A visit is one of the most powerful experiences available to both an incarcerated person and their family. The physical presence of someone who loves you, even across a table or through glass, communicates something that letters and phone calls cannot fully replicate. But the visitation process involves rules, approvals, background checks, and scheduling requirements that can be confusing and discouraging for first-time visitors. This section covers how to apply to be on an inmate's visitor list, what the background check process looks like and what disqualifies a visitor, what to expect on your first visit including what to wear, what you can bring, and how the visit itself is conducted, how contact visits differ from non-contact visits, what children need to know before visiting an incarcerated parent, and how to make the most of limited visitation time. The guidance here is practical and comes from people who have been on both sides of the visitation table. See also our sections on Family Services, Relationship Issues, and Inmate Phone Calls.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Visitation
No, you do not need to pull and submit your own criminal history printout with the visitation application. The facility runs their own background check using the personal information you provide on the application. That is standard practice across most correctional facilities in California and nationally. They have direct access to law enforcement databases and conduct the check themselves rather than relying on documentation you provide.
What matters is that the information you put on the application is accurate and complete....
Read moreSubject: Visitation
The rules are strict on this and the answer in most cases is no, at least not through the standard visitor approval process.
Correctional facilities run every visitor applicant through a background check that flags prior felony convictions. A former inmate with a felony record will be denied through the standard approval process regardless of the relationship to the person inside. That is the baseline rule across virtually every state and federal system.
The exception that sometimes exists is for family members....
Read moreSubject: Visitation
Nothing is free - prison is a profit deal. They set up the video system because they cannot charge for in-person visits. Now they have a way to charge you for visitation.
Subject: Visitation
In most cases no, and the reason is a standard policy that applies broadly across correctional facilities rather than anything specific to the individual situation.
Having a prior felony conviction is one of the most common automatic disqualifiers in the visitation approval process. Facilities run background checks on everyone who applies to visit, and a prior felony, especially one that involved incarceration, raises immediate concerns about the nature of the relationship, potential security risks, and whether the visit could facilitate activity...
Read moreSubject: Visitation
It would be very risky to attempt a visit with your situation. There is a high likelihood that you would be held for the county that has a warrant out for you.
Subject: Visitation
The honest answer is that it depends on how strictly Crawford County Jail runs its background checks, and the only way to know for certain is to call them directly before you show up.
When you arrive at a facility for visitation, most jails run your identification through the NCIC database, which is the national criminal information system. That check will surface your probation status regardless of which county it is in. Crawford County having stricter rules than your home county...
Read moreSubject: Visitation
You might have a problem if the warrants come up when your name is searched in the NCIC database.
Subject: Visitation
Unless there are some restrictions on this particular inmate, they should be able to get a visit after the first week
Subject: Visitation
There is no universal minimum age for prison visitation, but children under 16 to 18 typically must be accompanied by an adult. Rules vary significantly by facility. Calling the specific jail or prison directly is the best way to get accurate age and guardian requirements.
Subject: Visitation
There is an orientation period that could take a couple of days. It is after this time that the inmate will be able to make outgoing phone calls to people on his call list. He is not given a phone call when he gets there. That is something that happens at a county jail, this is a state facility. Once he is all set up, he will be able to call you often, even every day.
Subject: Visitation
They are brought in through the visiting room by visitors. I've seen inmates get fresh sneakers from the visitors, where they change shoes during the visit. The same thing goes for other articles of clothing where they are worn into the visiting room and then swapped with the inmate.
Subject: Visitation
Preparing them before you walk through that door is the most important thing you can do, and you are already thinking about it the right way.
At 9 and 11, kids are old enough to understand more than adults sometimes give them credit for, but they still need the information framed in a way that does not frighten them more than necessary. If their dad has visible injuries from the arrest, tell them before they see him. Something simple and calm:...
Read moreSubject: Visitation
Visitation is almost certainly available at Catahoula Correctional Center, but rights is a word worth unpacking because visitation in the correctional system is more accurately described as a privilege that has to be applied for and approved rather than an automatic entitlement.
Both you and your husband have a role in the process. On his end, he can add approved visitors through the facility's system. On your end, you need to submit a visitation application to the facility and pass a...
Read moreSubject: Visitation
Being recently released from the same facility your husband is currently in puts you in one of the more unusual visitation situations, but it is not an automatic disqualification and there is a clear path to getting approved.
The standard policy at most correctional facilities restricts visitation by people with recent incarceration history, particularly at the same facility. The concern is primarily about the connections and relationships formed inside and the potential for those to create security risks during a visit....
Read moreSubject: Visitation
Possibly, and the fact that you are the child's parent rather than a random person with a felony record is your strongest argument for getting approved.
Most correctional facilities have an automatic restriction on visitors with felony convictions, and Potomac Correctional Center in West Virginia follows standard West Virginia DOC visitation policy which includes that restriction. The standard process does not approve felons for visitation without additional review. That is the baseline you are working against.
However, the parent of an inmate's...
Read more