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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.

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Subject: Survive prison

This is one of the harder conversations a parent has to navigate, and how you handle it matters for your children's relationship with their father long after this period is over. The most important rule is to keep your own hurt and anger out of the explanation you give the children. Whatever happened between you and their father is separate from who he is to them, and children who hear negative things about a parent from the other parent

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Subject: 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

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Subject: Relationship issues

Yes, and the approach to getting it approved is worth understanding clearly. This situation came up with my own step-children, and the way to frame the request makes a real difference. Correctional facilities are evaluated in part by their recidivism rates, meaning how often their released inmates come back. Funding and reputation flow to facilities with low rates, so wardens and administrators have a genuine institutional interest in anything that reduces the likelihood of reoffending. Family connection is one

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Subject: Survive prison

As a general rule, the inmates have to work in some small capacity as part of the programming and participation of the prison operations. Whether it be in sanitation, custodial, kitchen, landscaping, education, construction or other roles, the inmates run the prison overseen by COs (corrections officers). Some prisons have no inmate working as it is intake and assessment, usually at the beginning of the sentence. As a rule, pre-trial inmates do not have to work but each facility has

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Subject: 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

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Subject: Emergencies - natural disasters

The documentation you have is exactly what you need, and using it proactively is the right move. Request a meeting with your probation officer as soon as possible, bring every document you have, FEMA assistance records, damage assessments, proof of displacement, financial statements, and anything else that demonstrates the financial impact of the disaster. Do not wait for the violation process to unfold without getting your side of the story in front of the right person first. Probation officers

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Subject: Pending criminal charges

The most important thing to establish right now is exactly where the case stands in the legal process, because that determines what options are actually available. If he has not yet entered a plea and the case has not gone to trial, he is entitled to a public defender at no cost if he cannot afford private counsel. What most people do not know is that the right to counsel also includes the right to an investigator paid for

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Subject: Sentencing questions

The short answer is yes, but how he gets them depends on which direction this case goes. If this is a criminal matter, meaning someone reported the theft of federal pandemic funds, the FBI has jurisdiction. Stimulus checks are federal money, and stealing them is a federal crime. If an investigation is open, federal agents can subpoena email records directly from the provider. Your husband would not need to produce anything himself, the investigators would gather that evidence through

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Subject: Inmate search

You should be able to find it without an id number. First name, last name and the state they are in is the way to begin. We have several locators to choose from and try. If all else fails, email us ar aid@inmateaid.com, ask for a coupon and help finding your inmate :)

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Yes, a letter is the only way as the prison will not allow anyone to pass along messages. Or a postcard. Or a Greeting Card. 

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