This is my research into the Kafkaesque user experience offered by @FAFSA when chatting with the Federal Student Aid Information Center to find out very basic contact information for an incarcerated borrower.
This means that unless an incarcerated borrower is at the rare prison that has approved the 1-800 number for @usedgov or there is a prison staff who helps them call, they have no way to find out basic #studentloan info like servicer or balance, even if they have outside help
People in #prison don't have internet, most prisons don't allow 1-800 calls, @FAFSA doesn't have a non 1-800 number, there's no physical mailing address, and the Federal Student Aid Information Center said they wouldn't talk to someone else, even if they had a POA
And this isn't even about the #studentloanforgiveness application. This is just to find out basic info about someone's account.
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First, I had to send a letter to New York with details to see if he’d be interested in doing the interview. I use an electronic mailing service where I can upload letters and background materials to save a trip to the post office. We started this in July.
Then, I had to wait for New York to call me. We couldn’t schedule a call, because his phone access is unpredictable, especially with all of the random COVID lockdowns.
I've asked some of the incarcerated students I write to in different states to try @FAFSA's 1-800-433-3243. From @WACorrections: "When I try the number it says, 'Your account has been restricted by the correctional facility.' I tried both prepaid and collect."
From @NCPublicSafety: "I tried the number and as I suspected I can't place 1-800 numbers from the prison phone. So, anyone who has to deal with GTL is not going to be able to call about Federal Student Aid from prison."
So far only @MichiganDOC is on the nice list. See page 14, effective as of 12/20/21. (But that comes with a caveat: none of of the women at Huron Valley knew the number had been added until I asked about it in April). bit.ly/3ShvrE6