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Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA.

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Subject: Inmate search

If you do not know your inmate's release date you can still complete the profile update. Simply enter a placeholder date such as 00-00-0000 in the release date field to move past the requirement. You can update it with the correct date later once you have that information. How to find the actual release date For federal inmates the Bureau of Prisons publishes projected release dates in their free online locator at bop.gov/inmateloc. Search by your inmate's name

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Subject: Visitation

If you are traveling from out of state, many facilities in Tennessee will consider granting a special visit or extended visitation time, but it is not automatic. Your boyfriend will need to request this in advance by submitting a special visit request through: His counselor Unit team Or the staff member who handles visitation approvals These requests are often approved for long-distance visitors, especially when travel is significant, but they are usually limited and not granted frequently.

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

With discount phone services like InmateAid, your inmate will not automatically be notified when you set up or fund the service. That is because the system works by giving you a new local phone number, not by directly adding money to his existing account. Here is how it works: You are assigned a new local number that is tied to your account You must send that number to your inmate so he knows what to dial He will call that number instead

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Subject: Send books and magazines

[Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_lc?node=283155&tag=inmatecom-20&camp=15329&creative=394453&linkCode=ur1&adid=1NK4T3Z8XDKYJ0S12D53&&ref-refURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inmateaid.com%2Fpages%2Fdetails%2Fsend-books-to-an-inmate-in-prison-or-jail) is one of the only companies that may deliver books to inmates. You have to enter the inmate's name, ID number and the correct address of the facility. You have to buy "new paperback books", the used books are sold by third party affiliates and those books will get rejected. There are no other tricks to it, other than staying away from the other book sellers on the Amazon site that sell used books.

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Subject: Commissary

There are no current online services for Cuyahoga County Jail, they only accept money for an inmate "in person" - you can't even mail in a money order.  This is not a normal practice, usually Western Union is available for putting money on the books for inmates.

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Subject: Send inmate mail

Letters sent through InmateAid are dispatched the same day you create and submit them. From there USPS delivers to the facility within 2 to 3 business days in most cases. Arrival at the facility and arrival in your inmate's hands are two different things. Once mail reaches the facility mailroom it goes through a screening process before being distributed to housing units. Mailroom staff open every piece of incoming mail to check for contraband. This is standard procedure at

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Subject: Inmate phone calls

If your inmate is trying to dial the new number and cannot get through, the line itself is most likely working fine. The issue is almost always on the facility's calling system end, and it comes down to how the inmate's phone account is funded. Here is how the service actually works. InmateAid does not replace the jail's phone system. What we do is provide you with a local phone number that routes to your regular phone. The purpose

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Subject: Commissary

Any money deposited in your commissary account that goes unused is returned to you upon release. 

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Subject: General prison questions-terminology

Two separate questions here and both have practical answers worth knowing before you go in. Books from outside Your boyfriend cannot bring you a hardback book during a visit. In person visitors are not permitted to hand deliver books, mail, or any personal items directly to an inmate at most facilities. Books must be sent by mail directly from the publisher or an approved retailer. Amazon fulfilled directly by Amazon and publishers sending directly to the facility are

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Subject: Visitation

In many facilities, inmates are not released on weekends, even if the scheduled release date falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Instead, the release is usually moved to the next business day, most often Monday. That said, policies are not identical everywhere. Some facilities do process weekend releases, but it is less common due to limited staffing and administrative schedules. In your situation, if his release date shows Sunday, May 19 at 8 AM, there is a strong possibility he

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