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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: Send inmate mail

You can try, but whether it gets through depends on the facility and how the mailroom staff evaluates it. Most prisons and jails allow hand-drawn artwork to be sent through the mail as long as it does not raise any red flags during inspection. The concern on the mailroom's end is not the drawing itself but the materials used to create it. Certain substances have been used to saturate paper and smuggle drugs into facilities, and mailroom staff are

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Subject: Family services

call the facility and ask for one... they might even connect you with the counselor of your inmate

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Subject: Prison discipline

Try not to panic. Being handcuffed and removed from a cell happens for a wide range of reasons, most of which are not as serious as they look in the moment. The most common explanations are a routine cell search or shakedown, a transfer to a different housing unit within the facility, a medical situation that requires attention, or a move to segregation pending an investigation into something that may or may not involve your husband directly. Facilities also

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Subject: Inmateaid website questions

You can always find your Discount Telephone number in your My Account area. This is where all your dealings with the website are conducted and saved

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Subject: Inmate search

He should be in the system, what is his name? We will set it up for you. If you have other questions about federal prison, especially the camp in Alabama, please ask us. He is in probably the best camp in the federal system. 

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Subject: Education & vocational training

Inmate education is an area that needs improvement and it appears there are many efforts underway to upgrade it across all incarceration systems. They all offer and most require that all inmates have at least a GED. There are limited secondary educational programs offered. Regardless of what is offered, there are many distance learning programs but they require some form of payment. Courses like the Prison College Program and others are ambitious tasks worthy of your consideration. InmateAid is exploring ways to

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Subject: All topics

The CDCR website does not provide that information. You can call the facility and ask to speak to his counselor.  BTW, your inmate definitely knows his out date.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

Yes, the Discount Telephone Service would be beneficial if you have a long distance number that is not in the Cullman rate center. The current carrier is Telmate and local lines will save you money.

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Subject: Survive prison

Not really. Most of the jailhouse violence you hear about is remote and isolated. It is not the norm. There are things of course that will change that quickly. If your son keeps to himself and internalizes his thoughts and actions he'll get out without as much as an argument.

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Subject: Send books and magazines

There are many publishers and they all have a slightly different response to this question. The rule of thumb is it takes about 8-10 weeks for the first issue to deliver. If you ordered from a subscription card inserted in a store magazine, the paragraph about delivery also suggests it "could take 8-10 weeks for the first magazine to arrive." The facilities will only allow magazines sent directly from the publisher. Our partners are honest and responsible.

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