The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has a motto: Reduce recidivism among those we touch. That is a statement of purpose. It names what the department says it is trying to do, and it uses the word "touch" in a way that sounds almost human for a correctional agency: those we touch, not those we incarcerate or those we supervise. There are 45,833 people in Ohio's prison system as of December 2025. The department has built a system of programs, tablet access, and deliberately reduced communication costs around the stated goal of bringing those people back to their communities differently than they left.
I went into the federal system, not the Ohio DRC. I went in when my kids were 9, 11, 12, 15, 18, and 20. What I know from 66 months is that the system's philosophy shapes what is possible, but what both parents choose to do with what is possible shapes what actually happens to the children. Ohio has done more than many states to reduce the cost of staying in contact. The question is what the parent inside does with the contact they have.
The ViaPath transition and what it means for families
Ohio transitioned its communication services to ViaPath Technologies and reduced costs significantly. Under the new contract, every incarcerated person receives 15 minutes of free video visitation per month. Every incarcerated person receives 8 free electronic messages per month. The costs of additional messages, videograms, and photo messages were reduced by 50 to 75 percent. Money transfer fees were reduced. Streaming music pricing was reduced. The four most popular video games are free.
These are not small changes. For a family in Cleveland whose parent is in Lucasville, 120 miles away, 15 free video minutes per month is 15 minutes of seeing the parent's face at no cost. For a child who goes months between in-person visits because the drive is long and the schedule is hard, 8 free electronic messages per month is 8 guaranteed contacts that do not require the outside parent to fund an account first. The reductions in additional costs mean that the family that can afford more than the free allocation is paying substantially less than before for every message, every videogram, every photo they send.
The framing in ODRC's announcement was explicit: these rates are among the lowest in the country, making it easier and more affordable for families to stay connected. Ohio made a deliberate choice to use its leverage with the new vendor to bring costs down. For the child who needs to know the parent is still there, the 15 free video minutes and the 8 free messages are not a nice-to-have. They are the floor of what the system has decided the relationship deserves.
What this does is reduce the financial barriers to contact without eliminating them entirely. Families still need accounts funded for calls and additional messages. But the floor of available contact, for a family with nothing to spend, is higher than it was. A parent in an Ohio facility has less excuse than ever for not making contact consistently.
Cleveland to Appalachian Ohio: the geography
Ohio's major cities are in the north and the center: Cleveland on Lake Erie, Columbus in the middle of the state, Cincinnati in the southwest, Akron and Toledo and Dayton filling out the corners. Most of Ohio's incarcerated population comes from those cities. Most of Ohio's correctional facilities are in the southeast: in Scioto County near Lucasville, in Ross County near Chillicothe, in Adams County in the hills, in the Appalachian corridor that runs along Ohio's eastern edge.
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville is maximum security, in Scioto County, about 90 miles south of Columbus and 120 miles from Cleveland. Chillicothe Correctional Institution is in Ross County, 50 miles south of Columbus. These are the Appalachian counties of Ohio, economically depressed, rural, and at the edge of the Great Appalachian coalfield. The facilities there are often among the primary employers.
For a family in Cleveland's east side with a parent at Lucasville, the drive is two hours through the hill country of central and southern Ohio. It is manageable on a weekend. It is not available to a family without reliable transportation. For those families, the 15 free video minutes and the 8 free messages are not supplementary access. They are primary access.
The decision Ohio's motto does not make for either parent
My wife never said a word against me to our six children during 66 months. She had every reason. She had six kids in a situation I had created. She chose to let them love me without penalty. What I have with my adult children today is the direct result of that choice.
The parent inside an Ohio facility carries the same obligation. The ViaPath phone call, the free electronic message, the 15 free video minutes, the letter: all of those are the contact the child gets. Use them to be genuinely present. Ask what happened at school. Remember what the child said last time. Ask about it by name this time. Show the child that you are paying attention from Lucasville or Chillicothe or wherever in Ohio the system has placed you.
Ohio reduced the cost of contact because it believes that stronger family connections reduce recidivism and improve outcomes after release. What it cannot reduce by fiat is the quality of the attention the parent brings to the contact. That is still entirely the parent's choice.
What the ages mean in Ohio
My children were 9, 11, 12, 15, 18, and 20 when I went in.
The 9-year-old in Cleveland or Columbus or Akron whose parent is at a facility in southern Ohio needs the same thing every 9-year-old in this series needs: to hear directly and often that none of what happened is their fault. Children under 10 build private, silent explanations for a parent's absence. The explanation they most often reach is that they caused it. That belief settles in quietly and shapes how the child understands themselves for years. Ohio provides 8 free electronic messages per month and 15 free video minutes. There is no cost reason to not send a message that says: this is not your fault. I love you. I am still your parent. Send it.
