, incarcerated individuals with friends and family, which we believe - and studies show - have the greatest impact on the likelihood of having successful reintroduction to society.

Abel: We take all those missions extremely seriously. In January, we started a conversation, a set of intentions and a set of actions to change the course of the company, to make our products more accessible, and make them higher quality to provide more people the ability to be able to use them and to add on to those products everything that we can that will focus on the post-incarceration environment, and a more successful reintroduction to society.

PE: I'm going to back up a little bit. Why the public sector?

Abel: I grew up in southern Virginia, went to the University of Virginia, and came to Washington D.C. It's the industry. You're in L.A., you go in the entertainment industry. You're in New York, you tend to go into banking and finance, you go into manufacturing in Michigan. In the late 80s, early 90s, it's what you did, and it just stuck with me.

PE: Back to messaging. When I ask about the challenges with the current climate, when people are calling for changes, does it make telling the company’s story more difficult?

Abel: The message becomes more difficult if you're talking to somebody who believes that you should remove investment from a problem. If you are a person that believes that bringing assets, bringing capital, bringing investment, bringing innovation, and bringing technology increases the likelihood of finding good solutions to our problems, then you'd be very interested in the message that we need to be able to send. And when I think about people who are advocating on behalf of incarcerated individuals and us, there is very little difference in what outcomes we are looking for.

PE: There are corporate responsibilities for good outcomes?

Abel: Absolutely. In my first day as CEO of the company, we sent a press release about the ways that we need to be able to change this business, the accountability that we take for making those changes in the business, and the responsibility we take for generating improved outcomes. In Platinum and in Aventiv, we are willing and getting out in front to take responsibility for what those changes need to be. We will not shy away from our commitment, nor from the measures of that commitment.

PE:  You said earlier there's very little difference between Securus and prison reform advocates when it comes to outcomes. Less people incarcerated; recidivism rates go down. Can producing good outcomes and making profits be compatible goals?

Abel: They must be compatible goals. The profit is there to be able to provide a return on investment that brings capital in to be able to improve the technologies that are necessary to be able to achieve the goals. But what it requires from us from a corporate standpoint is continued innovation and reinvention of the services that we're providing. Is our profit is always going to be from making phone calls? Absolutely not. That's why we invest in the development of tablets, software to go on tablets. We're hard at work on exciting new technological advancements for training and education. We are hard at work on services focused on post-incarceration things, like job skills, identification acquisition, appointment scheduling.
 
PE: Diversification is a main strategy?

Abel: We see the value and the balance between our consumers and our customers. We're not just about law enforcement. We're not just about incarcerated individuals and their families. We are about the balance between the two, and the need to provide these tools in a safe and secure manner. You brought up the point about where we are as a society.  We're already deeply into discussion and strategy about how average daily population of incarcerated individuals in the United States is a metric that we have to move away from. That's not how you want your business anchored in the 21st century.

PE: Why is that?

Abel: When I look at European models and I look at Latin American models from an incarceration standpoint, but Europe in particular, and the Nordic states in particular, the model is significantly more focused on being able to provide goods and services that focus on rehabilitation vs. punishment. Of the changes that I would like to see coming out of the debate we're having; the debate is to focus on outcomes from our system that are different. We want to be bringing capital and technology to an often-overlooked community.

PE: Discuss the relationship with government.
 
Abel: It's a local decision. We have a lot of models that we use to be able to work with our government customers. Some government customers require commissions to be able to provide a full suite of services. Some of them budget for those services. There's certainly a lot of criticism in the market. It's an easy target for people to be able to say that commissions are bad. It's really just a matter of how the cost for the services are provided. We've made a very clear demarcation over the course of the last six months. We won't weigh in on whether a commission model is good or bad, or what the responsibilities are of our government customer in using that commission. We will provide our services to any organization or entity that has a mechanism by which we can get appropriately paid for those services. We will respect the choice of local community in how those services should be provided and not engage in politics to sway that determination.

PE: That sounds like you're washing your hands of the situation. Don’t you have more power in that process? It sounds like a cop-out.
 
Abel:  That statement, and I stand behind that statement, is focused on how the government needs to be able to provide the resources for incarceration service.

Abel: Now, there's a broader question to what you asked. Does Securus have a responsibility to be able to address the inherent inequality in our system of criminal justice? And we haven't been public in our statements around that. We must be careful about how we do that. But the answer to that is absolutely. And the way we're going to go about doing that is how we provide tools, capabilities, and opportunities for people to not have them incarcerated in the first place or to get them a better outcome when they are incarcerated.

