The most direct way to reach the chaplain at California Institution for Men is to call the facility at 909-597-1821 and ask to be connected to the chaplain's office. When you get through, explain your situation clearly and ask for their guidance. Chaplains at correctional facilities are generally among the most accessible and helpful staff members for families on the outside. They operate somewhat independently from the administrative chain of command and can often facilitate welfare checks, pass along
Read moreInmates do not have internet access and cannot set up or manage their own profiles on InmateAid. Everything on the profile is either pulled from public inmate search databases, which may include a booking photo or mugshot, or uploaded by a family member or friend who created the profile. If you want to add a photo to your family member's profile, you do not have to use a mugshot or a jail photo. Use a picture from before their
Read moreYes, and there are several practical steps that can move this forward without your fiance needing to be physically present in court. In most states, an inmate who filed for divorce can continue pursuing that divorce from inside prison. Physical presence at a final divorce hearing is often not required, particularly in uncontested cases with no disputes over children or property. Your fiance's attorney, or a family law attorney if he does not currently have one, can appear on
Read moreIt is not a good idea and in many facilities it will get your letter rejected before it ever reaches your inmate. Perfume and cologne on mail are prohibited at most correctional facilities because scent can be used to mask the smell of drugs or other contraband during mail room inspections. Many facilities post this restriction explicitly in their mail policies, and officers who detect a scented letter will often discard or return it without delivering it. Lipstick
Read moreIt happens more often than people expect, and there are a few reasons why someone close to an inmate may not know the full picture of what they were charged with or convicted of. The most common reason is that the inmate chose not to tell you. People facing criminal charges are often embarrassed, protective of their image with family, or simply not ready to have certain conversations. Some charges carry a stigma that makes disclosure feel impossible, particularly
Read moreYes, you will still need to maintain and fund an account with Securus Technologies even if you use a discount phone service. Securus controls the phone system inside the facility, so every call must go through them. The discount service does not replace Securus, it simply reduces the cost by giving your inmate a local number to call instead of a long distance one. Here is how it works: You get a local number through InmateAid You set up
Read moreIt depends on how long his incarceration was. If he was in prison over five years, generally they will have 6 months of halfway house. For shorter sentences, the halfway house stay is less, too. It is all about how long the staff feels it will take to ready an inmate for society. Ask YOUR inmate, they absolutely were told how long it would be.
Read moreWe estimate that it takes about 3 business days to arrive in the facility mail room. Once there, the staff opens each piece for contraband. Be mindful that each facility has their own set of rules as to how long they have to actually deliver the mail. For instance, the CDCR in California has up to 14 days from receipt. This is a drastic example, but the prison business is not normal and the rules are like a moving target.
Read moreVisitation approval timelines vary depending on a few key factors, but six weeks is generally enough time for most applications to be processed under normal circumstances. The fastest approvals tend to be immediate family members with clean records applying to visit at facilities that run routine background checks. Those can come through in as little as one to two weeks. Applications take longer when the visitor is not a relative, since non-family visitors often undergo more detailed background
Read moreIf your boyfriend is being moved from Roederer Correctional Complex to a halfway house, it means he is entering the reentry phase of his sentence. Halfway houses, also called reentry centers, are designed to help inmates transition back into society in a structured but less restrictive environment. How they work: Residents can often leave the facility for work, job searches, or approved activities They must follow strict rules, including curfews and check-ins Drug and alcohol testing is routine Staff monitor behavior, employment,
Read more