The Children's Commissioner is to meet with prison authorities to discuss whether the price of making a phone call from jail can be reduced.
Each of the 20 prisons in New Zealand is equipped with a pay phone, which can charge up to $1 a minute. Families purchase and deliver the cards so prisoners can ring home.
But new research suggests that some families are struggling to stay in touch, as the charge makes it too expensive for prisoners to call home.
The research was commissioned by Pillars, a group advocating on behalf of prisoners' families.
For some respondents, the cost is so prohibitive that phone communication between inmates and their families stops altogether.
Children's Commissioner John Angus plans to meet with the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Corrections to discuss the matter.
Mr Angus says families must be in contact to help rehabilitate the prisoner.
