Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

Being jailed for child support contempt while genuinely unemployed is a difficult situation, but the path forward requires engaging the system rather than fighting it. The first and most important step is filing a formal motion to modify the child support order based on the change in financial circumstances. Loss of employment is a recognized basis for modification in every state, but the modification does not happen automatically. It requires a motion filed with the court, and the new amount only...

If someone is being held for contempt due to unpaid child support, the timeline for a court date can vary, but it is usually handled fairly quickly, often within a few days to a couple of weeks depending on the court’s schedule. To get exact information, you can: Contact the Clerk of Court in the county handling the case Ask about the next hearing or status of the case Can he go to prison for this? Typically, this is a civil contempt issue, not a criminal sentence. That means: He...

If your fiance is not currently incarcerated and has an outstanding warrant in another county, he can turn himself in directly to that county. Contacting the issuing county's sheriff's office or courthouse in advance to arrange a voluntary surrender is always the better approach than waiting to be picked up. Self-surrender is consistently viewed more favorably by courts than an arrest in the field. If your fiance is already incarcerated somewhere and the warrant is from a different county, the situation...

Thank you for the kind words. An unresponsive attorney before a court date is a serious problem, and you are not without options even when it feels that way. Go above the public defender directly. Call the supervising attorney or chief public defender at the office handling the case. Explain clearly that calls and messages have gone unanswered and that a court date is approaching. Supervisors take these complaints seriously because an unresponsive attorney creates both professional liability and potential constitutional issues...

Yes, bail can be posted without traveling in person a second time, and a bail bondsman is the most practical solution when distance is a factor. Here is how it works. A bail bondsman posts the full bail amount on your behalf in exchange for a non-refundable fee, typically 10% of the total bail. On a $50,000 bail that fee would be $5,000. The bondsman handles the posting process with the court directly, which means no one from your family needs...

Forgetting the inmate ID number on a letter is a common mistake and in most cases it can be corrected before the letter goes out. If you catch the error quickly, log into your InmateAid account and add the inmate number to the profile before the letter is processed. Letters are typically processed the following business day, so there is usually a window to make that correction. You can also contact InmateAid directly with the number and we will add it...

When an inmate transfers between state facilities, communication does not automatically carry over. Phone lists, visitation lists, and account access all have to be re-established at the new facility, and that process takes time. At most state facilities, expect one to two weeks before phone and visitation lists are set up and approved. Some facilities move faster, others slower, depending on staffing and the volume of new arrivals they are processing at any given time. The most reliable way to get a...

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison is where newly sentenced Georgia state inmates go first for evaluation before being assigned to their permanent facility. Think of it as the intake center for the state system. Everything from medical evaluations to psychological assessments to security classification happens here before a permanent designation is made. How long does the stay last? There is no set timeline. Some inmates move through in a matter of weeks. Others stay for several months depending on how long...

The clerk of the court in the jurisdiction where the case was heard is the primary source for court records of any age. Every court maintains its own records archive, and the clerk's office is the official custodian of those documents. Here is how to approach it: Identify the correct court. You need to know whether the case was in a municipal, county, state, or federal court, and which specific courthouse handled it. If you know the approximate year and location of...

The committed date is the date your inmate began serving their sentence. It is not the release date. To put it simply: the committed date marks the start, and the release date marks the end. They are two separate fields and neither is required when setting up a profile on InmateAid. If you enter both dates, InmateAid has a countdown feature built into the profile that shows how many days remain in the sentence. It is a small thing, but anyone who...

No, your husband cannot see your InmateAid account. Inmates do not have access to the internet, so anything you create or do on the website is private and only visible to you. What InmateAid does is act as a bridge for communication and services. For example: When you send a letter or photos, they are printed and delivered by mail When you set up phone services, it helps lower the cost of calls he makes to you You can send books, magazines, and funds through approved...

Every situation is unique. We have a large number of members using 1000 minutes a month or more. State and county inmates can usually call as much as they want. Federal inmates get 300 minutes per month and 400 minutes for the months of November & December. The problem is the high cost of the calls. If your inmate is calling you long distance, look into getting a local number from InmateAid Discount Telephone Service and reduce the price by...

Yes, federal inmates are reviewed regularly through what is called a Unit Team meeting (often just called “team”). At facilities run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, these reviews typically happen about every 6 months. During this meeting, the inmate sits down with: Their case manager Counselor Unit team staff They review: Behavior and disciplinary record Work performance and program participation Overall adjustment to the facility Does this lead to a transfer to a lower level prison? Not immediately. Good performance helps, but there are a few steps: The inmate needs to show consistent good...

In the federal system, holiday phone minutes are handled as a temporary increase to the monthly allowance, not as separate deposits on specific dates. If your husband’s cycle resets on the 28th of each month, here is how it works: His normal allotment is 300 minutes per cycle During the November and December holiday period, that allotment increases to 400 minutes total per cycle The extra 100 minutes are included automatically in each monthly cycle that falls within that timeframe So he does not get: 100 minutes added on November 1 and December 1 Instead,...