Prison phone calls are one of the most important lifelines between an incarcerated person and their family, and one of the most expensive. The prison phone industry has historically operated as a near-monopoly charging rates that few other consumer services would get away with. This section covers how the prison phone system works, why rates are so high and what has changed in recent years, how debit calling accounts function, how to get a number approved on an inmate's call list, how InmateAid's local number service reduces call costs by up to 70 percent, and what international callers need to know about reaching a US facility from another country. The questions answered here come from families who are paying too much for calls and from inmates trying to navigate phone access from inside. Understanding how the system works is the first step toward getting the most contact for the least cost. See also our sections on Money Transfer and Commissary.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Do not wait. Switch over as soon as possible because the two services work together rather than replacing one another.
InmateAid does not replace your GTL account. Your GTL account stays open and the balance remains available. What InmateAid does is provide a different number for your inmate to dial that triggers a lower rate on the GTL system. The calls still run through GTL and still draw from your GTL balance, but at a significantly reduced per-minute cost because of...
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You may use your cell phone in most cases. The phone service is run by ONE company at any one facility. The companies that provide service win a competitive bid contract for 3-4 years. THEY are the ones that set the pricing and the rules in conjunction with the jail or prison. It used to be that you needed a land line to receive calls from the inmate. Now, with everything revolving around the smartphone, the rules have changed. BUT,...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Phone call hours at most correctional facilities are fairly consistent day to day and do not change frequently without a specific reason. The schedule is set by the facility and posted for inmates, and the expectation on both ends is that it stays predictable.
That said, there are circumstances that can disrupt the normal calling window. A facility-wide lockdown triggered by an incident, a shakedown, a count that runs long, or a staffing shortage can all push phone access back or...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Your InmateAid phone service continues after a transfer and there is no additional charge to update it.
When an inmate moves to a new facility, the phone carrier and the local rate structure change, which means the number assigned to your account needs to be recalibrated for the new location. InmateAid handles that automatically at no cost every time it happens. There is no limit on how many times the number can be changed due to transfers, which means a quarterly...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The facility itself is not formally notified when you set up a phone account, and there is no alert sent to staff or administration. The system that handles inmate calls is run by the private carrier contracted to that facility, and account activity on your end is not their concern.
What does happen is that the inmate typically receives a receipt through mail call. It is a straightforward notification that an account has been established, delivered the same way any other...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Inmates may call out to any number on their "approved call list". If you have a number that the jail does not accept, please contact us about getting a land line that will allow the calls to go through at the cheapest rate possible.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Lapeer County Jail in Michigan uses Securus as its phone carrier, and the standard rate for an in-state call runs $21.34 per 15 minutes. That is one of the higher rates in the state and it adds up fast for anyone talking regularly.
InmateAid's discount number brings that same 15-minute call down to $3.15, a savings of about $18 per call. Over the course of a month with regular communication that difference is substantial.
Here is how it works. You keep your...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
After setting up your InmateAid phone account, the new local number gets sent directly to your email. Check your inbox, and your spam folder if it does not appear right away, for the notification containing the assigned number. That number is operational immediately once it arrives.
A simple way to confirm everything is working correctly is to dial the new number from a different phone, a friend's cell or a landline, and listen for it ringing through to your current phone....
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Leavenworth Detention Center is operated by CoreCivic, formerly known as CCA, and uses IC Solutions as its phone carrier. Knowing the carrier is the starting point for understanding how to reduce your per-minute costs.
IC Solutions charges rates based on the destination number being called. Local numbers, meaning numbers with an area code close to the Leavenworth facility in Kansas, are billed at a lower rate than out-of-state numbers. If your phone number is already local to the Leavenworth area, you...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Setting up InmateAid's discount phone service does not require finding your inmate in the system or knowing their inmate ID number. The phone service works differently from the letter and photo service in this regard.
All you need to get started is the name of the facility where your inmate is housed and your own phone number, the one you want calls forwarded to. InmateAid's system uses those two pieces of information to analyze the phone carrier's rate structure at that...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes. The phone service at EVERY prison or jail is controlled by one company (there are 25 competing for the contract). They set the rates and you HAVE to use them. What InmateAid does is get a different phone number that we know will reduce the price (using their pricing model as our guide). In some cases, the local call is the cheapest, in others an out of state call is less than any number inside the same state (it's...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
It varies depending on the facility rules. If they are in county, there is no restriction. If they are in state or federal, there is an approval process that could take a couple days or a couple weeks.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The reception center has more strict guidelines for inmate calling. There is an orientation period (maybe 2 weeks) that has to be completed before the inmates may submit their call list to the administration for approval.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
A transfer within the same state system, from Bledsoe County Correctional Complex to Northwest Correctional Complex, both Tennessee Department of Correction facilities, is significantly smoother than an interstate or county-to-state transfer in terms of how quickly privileges carry over.
Because both facilities operate under the same TDOC system, your boyfriend's existing approvals, account information, and general status transfer with him rather than requiring the full orientation and intake process that a new system entry would trigger. Phone access in this situation...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The phone carrier is CityTeleCoin. All calls are over $5.00 unless you are in Shreveport LA, then the calls are $1.85. Our Discount Phone Service would get you that Shreveport number, it would ring on your regular number (forwarded). You still have to use CityTeleCoin but set the account up with our number to save over $3.00 per call. If you want to try it for a month, let us know and we will email you a coupon code for...
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