Parenting From Prison in New York

Parenting From Prison in New York

New York made phone calls from its state prisons free on August 1, 2025. The New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision pays the bill directly to Securus Technologies at 1.5 cents per minute. Previously, the incarcerated person paid 2.4 cents per minute plus service fees. Now: nothing. The calls are free, unlimited, and available both through the traditional wall phones in housing units and through the phone application on tablets across all 42 DOCCS facilities.

That is the headline for New York, and it joins California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Minnesota as states in this series where the financial calculation before calling your children has been eliminated. The question that replaced it is the same in every free-call state: what are you going to say?

The answer to that question is what this guide is about. The tools are there. The free call, the tablet, the JPay message, the in-person visit. This guide covers how each one works and what a parent does with each one to remain real to their children across whatever distance New York's geography puts between them.

Free Calls Since August 2025: How the System Works

The free call goes through Securus Technologies, the DOCCS phone contractor. Families who previously had Securus accounts set up to receive calls should have those accounts still active. The process for receiving calls is the same as before, except the charge per minute is now paid by the state rather than the family or the incarcerated individual.

Calls are available via two channels: the traditional phones on the housing unit floor, and the phone application now installed on general population tablets after DOCCS completed Wi-Fi deployment across all facilities. If you are in a general population housing unit and have a tablet with Wi-Fi access, you can place calls through the tablet app. If you are near a floor phone, you can call from there. Either way, the call is free.

For families: no funding is needed for the call itself. The Securus account may still be useful for other services, but the phone call arrives at no charge. If you have trouble receiving calls, contact Securus at **securustech.net** or **1-800-844-6591**.

No incoming calls. All calls are outgoing, monitored, and recorded except attorney calls. The free call is only as good as how you use it. Know which child this call is for before you dial. Have the one specific question ready. Give the child their full 15 minutes. End with I love you.

Tablets, Wi-Fi, and What 29,000 Devices Look Like in Practice

As of June 2025, DOCCS had deployed more than 29,000 tablets and over 1,000 kiosks across 42 state correctional facilities. The contract runs through Securus and JPay, which is Securus's subsidiary. Wi-Fi is now active across all facilities, enabling the tablet to function as a calling device and a messaging device without requiring connection to a kiosk.

What this means for a parent: the tablet is now a comprehensive communication platform. Phone calls through the app. Secure messages through JPay. Educational content. Media. All in one device that lives in the housing unit rather than requiring a trip to a kiosk during limited hours.

The tablet audit completed by the New York State Comptroller's Office in August 2025 noted that DOCCS had not fully implemented all oversight recommendations for the tablet program, but also confirmed that the core communication functions are operational. For a parent, the relevant fact is practical: the tablet works for calls and messages. Use it.

JPay Secure Messaging: The Daily Thread

The Secure Messaging Program at DOCCS runs through JPay. Every incarcerated individual receives **four free stamps per month**, replenished on the first of each month. Free stamps do not accumulate past the monthly reset.

Families purchase additional stamps through JPay at **jpay.com** or by calling JPay Customer Support at **1-800-574-5729**. Stamps cost between 9 and 12 cents each depending on the bundle. DOCCS receives no commission on JPay stamp purchases.

All secure messages go through content screening. The incarcerated individual's email address for JPay must be obtained from them directly. A JPay account is required before any messaging can begin.

For a parent, the JPay message is the daily thread between the free calls. A short message in the morning that says I was thinking about you before breakfast. What is happening this week that I should know about? is a piece of daily parenting delivered through a 9-cent stamp. With four free stamps per month and additional stamps affordable enough to sustain a daily habit, there is no practical financial barrier to messaging your children through JPay every day.

Write to each child individually. One message, their name in the opening, their world inside it. A child who receives a personal JPay message written specifically to them is in a relationship with their parent that the absence has not interrupted. That relationship carries.

Visiting in New York: Weekend-Only and the Wait

Visiting at most DOCCS facilities is currently limited to weekends due to staffing constraints that followed a period of correctional officer unrest. Wednesday visits have been suspended. For families with children in weekend activities, sport schedules, or any weekend obligation, this limitation is a real planning challenge.

The wait lines at weekend visits have also drawn attention. One family advocate who was quoted after the free call announcement said she would rather pay $120 a month and visit without waiting 3.5 hours in line. That is the honest trade-off as it exists in New York right now: free phone calls, and harder in-person visiting.

The DOCCS official visiting page says that with little exception, anyone may visit during visiting hours with proper identification and the incarcerated individual's agreement. Each facility has its own visitor number limits. For extra visitors beyond the standard limit, contact the Superintendent's Office at least several weeks in advance.

For families with both in-person and tablet access, the weekend visit becomes the monthly anchor and the tablet communication fills the weekly contact. Plan the visit for when it can be made and use the free calls and JPay messages to sustain the relationship in the weeks between visits.

**The geographic reality.** New York's 44 correctional facilities span a corridor from New York City north and west. Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora is in the far North Country, nearly seven hours from New York City. Attica is in western Wyoming County, five or more hours from the city. Green Haven and Fishkill in Dutchess County are about two hours from the city. Sing Sing in Ossining is less than an hour.

For families in the New York City area whose person is at Clinton or Attica, the in-person visit is a significant undertaking. It requires planning, an overnight stay often, and coordination around the weekend-only schedule. For those families, the free phone call and JPay message are the primary contact. Use them as such: daily messages, frequent calls, consistent voice and words that arrive even when the drive is not possible.

Cross Visiting: When Two Family Members Are Inside

New York allows **cross visiting** - the participation of two incarcerated individuals in a visit with one or more visitors - with the approval of the Superintendent. For immediate family members who are both incarcerated in the DOCCS system, cross visiting is specifically encouraged.

