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

An inmate calling with a 713 area code displaying means that the carrier for that jail is GTL (connectnetwork.com). Their routing servers are in Houston TX but it has no bearing on the call's locality. Since Chautauqua County Jail is also a 716 number, we would like to know your whole phone number to see if you are in a different rate center (this is what we suspect). If it is, then getting you a Mayville number should reduce the...

The phone service at the particular correctional facility is set up through bid process. Whichever company has the contract for all inmate outbound calling and to tape record the calls. Therefore, you have to use them to receive calls. The choice is whether you pay then for a long distance call (to your number) or a local call (to the number we provide). Here is how it works... We get you a local line matching the rate center of town where the institution is located.Your inmate dials this local...

There are two separate issues here and they work through different channels for different reasons. On the dormitory placement question, the logic behind the request may not apply the way it seems from the outside. Dormitories and cells are not interchangeable housing options within the same facility. They represent entirely different security classifications. Dormitory housing is reserved for minimum security inmates who have short sentences, clean disciplinary records, and no history of violence in their background. Inmates living in cells are...

Transfer requests are possible but they come with requirements and timelines that vary depending on whether your husband is in the federal or state system. The starting point for any transfer request is the inmate's case manager at the current facility. That is the person who initiates the paperwork and submits the request through the appropriate channels. The request needs to come from inside rather than from family on the outside, which means your husband needs to write a formal request...

The probation officer will contact you when they begin their due diligence on whether the living arrangements are suitable for release living. Obviously there can be no drugs, alcohol or firearms and the location needs to be in an area that is evident to a reasonable person to be a safe neighborhood. Anything resembling a gang area, a drug trafficking area or near extensive nightlife activities will be cause for rejection. Use your best judgement, find a suburban location where...

This is one of the most common points of confusion families run into when a loved one is approaching the end of their sentence and the explanation is straightforward once you understand how the Bureau of Prisons defines release. The date displayed on the BOP inmate locator is the official out date, meaning the date the inmate is fully and completely released from federal custody. Halfway house placement, technically called a Residential Reentry Center, does not count as release in the...

Reliance is the carrier that has the only contract at the institution where your inmate is incarcerated. InmateAid is not a replacement for Reliance, but a service that will find you a local number matching the rate center of the prison, jail or detention center your inmate calls from. If you are already local, we probably cannot save you money. If your inmate gets moved, there is a likelihood that there would be a different phone service (other than Reliance). InmateAid will get...

The phone service at Pointe Coupee is Correct Solutions Group. Regardless whether you use InmateAid or not, you will have to use them. They have the contract and all inmate calls must pass through them. Local calls are cheaper than long distance calls through them - if you are not local, we might be able to save you $4-6 per call but you will still be paying them for each local call. You will have to figure out if the...

Inmates may not receive calls, they can only dial out. If they call you and you have not set up a pre-paid account the collect calls will cost you $15.00 for 15 minutes. If you set up a prepaid account and the calls are more than $3.00, you should check with us, we can most probably get you a better rate with a new telephone number (that we will forward to your account). SEND US YOUR NUMBER AND THE FACILITY NAME -...