Abel: And remember, we walked through the strategy of this business, the long-term strategy of this business is in providing post-incarceration services, in providing financial tools for people who can't get them and creating financial literacy for people who will struggle to be able to use those tools, in lowering the cost of our products, creating greater access to our products. It would be our hope and our intention that the people who use our services while they are incarcerated, are never our consumers while incarcerated ever again.

PE: We talked earlier about the diversification, and you mentioned the things that you have in the works. I was drawn to a new tablet you discussed at a recent employee townhall before COVID-19 struck. Better products, lower costs?

Abel: There's not a company around that couldn't benefit from executing that strategy. (It is important) to introduce a new version of our tablet, increase the battery life, and improve the functionality of the software on that product.

Abel: When I first started to look at this, I made the mistake of thinking about our tablets like an iPad. And the difference is that we've got a product that is somewhere between $70 and $90, vs. an iPad that's between $700 and $900. Our ability to be able to put this tablet in the hands of our consumers is highly dependent on our ability to make it the least expensive tablet that we possibly can. It means it's really difficult to refresh that technology. What kind of phone do you use? Do you have an iPhone or an Android?

PE: I have both.

Abel: Let's take the iPhone. It's got a life expectancy to it. I bought a new phone five years ago, and it's like two years beyond its possible life. I'm squeezing every moment of life that I can out of the phone and I finally had to go buy one, because this one just doesn't work anymore, and the battery in particular. And that's a device that has a $600 to $800 price tag associated with it. For us, the challenge of doing this and making sure we're keeping the cost as low as possible is critically important. When we introduce the JP6S tablet (it was released in late July), the battery and the battery management in the software that goes around it, we expect that's going to decrease the number of customer service issues that go into our contact center by almost 30 percent. The introduction of that tablet alone, if we are successful in eliminating the battery issue and some percentage of the software issues, you have a population that's 30 percent more satisfied, and then you take the capacity of the contact center and focus it on all of the other issues that we struggle to be able to get to and you can immediately see the impact.

PE: How do you change perceptions?

Abel: We do it in a lot of different ways. The first way is we start internally. One person goes into a market, one person says something, one person is not aligned with the direction you're going, and it's like the whole company isn't aligned. No. 1 was getting our company clear on our strategy, getting our company clear on our point of view, and increasingly getting our company clear on the culture that we want to be able to project in the market.

Abel: COVID has made that harder because it's impossible for me to go to all of our locations and meet with our people in person, because most people are working remotely. No. 2 is broader and more open communications with our customers and our consumers. I've had the good fortune of going individually to almost a dozen customers before COVID restrictions and talking with them about our changes. Talking with them, I'll get their advice and input on what is important to them in our products and services as we go forward, and what elements of our transformation are encouraged and discouraged from them. And I go into facilities. I encourage my leaders to go into facilities.

Abel: No. 3 is ongoing communications with our community. These are the consumers that we serve, and the people who use and pay for our products on a regular basis.

Abel: And then No. 4 is I regularly try to go out into the market and meet with our toughest critics. People who hate us can absolutely help us by continuing to communicate why they hate us and what they think we need to do better. We may disagree on the mode of implementation about how to be able to make the changes in this industry. We can learn from every single person and every single point of view to make ourselves better and better.
DALLAS, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Securus Technologies today unveiled the company's next generation tablet for use in correctional facilities, the JP6S.  The JP6S is the industry's most evolved tablet specifically constructed to improve quality of life for incarcerated individuals and the device will be available beginning this month as an upgrade option for the more than 300,000 incarcerated individuals who currently access the industry-leading JP5 and SecureView devices.  As the pioneers of tablet technology, the Securus organization introduced the first corrections-grade tablet in 2011, revolutionizing how communication, entertainment, reentry and educational resources are deployed in complex corrections environment; the JP6S promises to do even more.

As the first major tablet launch in the corrections industry in more than three years, Securus built the JP6S to meet the needs and preferences of incarcerated individuals. Securus has led tablet development for almost a decade and used the feedback, critique and requests from the direct user-base, such as extended battery life and increased storage concerns, to offer upgraded tablet hardware and deliver a better user-experience.  Designed with user-driven features and built to closely mirror technology used by the general public, the JP6S operates up to 13 hours before charging, provides up to 32GB of storage, delivers 140-hours of music play time, performs 2 times faster on a sharp 1280x800 screen resolution and includes more features that create an enjoyable user experience. Additional improvements include a thinner, sleeker design that weighs just 17 ounces, an optional 2 megapixel camera, a new Android 8.1 operating system, rugged protective casing with impact-resistance glass, and built-in secure Wi-Fi with dual band support (2.4GHz and 5GHz).

