There is a short intake period after booking before most privileges are activated. The exact timeline varies by facility, but at a typical county jail like Smith County you are generally looking at a few days to about a week before visitation and commissary access open up. During that window, the inmate is being processed, classified, and assigned to their housing unit. Mail is the exception. InmateAid's letter and postcard service can reach a newly booked inmate even during intake, because...

Yes, and access to feminine hygiene products is treated as a basic necessity rather than a privilege in correctional facilities across the country. For inmates who have money on their commissary account, several brands and product types are typically available for purchase. Tampons, pads, and other feminine hygiene items appear on most commissary lists and are generally priced comparably to what you would find at a grocery or drug store. Having funds on the account gives women the ability to choose...

Federal inmates must pay for their calls though Trulincs, the BOP's version of an "inmate's bank". From Trulincs, the inmate directs the money to their commissary, email (Corrlinks) and phone calls. The phone calls cost either 21 cents per minute or 6 cents per minute (if you are local to the prison). If you are not local and want the calls to be 6 cents per minute, InmateAid gets the local lines for only $8.95. On 300 minutes, the local line...