Yes, InmateAid services are available for inmates at the Colorado State University Correctional Facility in Boulder and at any other facility across the United States. Services including sending letters, photos, postcards, greeting cards, magazines, and money deposits are available regardless of which facility your loved one is housed in. The discount phone service works differently. It is only effective when the facility's phone carrier uses multi-tiered pricing based on the destination of the call — meaning local numbers are billed at...

If InmateAid is showing your inmate at a different facility than you expected, it is most likely because he has been transferred. The federal Bureau of Prisons moves inmates regularly and often without much advance notice to families. Transfers happen for several reasons. The most common is a change in custody status, as an inmate's remaining sentence gets shorter, their security classification may be reduced, which can result in a move to a lower security facility. This is generally a positive development...

Clerical errors such as a misspelled name or incorrect date of birth in ICE detention records can sometimes be used as the basis for a legal challenge, but they rarely result in automatic release. It is important to understand what these errors can and cannot do before building your hopes around them. What they can do is provide grounds to challenge the validity of an ICE detainer or to argue for a bond hearing. An attorney who specializes in immigration detention...

Whether you can send a care package depends entirely on where your inmate is housed, as rules vary significantly between facility types. For state prisons, most facilities allow packages but only through approved vendors. You cannot send a package directly from home. Approved vendors typically include Access Securepak, iCare, and MyCarePack, though the specific vendor approved varies by facility. To place an order you will need your inmate's ID number and the exact facility name. Each institution sets its own rules...

his is a painful situation and your feelings about it are completely understandable. Inmates creating penpal profiles is more common than most families realize. For many incarcerated people it is less about romantic interest and more about the desperate need for human connection and stimulation during long stretches of isolation. That does not make it hurt less but it helps to understand what is driving it. The most effective response is not confrontation but connection. Inmates who receive regular mail, photos, and...

Finding an inmate depends on where they are being held. Here is where to start based on their situation. For federal inmates, search the Bureau of Prisons free locator at bop.gov/inmateloc using their name or inmate ID number. For state inmates, each state runs its own Department of Corrections inmate search. InmateAid's facility directory covers all 50 states and links directly to each state's official search tool. For county jail inmates, search the specific county jail's website roster or call the facility directly....

Women transferring from Anson Correctional Institution typically transition through programs contracted or partnered with the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Since Anson CI functions as a designated reentry facility, most women begin their transition planning directly inside the institution before release. Here are the most commonly used transitional housing options for women leaving Anson CI: The Center for Community Transitions is a 30-bed residential work-release program in Charlotte that helps women in the final stages of incarceration transition back to their...

Parole review hearings are rarely held in traditional courtrooms anymore. The process has shifted significantly over the past decade and what your loved one experiences will depend largely on the state or federal jurisdiction they are in. Most parole hearings today take place inside the prison or correctional facility where the inmate is housed. A parole board panel either travels to the facility or connects remotely. In many jurisdictions hearings are now conducted by video teleconference, by phone, or in some...

That is one of the hardest questions anyone coming out of incarceration or supporting someone through it will face. Trust gets damaged inside the system in ways that take time to understand and even longer to rebuild. For people leaving incarceration, the honest answer is that trust has to be rebuilt slowly and earned in both directions. Reentry organizations, case managers, and faith-based programs exist specifically to provide a neutral and judgment-free starting point when personal relationships feel complicated or unsafe. For...

InmateAid cannot look up a specific individual's incarceration status on your behalf, but there are several free tools that can answer this question quickly. For federal inmates, search the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov/inmateloc using their name or inmate ID number. This database is updated regularly and will show current location and projected release date if they are still in federal custody. For state inmates, each state Department of Corrections maintains a public inmate search tool. If you know which...

Once you complete your purchase, your new phone number is delivered by both text message and email, and is also placed automatically in your Account Dashboard under your phone lines section. If you have not received it yet, here is what to check first. Look in your spam or junk folder. Automated emails from new services sometimes get filtered before reaching your inbox. If the email is there, marking it as not spam will prevent it from happening again. Check that the mobile...

Getting the account set up is the right first step. Here is what happens next. Remember that the inmate must always initiate the call from inside the facility. You cannot call them directly. Once your new local number is active in your Account Dashboard, your inmate needs to add that number to their approved call list through the facility's phone system. The process for adding a number to the approved call list varies by facility. At most institutions, your inmate submits the...

InmateAid does not currently have a dedicated mobile app available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. If you have been trying to find or reload an app you may have been looking in the wrong place and that is completely understandable. InmateAid is a mobile-optimized website that works directly through your phone's browser. No download or installation is required. To access InmateAid on your phone simply open your browser, whether that is Safari, Chrome, or any other browser, and...

If your inmate is asking you to send money through Cash App, Venmo, or any other peer to peer payment service, it is worth pausing before you do it. Inmates cannot receive Cash App payments inside a facility. When they ask you to send money this way it is going to a third party on the outside, someone connected to them whose identity you may not know. There are a few reasons this happens. The most common is that the inmate owes...

Video visitation works differently depending on the facility. Not all prisons and jails offer it and those that do typically use a contracted service provider such as Securus, GTL, or JPay. Here is how to get started. First confirm whether your loved one's facility offers video visits at all. Check the facility's official website or call them directly. InmateAid's facility directory has contact information for over 2,500 facilities nationwide if you need help finding the right number. If video visits are available, you...