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

The prison phone system is confusing at first but once you understand how it is structured, it makes more sense. Most correctional facilities award an exclusive contract to a single phone provider through a bidding process. Securus is one of the largest and holds contracts at thousands of facilities across the country. When an inmate moves to a new facility that uses Securus, all outbound calls from that facility run through Securus, regardless of what you have set up elsewhere. There...

InmateAid was set up with this in mind. You can set up a member/user account and sync it to an inmate profile that you create or one that is already created by clicking "follow". You may then write your inmate, send them photos of you and your family, holiday times or other occasions where you are thinking of your inmate. You can create cheaper inmate calling with our Discount Telephone Service, you can send magazine subscriptions from thousands of titles...

When an inmate is transferred from one facility to another their personal property is supposed to move with them. Clothing, including dress out clothes set aside for release, typically travels with the inmate as part of their property inventory. That said, the process is not always seamless. Transfers happen quickly and sometimes property gets logged, boxed, and shipped separately rather than traveling at the same time as the inmate. There can be a lag between when the inmate arrives at the...

Yes, the prison medical facilities are staffed with registered medical personnel with special training dealing with incarcerated patients. The only time the treatment becomes restrictive is if the inmate themselves become unruly. Remember that the prison units in general want to keep their record free from incidents that would negatively affect their funding. Training, empathy, caring and general well-being are a part of the process that inmates get "most of the time" from prison staff members.  The bad eggs exist in...

Yes. There are no contracts and no long-term commitments. You pay month by month and can cancel at any time without penalty. If you do not want the service to renew automatically each month, just let us know and we will turn off the auto-billing. You stay in control of the account the entire time. A lot of families are in situations where the need for discounted calls comes and goes, whether a loved one gets transferred, released, or circumstances change. The...

In most cases no. Each state department of corrections runs its own offender management system with its own numbering format. When an inmate is transferred from Hawaii to Arizona, or any state-to-state transfer for that matter, the receiving state typically assigns a new identification number within its own system. The Hawaii-issued number and the Arizona-issued number are separate identifiers that exist in separate databases. This can create real confusion for families trying to track a loved one, add funds to a...

Visitation at Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, like most juvenile facilities across the country, is more restricted than what you would find at an adult jail or prison. Access is limited to immediate family members only. Friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, and extended family who do not fall under the immediate family definition are generally not permitted to visit regardless of how close the relationship is. Visit times are limited as well. Juvenile facilities operate on tight schedules built around programming, schooling, and...