The 11 and 12-year-old in Ohio is navigating middle school in a state with a wide range of community types, from the urban neighborhoods of Cleveland's east side to the small towns of the Appalachian corridor to the suburban communities of Columbus's ring counties. A parent's incarceration carries weight in all of those contexts. The incarcerated parent who uses the ViaPath system to call on a consistent schedule, who sends electronic messages between calls, who uses the 15 free video minutes every month to let the child see their face and not just hear their voice, is doing the parenting that the distance is trying to prevent.
The 15-year-old in Ohio evaluates the contact for authenticity. A parent who uses the free electronic message to send a generic check-in has not used it. A parent who uses it to say something specific about the specific child's specific life has. Ask about the thing the kid mentioned on the last call. Follow up. The teenager who believes the incarcerated parent is genuinely tracking their life will stay in the relationship.
The 18 and 20-year-old is an adult deciding what to maintain. Show up as someone worth the decision.
What the outside parent carries in Ohio
The outside parent in Cleveland or Columbus or Cincinnati is managing children, a household, and the logistics of incarceration in a state where the facilities may be 90 to 120 miles south through the Appalachian hills. They are navigating the online visitor portal, scheduling 72 hours in advance, and making the drive when the schedule and the transportation allow.
What they need from the incarcerated parent is acknowledgment. One ViaPath call or one of the 8 free electronic messages where the person inside names specifically what they see the outside parent carrying and says thank you for it, in direct and genuine terms, is worth more than any instruction delivered from Lucasville or Chillicothe. My wife carried six children through 66 months and deserved to hear that I saw it. I said so as often as the access allowed.
For the outside parent: in Ohio, where the free messages and video minutes are available every month, the channel is open more than it was. What you say about the incarcerated parent in front of the children in the space between those contacts shapes what those children carry. Speak carefully. My wife never said anything against me. What I have now is what that made possible.
How communication works in Ohio
Phone calls and tablet communication are provided by ViaPath/GTL ConnectNetwork. To fund phone time or messaging, visit ConnectNetwork.com or use the ConnectNetwork mobile app.
Free benefits under the ViaPath contract: 15 minutes of free video visitation per month; 8 free electronic messages per month; free access to the four most popular (non-violent) video games. Additional messages, videograms, and photo messages are available at costs reduced 50 to 75 percent from previous rates.
Money orders can be sent via mail with the Money Order Deposit form (each order must include the form; orders above $200 require warden approval). Funds can also be deposited online via ConnectNetwork.
For in-person visitation: visits must be scheduled through the online visitor portal at least 72 hours in advance and no more than 30 days in advance. Visit scheduling procedures and hours vary by facility. At SOCF Lucasville: Wednesday through Saturday, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM; call (740) 259-5544 ext. 3208 Wednesday through Saturday 9 AM to 4:30 PM to schedule. All approved visitors 16 and older must present valid photo ID.
ODRC inmate search: drc.ohio.gov. ODRC headquarters: 4545 Fisher Road, Suite D, Columbus, OH 43228. General: (614) 752-1159.
Federal inmates in Ohio, including those at FCI Elkton and CI Marietta, fall under BOP jurisdiction. BOP communication uses TRULINCS for email via CORRLINKS and TRUFONE for phone. FCC rate caps apply; First Step Act programming offers 300 free minutes per month.
Where this leaves you
Ohio has 45,833 people in its prison system. It has a $2.5 billion budget and 11,627 employees and 8,000 volunteers. It has a motto that names what it is trying to do: reduce recidivism among those it touches. It has built free video minutes and free messages into every account in the system, because it believes that family contact during incarceration is part of how that goal gets achieved.
What the system cannot build is the quality of the attention the parent brings to the 15 free minutes of video and the 8 free messages and the phone calls and the letters. That quality belongs to the parent. A free video call that drifts does not touch anyone. A free electronic message that says what the 9-year-old needs to hear does. Use the free minutes. Use the free messages. Use them to show up for the specific child about the specific things happening in the specific life that child is living.
Ohio is trying to reduce recidivism among those it touches. The parent inside an Ohio facility is the other person doing the touching. The outside parent who keeps the door open, who speaks carefully about the incarcerated parent in front of the children who are listening, is the third person in that equation. Both parents making the choices that protect the children from the worst of the situation are doing what Ohio's motto is pointing toward: touching the children in ways that reduce the cost of what incarceration does to families. Make the contact count.