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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: Law questions - legal terms

Yes, you can mail the power of attorney document directly to your brother and he can get it handled inside. This is more common than people expect and correctional facilities have a process for it. Once the document arrives through the mail, your brother needs to request access to a notary through the facility's main office or administrative staff. Most prisons and jails have a notary available on staff or can arrange access to one, specifically because legal documents

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

probably not, but we don't know enough about your inmate's situation to comment further

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Subject: Prison discipline

Two disciplinary tickets adding up to over six months of sanctions is serious, and the concern you feel as a parent is completely understandable. But the harder truth is that this is also a critical moment that could go one of two ways for your son. At 19, he is at an age where the habits and patterns he establishes now inside will follow him. Inmates who accumulate tickets early tend to accumulate more. Each one goes on their

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Yes, your inmate must dial the new InmateAid number. That is not a technicality, it is the entire mechanism behind how the discount works. The price difference on inmate phone calls is determined by the number being dialed, not by the account or any setting on your end. Phone carriers at correctional facilities charge different rates based on the destination number, specifically whether it is a local call or a long distance call. InmateAid assigns you a number in

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Log into your account. Go to your Account Dashboard. Click on Letters to Inmates and bring up the text box. Type out your letter and "save" your work. Then Click on Send Letter and the software sends this order to the fulfilment house for mailing. All letters are mailed the same day except for Sunday and holidays.

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Subject: Visitation

The most reliable way to get a current answer on this is to call the facility directly at 972-441-6160. Visitation policies, particularly following the COVID-related restrictions that affected facilities nationwide, have been in flux and what was true a few months ago may not reflect current policy. Staff at the facility can tell you exactly what the current visitation format is, whether in-person contact visits are available, what the schedule looks like, and what you need to do to get

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

The frustration with GTL is completely valid and extremely common. They operate as the exclusive carrier at thousands of facilities, which means no competition and no incentive to keep rates reasonable. Families end up paying whatever GTL charges because there is no alternative on that end of the call. The first thing worth fixing regardless of whether you use InmateAid is to stop accepting collect calls. Collect is the most expensive rate GTL offers, and every call you accept

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Subject: Inmate transfer

There are several reasons why this could happen, not all are bad reasons. They could be moved to a lower security level facility as their custody status could change as they get closer to the door. They could be moved to a jail near where they are going to appear in court. OR, they could be moved to a higher security level facility for infractions including fighting, contraband or separate issues. Ask your inmate why they moved him, he definitely

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

The good news is that you have already done your part by setting up the account. Now it is a matter of waiting out the orientation period on his end. When an inmate arrives at a reception or classification center like CRC, they go through an intake process before any privileges open up. That means medical screening, psychological evaluation, classification interviews, and orientation to the facility's rules and expectations. Until that process is complete, phone access, visitation, and commissary

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

it's just like prison

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