"We are committed to investing in technology advancements and innovating capabilities so we can provide an affordable tablet program that incarcerated individuals can rely on for their educational and communication needs," said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, parent company of Securus Technologies. "It was important for us that we leverage our customers' sentiments and take actionable steps towards meeting their needs; their feedback was the driving force behind building our next generation of tablets."

The JP6S can accommodate the full suite of Securus applications available on legacy tablets, including movies, music, ebooks, games, and a comprehensive suite of no-cost re-entry, self-help, and education resources. It is also equipped with safety and security features, including additional screws and adhesives to keep the device intact and deter destruction or misuse. This flexibility and security makes it suitable for both short-term jails and long-term prison environments.

"We've seen measurable improvement on the mood and behavior of the people living in our prison when they are provided with access to tablets and communications technology as it is a vital component to our comprehensive education and reentry programs offered in North Dakota," said Colby Braun, Director of Facility Operations for North Dakota Department of Corrections. "Our population and staff are excited for the new, upgraded JP6S tablet design."

The corrections industry continues to work towards a system that is focused on rehabilitation and improving re-entry success, instead of solely incarceration.  Tablet technology plays a vital role in the rehabilitation and reentry process, and the JP6S will continue to support the positive impact handheld technology has had on the country's incarcerated population.

About Securus Technologies LLC

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, an Aventiv Technologies company, serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 inmates across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies connecting what matters®. For more information, please visit SecurusTechnologies.com. Aventiv is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with a portfolio of approximately 40 operating companies that serve customers around the world.

SOURCE Securus Technologies

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Platinum Equity Chairman and CEO Tom Gores sent the following correspondence today in response to a letter dated May 20, 2020 from former FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Michael Copps, and Gloria Tristani requesting that Securus Technologies, a Platinum Equity portfolio company, take steps to support incarcerated individuals and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic:

June 5, 2020

Dear Commissioners Clyburn, Copps and Tristani:

Thank you for your May 20 correspondence, and for your continued efforts in support of robust and affordable communications services, particularly in the corrections environment. We are pleased to support those same goals both in concept and in action, as change agents who are transforming Securus Technologies and the industry as a whole.

We agree wholeheartedly that access to reasonably priced telephone service is more important than ever for the country’s incarcerated population in the face of restrictions on in-person visitation caused by the coronavirus crisis.

On March 13, the day COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in the United States, Securus began offering free and discounted services to every one of its state and county corrections agency customers.

Since then, the company has provided 16.1 million free phone calls totaling 116.2 million free minutes; 4.5 million free video connections; and 6.6 million free email message stamps to incarcerated individuals (and their families) at more than 731 facilities. In addition to the calls themselves being free, there are no funding or transaction fees associated with them.

The company has also provided additional free calling cards, or “compassion credits,” to connect incarcerated individuals who have fallen ill during the pandemic with their loved ones; provided free phone calls between incarcerated individuals and public defenders in certain locations where permitted; and created an inbound email system by providing printers and supplies at 33 locations in California where incarcerated individuals do not have access to individualized email.

Beyond communications connections, Securus also is providing free access to select games and movies on its tablets in facility locations where permitted. So far, more than 500,000 movie rentals and nearly 1 million games have been downloaded or accessed without charge since April.

Further, the company has signed the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected Pledge, Chairman Pai’s initiative focused on mitigating the pandemic’s impact on telecommunications access.

All of these actions to support individuals impacted by COVID-19 are part of a broader effort to transform the company and make services more accessible and affordable for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.

In January, CEO Dave Abel announced a number of commitments that include lowering the costs of phone calls and other communications products, increasing transparency, and engaging directly with communities impacted by incarceration.

Those transformation efforts haven’t come in a vacuum. They were mandated by Platinum Equity after acquiring the business in 2017. I am happy to report that since then, prices for Securus calling services have fallen by more than 30 percent.

To cite just one example: In Washtenaw County, where your letter cites information claiming that a 10-minute call “would cost about $11.62,” current rates are actually substantially lower. Under the current contract there, the rates are $0.21 per minute for all calls, or $2.10 for a 10-minute call – even with a substantial commission retained by the corrections agency under its contract.

Well before the COVID crisis, Inmate Calling Service rates at Securus were steadily declining even in the absence of FCC-imposed caps on intrastate rates, falling on average by about 50% since the FCC issued the 2013 Interstate Inmate Rate Order.

All of Securus’ rates for interstate calls are at or below the per-minute rates set by the FCC in the 2013 Interstate Rate Order, and its fees are in compliance with those promulgated in the FCC’s 2015 Inmate Rate Order. On an intrastate level, Securus’ rates are in compliance with the applicable state PUC / PSC rules and regulations.