For a parent in DOCCS whose child is also incarcerated somewhere in the system, or whose sibling is inside, this policy is worth knowing. A family that can arrange one visit and have two incarcerated family members participate is doing something most states do not permit. Request through the Superintendent's Office at each relevant facility with as much advance notice as possible.

The Letter in New York

The handwritten letter travels differently than the JPay message. It arrives as a physical object, with your handwriting, through the mail system. All incoming mail is screened, but the physical letter to a DOCCS inmate still arrives as paper.

Write in plain language, plain ink, on plain paper. Include the incarcerated individual's name, Department Identification Number (DIN), and facility name on the envelope. All incoming mail is subject to inspection.

For the child who wants to send something to their parent: a handwritten letter from a child, even a short one, even one that is mostly drawings, is a different object from a JPay stamp. It arrived in an envelope. It was carried from the outside to the inside. For a parent who holds it in their hands and reads the child's handwriting, it is the specific evidence that the child sat down and made something for them. That evidence is worth having alongside everything the digital channels provide.

For the Family Holding New York Together

New York has given families more than most states in this series: free and unlimited phone calls since August 2025, 29,000+ tablets with Wi-Fi and calling app, JPay messaging with four free monthly stamps, and a visiting policy that, outside the current weekend-only limitation, is relatively open to who can come.

Fund the JPay account for additional stamps beyond the four free monthly ones. Keep the Securus account active for any additional phone-related services. Check the current visiting schedule at your specific facility before planning a trip, because the weekend-only limitation may evolve as DOCCS staffing stabilizes.

If there are two incarcerated family members in the system, ask about cross visiting.

And do the harder human work. New York removed the financial barrier to calling. The 3.5-hour wait line at weekend visits is a real frustration. What neither the free call nor the policy can provide is the decision to show up for every call, every message, every available contact window, with the child at the center. New York has given you the tools. Every week, use them.

NYC DOC: A Separate System

If the incarcerated parent is at Rikers Island or one of New York City's borough jails, they are in the **New York City Department of Correction** - a completely separate system from DOCCS. NYC DOC has its own phone provider, its own tablet program, and its own visit scheduling through the Televisit system.

Do not assume DOCCS rules or platform information applies to someone in NYC DOC. Confirm the specific system, provider, and procedures with NYC DOC directly. NYC DOC general information: 75-20 Astoria Blvd., Queens NY 11370.

Federal Prison in New York: Otisville, Ray Brook, and MDC Brooklyn

The federal Bureau of Prisons has significant facilities in New York. FCI Otisville in Orange County is a medium-security federal facility about 65 miles from New York City. FCI Ray Brook in Essex County near Plattsburgh is in the North Country. MDC Brooklyn in Brooklyn serves a large pretrial and sentenced population.

If you are in federal custody at any BOP facility, the national BOP standard applies. **Phone:** 300 minutes per month, 15-minute call caps at $0.06 per minute, plus 100 extra minutes in November and December. Unlike New York state's free calls, federal calls cost money. Make each one deliberate. **TRULINCS/CorrLinks:** $0.05 per minute on your end, free for the family, up to 30 approved contacts, text only, no attachments.

FAQ

**Are phone calls from New York state prisons free?** Yes. Effective August 1, 2025, all calls from DOCCS facilities are free for both the incarcerated individual and the family. DOCCS pays Securus at 1.5 cents per minute. Calls are available through housing unit floor phones and through the calling app on general population tablets. There is no cap on the number of calls.

**How does JPay secure messaging work in New York?** JPay is the DOCCS secure messaging platform. Families create accounts at jpay.com or through JPay Customer Support at 1-800-574-5729. Stamps cost 9-12 cents depending on bundle. Each incarcerated individual receives 4 free stamps per month, replenished on the first. All messages are content-screened. DOCCS receives no commission on JPay stamp purchases.

**What is the visiting schedule at New York state prisons?** Visiting is currently limited to weekends at most DOCCS facilities due to staffing constraints, with Wednesday visits suspended. Each facility has its own visitor number limits and hours. Check the specific facility page at doccs.ny.gov and call ahead the day of any visit. Special arrangements for extra visitors can be made through the Superintendent's Office with advance notice of several weeks.

**What is cross visiting in New York?** Cross visiting is when two incarcerated individuals participate in a visit with the same visitor or visitors. It requires Superintendent approval. For immediate family members who are both incarcerated in the DOCCS system, cross visiting is specifically encouraged. Request through the Superintendent's Office at each relevant facility.

**How do I tell if someone is in DOCCS or NYC DOC?** DOCCS is the New York State system covering all state prisons outside New York City. NYC DOC is the city system covering Rikers Island and the borough jails. They are separate systems with different platforms, phone vendors, and visiting procedures. Use the New York inmate search to confirm which system holds your person.

**What is the federal situation in New York?** BOP facilities in New York include FCI Otisville (Orange County), FCI Ray Brook (Essex County), and MDC Brooklyn. BOP rules apply: 300 phone minutes per month with 15-minute call caps at $0.06 per minute, plus TRULINCS email through CorrLinks at $0.05 per minute on the inmate's end, free for families, up to 30 approved contacts, text only.

**How do tablets work in New York state prisons?** As of June 2025, over 29,000 tablets are operational across 42 DOCCS facilities through contracts with Securus and JPay. Wi-Fi is deployed across all facilities, enabling the phone calling app and secure messaging on all general population tablets. Incarcerated individuals can make free calls and send JPay messages through the tablet without connecting to a kiosk.