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Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA.

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

The insurance question is one that comes up frequently in situations where a judge has offered rehab as a condition of release, and the answer is straightforward but not what most families want to hear. Private insurance companies will not write a new policy for someone who is incarcerated or in active legal proceedings. That door is effectively closed. What is available is the state-funded alternative. Medicaid and other welfare-based programs exist specifically to cover substance abuse treatment for

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Subject: Family services

An inmate can pursue a divorce while incarcerated, but the legal process happens outside the facility. The jail itself is not involved in the divorce proceedings beyond accommodating attorney visits. Your boyfriend will need a divorce attorney to handle the case. The attorney files the divorce petition, arranges to visit the facility to have documents reviewed and signed, and manages the service of process on his spouse. Attorneys are familiar with jail visitation protocols for legal visits and can

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Subject: Halfway house

A home plan being initiated eight months before the end of a sentence is a positive development. It signals that the Department of Corrections is beginning the evaluation of release options, a standard step in preparing an inmate for supervised release or parole. The home plan process involves a visit from a state representative, typically a probation or parole officer, to the address where the inmate intends to live after release. The purpose of the visit is to confirm

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

InmateAid's discount telephone service is exactly what you need, and getting it set up is straightforward. Here is how it works. InmateAid provides you with a local phone number in the same rate center as your son's facility. Instead of your son dialing a long distance number and triggering expensive long distance rates through the prison's phone carrier, he dials the local InmateAid number instead. That call routes directly to your existing phone. The prison's carrier still handles the

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Yes. You can send letters directly through the US Postal Service without using InmateAid or any online service. There is nothing preventing you from writing a letter by hand, putting it in an envelope, and mailing it yourself. To send mail directly to Lincoln County Detention Center in Pioche, Nevada, address the envelope with your boyfriend's full legal name, his inmate ID or booking number, and the facility's complete mailing address. The inmate ID number is important because the

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Calendars are not accepted at most correctional facilities, and a personalized calendar with photos is likely to be rejected at the mail room regardless of how it is packaged or sent. The reasons facilities restrict calendars vary, but the most common concerns are the binding, the thickness, and the potential for concealment of contraband within the pages or spine. Some facilities also have blanket restrictions on items that could be used to track dates or coordinate activity, though this

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Subject: Commissary

The commissary is priced similarly to a normal grocery store. Some items are more expensive, some are less expensive and there are always going to be people that say it's "too expensive". But, every inmate looks forward to their commissary day (one designated day per week).  Depending on where your inmate is, inmates may spend about $200 - $300 per month on the commissary

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Subject: Commissary

This depends on where your inmate is incarcerated. Many facilities have the commissary on premises and you just add money to their trust account - they shop for themselves once a week. Let us know the name of the prison or detention center and we will see if there are any other alternatives.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Our service provides a local number to make the calls through the prison telephone service much cheaper than if your inmate is calling you long distance. You can call us and we can help you set this up 866-966-7100. If you are more comfortable doing it online, go to the My Account section and click on Discount Telephone Line. Click the red button "Add a Local Line". Enter the state, facility, inmate name and id number, YOUR telephone number and

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Subject: Relationship issues

The first thing to determine before any retrieval attempt is whether a restraining order or no-contact order exists as part of the assault case or as a condition of his parole or release. This is the most critical piece of information because approaching the apartment without knowing the answer could result in a new violation that sends him straight back inside regardless of his intention to simply collect his property. If a restraining order is in effect, he cannot

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