Platinum Equity appointed CEO Dave Abel to transform Securus; establish a culture of service focused on the needs of incarcerated consumers and their families and not just on corrections agency customers; reduce telecom pricing; and invest in developing new technologies.

Dave and his team are making significant progress on those objectives. With your permission, I’d like to make them available to meet with you and discuss these reforms directly, to listen to your thoughts, and to consider ideas on what we can do better, faster or both.

Thank you again for your long record for public service on these issues, and for your willingness to work with us on these shared objectives.

Best regards,

Tom Gores

About Securus Technologies

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 inmates across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies connecting what matters®. For more information, please visit SecurusTechnologies.tech.


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Accomplishments reflect a positive shift in accessibility and ongoing engagement with key stakeholders

Aventiv Technologies and its corrections-services subsidiary, Securus Technologies, today reported progress on key milestones of the transformation commitments announced in mid-January. Under the direction of President and CEO Dave Abel, the organization is undertaking an expansive and holistic transformation to make its products more accountable, affordable and accessible. The pace of the early progress in the multi-year effort highlights the company’s ability to quickly adapt to the new vision and operating practices.

“While we recognize that this work is just the first step in a long-term process, we are very proud of what we have already achieved,” said Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies. “I am dedicated to driving meaningful change in the organization, in the sector and in the communities we serve. We are continuing much-needed face-to-face conversations with all stakeholders – we need to work together on this.”

In the first sixty days since Aventiv made these commitments, the company took multiple steps towards full achievement of its goals, including:

  • Developed and deployed new technology to reduce reliance on third-party payment services, eliminating their fees and bringing savings to impacted consumers by an average of 30% in the total cost of each call.
  • Negotiated new contract with a major county customer lowering the cost of phone calls by more than 60% for over 6,000 incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
  • Integrated commission-free and agency-paid options for telephone calls with both existing institutional customers and potential new institutional customers.
  • Convened first quarterly consumer forum with formerly incarcerated individuals and their families in Detroit to hear firsthand about their experiences and how to better serve them which will be used to inform future development efforts.
  • Met with leaders and participants of job-training and -placement organizations currently operating inside and outside of correctional facilities to learn about employment best practices and help guide development of re-entry support.
  • Signed the Getting Talent Back to Work pledge from the Society for Human Resource Management and committed to give hiring opportunities to deserving individuals with a criminal record.
  • Sponsored the Second Annual Correctional Education Reentry Summit hosted by Ashland University and supported the participation of formerly incarcerated students of the University.
 

“Aventiv’s efforts to expand and invest in correctional education services will lead to more successful re-entry outcomes and reduced rates of recidivism, ultimately saving taxpayers money in the long-term,” said Todd Marshall, Vice President for Correctional Education and Innovation at Ashland University. “We have proudly worked with the organization for years and look forward to their participation in this year’s Re-Entry Summit, leading the charge to building connections to improve the reintegration and reengagement of formerly incarcerated individuals back into their communities.”

Additional initiatives and progress on milestones will be publicly detailed quarterly.

About Securus Technologies

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 inmates across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies connecting what matters®. For more information, please visit SecurusTechnologies.tech.


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Mr. Abel Announces Accelerated Transformation Program Focused On Affordability, Accountability, Innovation and Reform

DALLAS, Jan. 13, 2020 -- Technology and government services executive Dave Abel has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Aventiv Technologies and its corrections services subsidiary Securus Technologies, effective immediately.

"Dave is an innovative leader who we recruited in April to develop and accelerate an ambitious business transformation program for Securus," said Bryan Kelln, president of portfolio operations at Platinum Equity, which owns the companies.

"We are pleased to take the next step with his appointment as CEO, and excited about his plans for making Aventiv and Securus more accountable, more affordable, more accessible and more attentive to the needs of both customers and consumers," Mr. Kelln said.

As his first order of business, Mr. Abel announced an ambitious multi-year transformation effort that he said will "acknowledge past criticism, pursue present opportunities and lead future innovation."

"The role of technology in government and corrections is evolving, and Aventiv and Securus are at the forefront of that evolution," Mr. Abel said. "The industry is changing, and we intend to embrace it. We will be the change."

Mr. Abel acknowledged that both the company and the industry have faced criticism in the past over pricing, data security, product innovation and other issues.

He said that under his leadership the companies would seek the proper balance between the needs of customers, the corrections agencies that contract for the companies' products and services; consumers, the incarcerated individuals and their families who use those products and services; and public policy officials who oversee corrections facilities, their operations and their vendors.

