Help for Inmates Before, During and After Prison

Ask The Inmate

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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.

Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.

Subject: Visitation

hi. would you please advise how Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are handled in a State Correctional Facility? Our Son has been in prison a few short months. Are we permitted to bring gifts?

Visitors may not bring anything meant for the inmate at the visitation. You will be permitted to bring a limited amount of cash ($20-25) to purchase food and drinks in the visiting room. Normally, the visitation privileges are expanded at holiday time.

Subject: Visitation

Can u wear jackets into the visiting area at the Illinois department of corrections

The following items are not be allowed in visitation: A. Halter or midriff tops B. Leggings, jeggings, or other thin spandex/tight or revealing clothing C. Swim tops or swimsuits D. See-through or revealing clothing such as low cut blouses E. Spaghetti straps or thin straps/shirts that allow bra straps to show

Subject: Inmate phone calls

How long does it take to get a phone list approved?

Depends on where your inmate is. Federal, the approval is instant. State prisons require a little more time. County there is no approval list, the inmate just dials out if they have money on their books.

Subject: Relationship issues

Can a CMCR inmate leave the facility and meet women?

Inmates in a halfway house are permitted to leave for work, treatment meetings, church and short trips to the store. Obviously, if they are out getting employment, they are going to run into people on the street, women, too.

Subject: Family services

Could you please start sending the letters by tracked mail, obviously I’ll pay the extra?

We have no control if the mail is slower than normal, that is clearly out of our control. What you are asking for is not within the abilities of the business. We mail thousands of letters and postcards per day. Sending someone to the post office to get tracking on your letters would require too much time - for what we'd have to charge, not sure it's going to be worth it.

Subject: Inmate phone calls

Are you able to make calls with no money?

Unfortunately no, the inmate must have money on their books for them to make an outbound call to you.

Subject: Visitation

how much does it cost for picture tickets at visitation?

Picture tickets are bought through the commissary at $1.00 per picture. These are for visiting room photos of the inmate with their loved ones.

Subject: Send inmate money

how can you send inmate money

Try MoneyGram. They are the oldest and most trusted of all the money transfer companies. You'll have to go their site and scroll through the selections. If you run into any issues, email us and we'll help you with step-by-step instructional screenshots.

Subject: Inmateaid website questions

How do I change credit card information for the discount phone lines?

Go to your Account Dashboard. Scroll to the bottom where it says "Account" and underneath is "Manage existing cards". You can make the change there.

Subject: Relationship issues

Why is the prison people telling me he dont want to talk to me and then does and it goes good

You know better than they do for sure. Listen to your heart only!