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

Ten days of silence after a COVID diagnosis warrants a direct inquiry to the facility, and being listed as the emergency contact gives you standing to ask for information. Call the facility and ask to speak with either the chaplain or the unit team secretary. When you reach them, request what is called a humanitarian update on your inmate. That is the standard term for a welfare check inquiry from a concerned family member or emergency contact, and staff are generally...

Yes, InmateAid's phone service works for inmates at North Platte Regional Correctional Center in Nebraska. If you are talking regularly with someone there, it is worth setting up because the savings add up quickly. The per-call rates at county facilities can be steep, and InmateAid's number brings that cost down to a more reasonable level. On video calls, that is not part of the service at this time. InmateAid's phone line is voice only. Video visitation at county jails is typically...

It is a fair question, and the mixed reviews you found deserve a straight answer rather than a defensive one. InmateAid has been operating since 2012 and has served over a million families. At that volume, complaints are inevitable, and some will find their way into reviews. What is worth understanding is what those complaints are actually about, because the pattern matters. The most common source of frustration in negative reviews is the phone service, and it almost always comes down to...

A no-bail hold with a clean appearance record and a paid attorney in place is unusual enough that something specific had to drive it, and finding out what that is should be the immediate priority. The most common explanation is that the prosecutor presented the court with something compelling enough to convince the magistrate that release posed a risk beyond just flight. That could be new evidence that surfaced, an affidavit from a witness or law enforcement, information about the nature...

The Ellen Halbert Unit in Burnet is a female-only substance abuse treatment facility operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. It houses about 600 women and functions as a Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility, which means the entire environment is structured around recovery rather than standard incarceration. The daily experience at Halbert is centered on the therapeutic community model. Your niece will be living and working within a structured treatment program focused on drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Narcotics Anonymous and...

CDCR has launched limited video visiting to allow friends and family to safely connect with incarcerated people, beginning at five institutions by Nov. 28 with more added through the end of the year. In-person visiting remains canceled statewide until further notice as part of the department’s COVID-19 response. Under the new system, each inmate will have the opportunity for a free 30-minute video visit every 30 days. Visits will take place on weekends and holidays, between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The...

Sending books to an inmate through Amazon is one of the more straightforward ways to get reading material into a facility, but it only works if you follow the facility's specific rules to the letter. Here is how to do it. Go to Amazon and find the book you want to send. At checkout, instead of shipping to your own address, enter the facility's address as the delivery address. The inmate's full legal name and ID number should appear in the...