"We have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to address the financial and social needs of the communities we serve, making our services more affordable and accessible while continuing to innovate and help our government partners keep those communities safe and secure," he said.

Securus has undergone substantial change since being acquired by Platinum Equity, with a major emphasis on eliminating certain past practices, enhancing and expanding others, and transforming from a traditional corrections telecommunications service provider into a broad technology innovator.

"We have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to address the financial and social needs of the communities we serve, making our services more affordable and accessible while continuing to innovate and help our government partners keep those communities safe and secure," said Dave Abel.

Aventiv Technologies launched in October 2019 as part of a corporate reorganization reflective of the company's progression with distinct business lines for government payments (AllPaid) and corrections services (Securus Technologies and JPay).

"Technology at its best is an engine of change," said Mr. Kelln of Platinum. "As the owners of Aventiv, we are keenly aware of the calls for change and steadfast in our determination to forge a new way forward.

"To that end, we have asked Dave to take the reins of the entire organization as we jointly execute on an overhaul of the agenda," he said. "Under his leadership, Aventiv will clearly demonstrate new values, supporting community needs and creating benefit for all stakeholders."

COMMITMENTS

Building on previous reforms that have already been implemented, Mr. Abel committed to accelerating in 2020 an expansive, holistic reform of corporate policies and practices. The full scope of the program will be announced in the weeks ahead, but Mr. Abel today previewed some of the initiatives that will be included:

1.  Accessibility and Affordability    

  • While Securus has reduced the average cost of calls by 30% over the past 3 years, not all consumers felt the same relief.  The company pledges to work with all our institutional customers to broaden rate relief for more consumers by targeting the elimination of legacy outlier rates and reinvesting in the development innovations and tools to further reduce costs.
  • In 2019 Securus became the only service provider to announce full neutrality on the presence of site commissions and the provision of products regardless of the funding source and model determined by each locality.  The organization will build on that in 2020 by working with all interested institutional customers on implementing these lower-cost-to-consumer alternatives.
  • Securus will reduce the application of third-party funding fees by investing in technology solutions where possible -- and negotiating lower rates where outside vendors are still required -- to provide savings to consumers of at least 35% on these fees by year end.

2.  Transparency

  • Securus will provide a clear and simple recitation of call rates to both customers and consumers, ensuring that those call rates are always available online and at the time of each call before they are accepted.
  • The Company will commission an annual report of inmate calling costs, produced and published by an independent third party, including a breakdown of what is being charged beyond the specific cost of the call (for example, additional costs necessary for the provision of safety protocols and service).
  • Securus will publish by the middle of this year an industry-leading report detailing a terms-of-use policy for its products, and memorializing comprehensive data privacy standards.

3.  Education, Reentry and Recidivism

  • Securus will immediately sign the Society for Human Resource Management Getting Talent Back to Work Pledge.
  • The Company will contribute at least $3 million in 2020 to efforts focused on reducing recidivism rates and improving reentry rates, including support for The Securus Foundation to connect justice agencies more closely to their communities utilizing technology.
  • The Company will create a post-incarceration scholarship program to facilitate the completion of post-secondary degrees begun under Securus' existing educational product and service opportunities.  

4.  Listening and Responsiveness  

  • Mr. Abel and other company executives will meet each quarter with families and individuals personally impacted by incarceration to hear their recommendations and address their concerns about the company's products and services.
  • Company leaders will also meet with corrections facility customers, correctional trade associations and advocates of alternative incarceration approaches to hear their recommendations and hear their concerns.

5.  Technology and Innovation

  • Securus pledges to invest at least $40 million this year in facility communication infrastructure for the advancement of public safety and community needs. 
  • The Company will devote at least $30 million to fund innovations in the development of secure products to take on the ever-evolving challenges facing correctional agencies in the new decade.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Mr. Abel joined Securus as President in April of 2019, recruited from outside the industry to bring new ideas and urgency with respect to accelerating and expanding the reform agenda and technology transformation mandated by Platinum Equity. Most of his career has been dedicated to helping governments use technology to improve mission effectiveness and lower costs to taxpayers and consumers.

Prior to joining Aventiv, he founded and ran a business focused on performance improvement and software automation. As an executive at IBM and a partner at PwC, Mr. Abel was responsible for turning around and growing service and software businesses worldwide. While applying technology to some of society's greatest challenges, he is known for balancing the often competing needs of security, privacy and consumer value.

About Aventiv Technologies
Headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Aventiv Technologies is the parent company for Securus Technologies, JPay and AllPaid. With nearly 2,000 associates, Aventiv serves the public sector by applying technology solutions to make complex connections more secure and simpler than ever before. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com


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