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

The answer depends on where you live relative to the facility. Prison and jail phone carriers charge different rates based on whether the receiving number is local to the facility or long-distance. If you live in Arkansas and your number is already local to the Wynne area, you may already be getting the lower in-state rate. InmateAid can still potentially reduce that further by identifying whether a local forwarding number would trigger an even cheaper rate with whatever carrier Cross County...

Yes. The forwarding number on your InmateAid account points calls to whatever phone number you designate, and that number can be updated when your situation changes. Email aid@inmateaid.com with your account details and the new number you want calls forwarded to, and the team will make the change. This is worth doing promptly. If the forwarding number on file is no longer active, calls from your inmate will not connect and he will not know why. Updating the number quickly avoids...

Inmates control their own approved phone list. They can add and remove numbers themselves through the GTL phone system at the facility, typically using the kiosk or the phone unit interface, without needing staff involvement to make those changes. If your person has forgotten what numbers are currently on their list, the simplest way to get that information is to ask their counselor. The counselor can print out a report of the current approved numbers on file. That gives them a...

Federal Medical Centers across the BOP system are generally a step above the standard prison experience, and that holds for Fort Worth. The core reason is the population. FMC facilities house inmates with serious medical needs who are there primarily to receive ongoing healthcare. People who are managing chronic illness, recovering from surgery, receiving cancer treatment, or dealing with other significant health conditions are not typically in the business of creating violence. That shared circumstance brings a certain calm to...

This can be fixed. Email aid@inmateaid.com with the correct facility name and the team will update the account at the phone company end. The forwarding number gets reconfigured for the right location so calls from your dad's actual facility will route through correctly. Include your account details and the correct prison or jail name in the email so the team can identify the account and make the change without back and forth. These corrections are handled regularly and should not take...

Yes, that is accurate. Processing facilities are the most restrictive environment an inmate will typically encounter in the Georgia system because they are transitional by design. The rules at Piedmont are tighter across the board compared to a regular housing assignment, and the limited phone schedule you described reflects that. Two 15-minute calls on alternating days, with Mondays being a phone blackout, is consistent with what processing centers impose while inmates are being classified and assessed before permanent placement. On tablets:...

Physical contact during prison visits is allowed in most facilities but within limits that vary by security level and individual facility policy. The standard in most state and federal prisons is a brief embrace and kiss on arrival and another when the visit ends. That contact is generally accepted across custody levels as long as it is brief and appropriate. Extended physical contact or anything that draws staff attention is where things get cut off. Hand-holding during the visit itself is more...

It depends entirely on the facility and the inmate's custody level. Many prisons and jails do offer contact visits where you sit in the same room as the inmate without any barrier between you. Others use non-contact visitation where you speak through glass or via phone handsets with no physical proximity. Some facilities have moved to video-only visitation, which means you are not in the same room at all. State prisons at lower security levels, federal camps, and minimum-security facilities are...

Phone access during quarantine is extremely limited. The quarantine period functions similarly to the SHU in terms of communication restrictions, meaning phone privileges are reduced to roughly one call per week rather than the standard schedule. Do not count on regular contact during those first two weeks. There is also the orientation piece to consider. Even after quarantine ends, most facilities require inmates to complete an Admissions and Orientation process before full phone privileges are activated. If those two things overlap,...

You might be able to visit this weekend, but do not make the trip without calling first. A few things need to fall into place before you can walk through the door. The biggest factor is whether you are already on his approved visitor list. If your name and information were submitted and cleared at his previous facility, that approval may not automatically transfer to the new one. Many facilities require visitors to go through their own approval process, which can...