INMATEAID EDITORIAL ARTICLE
Schema: Article + FAQPage
Internal links: South Dakota inmate search, send money, visitation guide (SDDOC), Staying Connected hub, South Dakota reentry resources
SOURCING NOTE: SDDOC platform (official doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/visitors: phone account through ConnectNetwork; ConnectNetwork support 1-877-650-4249; "Offenders may also initiate VisitNow video calls with those on their approved phone list by connecting their tablet to a docking station"; "Select facilities have access to tablet messaging through Getting Out. Messages can only be exchanged between an offender and the approved contacts and associated phone numbers listed on their phone list. Contacts not approved on phone list will show as Pending status in Getting Out. Messages are not instant, and all messages are subject to review. Photos cannot be sent or received through messages"; deposit through JailATM 1-877-810-0914 support@jailatm.com funds available within 2 days; packages through Union Supply SDPackageProgram.com 424-338-9020; "Please note, offenders are not able to receive incoming calls"); phone calls (SD Searchlight April 2024: three calls per day, each up to 20 minutes, using tablets or wall phones; GTL infrastructure; FCC rate caps $0.06/min after first call; family pays $0.25/message inmate pays $0.13/message; tablet calls replaced in April 2024 after suspension - status restored per current doc.sd.gov page); A&O period (official doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections: "Offenders in A & O are not allowed visits; they are allowed visitation and phone calls once they are assigned to a housing unit. You can write to an offender while they are in A & O"; men's A&O mail: South Dakota State Penitentiary 1600 North Drive PO Box 5911 Sioux Falls SD 57117-5911; women's A&O mail: South Dakota Women's Prison 3200 East Highway 34 c/o 500 East Capitol Avenue Pierre SD 57501-5070); visitation (official doc.sd.gov: statewide visitation changes in effect January 5 per policies page - need Poorwa to verify current; contact facility for current schedule); SDDOC uses "offenders"; structure (SDSP Sioux Falls max; Jameson Annex Sioux Falls medium; Mike Durfee State Prison Springfield medium/minimum; Rapid City Community Work Center; Pierre Community Work Center; South Dakota Women's Prison Pierre; SDDOC HQ Solem Public Safety Center 500 East Capitol Avenue Pierre SD 57501; doc.sd.gov); BOP federal SD (FPC Yankton Yankton minimum security significant camp near Nebraska border; BOP TRULINCS/CorrLinks 300 min/month, 15-min call cap, $0.06/min audio per FCC Jan 2025, TRULINCS $0.05/min compose, 30 contacts max, no attachments); county jails (66 SD counties; each own vendor; Minnehaha/Pennington largest; confirm with specific facility); geography (large state east-west; SDSP/Jameson Annex Sioux Falls east; Mike Durfee Springfield far southeast; Women's Prison Pierre center; Rapid City CWC far west; families in western SD close to Rapid City CWC; families in east close to SDSP).
SAFETY/EDITORIAL GUARDRAILS: Voice = knowledgeable formerly-incarcerated parent, warm, direct, personal. South Dakota structural hooks: (1) VisitNow video calls from tablet docking stations; (2) no photos through tablet messaging - specific limitation; (3) A&O period no visits but mail continues; (4) JailATM as primary deposit method; (5) messaging at select facilities only; (6) three calls per day 20 minutes each (after April 2024 reinstatement). SDDOC uses "offenders." Scott's firsthand woven as narrative. No em dashes, no smart quotes, no double hyphens.
Parenting From Prison in South Dakota
South Dakota's tablet communication system has had a complicated recent history. In March 2024, a statewide investigation caused the DOC to suspend all tablet-based phone calls, text messaging, and email. Two nights of unrest followed at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. By April 2024, the DOC was working to restore tablet phone calls with new guidelines: three calls per day, each up to 20 minutes, through tablets or wall phones.
The official SDDOC family page at doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/visitors reflects the current state of what is available: **VisitNow video calls** from tablet docking stations, **GettingOut messaging** at select facilities, and phone calls through ConnectNetwork. The framework was disrupted and rebuilt, and the current guide works from what the official page says is available now.
One specific limitation that the official page states explicitly: **photos cannot be sent or received through tablet messaging**. This is a notable restriction that families assuming messaging works like a normal text exchange - with photos of the kids, of a school event, of a birthday cake - will discover is not how it works in South Dakota. Text messages move between approved contacts. Photos do not.
That said, the connection channels that do work, when the system is operating, matter enormously for a parent trying to stay present in their children's lives. This guide covers what each channel does and how to use it.
The A&O Period: No Visits, But the Letter Travels
All new adult admissions to South Dakota DOC facilities go through an **Admissions and Orientation (A&O) period** before being assigned to a permanent housing unit. During the A&O period, no visits are permitted. Phone calls and visitation become available once the offender is assigned to a housing unit.
What continues during A&O: **the letter**. Families can write to an offender in A&O, and the letter is the first real channel of contact.
Mail addresses during A&O:
**For male adult offenders:** South Dakota State Penitentiary, 1600 North Drive, PO Box 5911, Sioux Falls SD 57117-5911
**For female adult offenders:** South Dakota Women's Prison, 3200 East Highway 34, c/o 500 East Capitol Avenue, Pierre SD 57501-5070
Tell your family to write during A&O. The letter can arrive while phone access is still being established and before visiting is possible. A letter from a child to their parent during A&O does two things: it demonstrates that the child knows where their parent is and how to reach them, and it gives the parent something to hold in the first days of the sentence.
Write back. Write to each child individually from the moment you can write. That correspondence, started in A&O, is the foundation of the parenting relationship that the phone calls and video visits will supplement once they are available.
Phone Calls: Three Per Day, Twenty Minutes Each
Phone calls at SDDOC facilities run through GTL's infrastructure, with accounts funded through ConnectNetwork. Deposits go directly to the offender's phone account at ConnectNetwork (support: **1-877-650-4249**) and can only be used for phone or tablet purchases - they cannot be transferred to other accounts.
Offenders cannot receive incoming calls. All calls are outgoing and monitored. Following the 2024 tablet communications review, the reinstated guidelines established three phone calls per day, each no longer than 20 minutes, using either the tablet phone app or the traditional wall phones in the facility.
Three calls per day, 20 minutes each. For a parent with multiple children, that allocation is workable. One call per child on days when three children need contact. Each call belongs to one child, with one specific question about their actual life this week, I love you at the end. The three-call structure is a daily resource rather than a weekly one - use it as daily contact, not weekly catch-up.
VisitNow Video Calls
For video visits, the official SDDOC family page describes VisitNow: offenders initiate video calls with those on their approved phone list by connecting their tablets to docking stations in their units. This is a product-specific name for South Dakota's video visit system.
The VisitNow video call is initiated from the offender's side, at a docking station. The family does not schedule through a portal. The offender connects when the tablet is at a docking station and the family member is available. This makes the contact more spontaneous than many states' advance-scheduled video systems - and also more dependent on the offender's access to a docking station and the timing of the call.
For a parent, the VisitNow call is the face-to-face channel that the phone call alone cannot provide. A child who sees their parent's face on a screen, even briefly, is having a different experience from a child who only hears a voice. When the docking station is accessible and the family is reachable, initiate the call.
GettingOut Messaging: Select Facilities, No Photos
Tablet messaging through GettingOut is available at **select SDDOC facilities** - not all of them. Messages can only be exchanged between the offender and contacts on their approved phone list. Contacts not yet approved show as Pending status. Messages are not instant and are subject to review before delivery.
The photo restriction is stated plainly on the official page: photos cannot be sent or received through messages. For a family that wants to send a photo of the children, a recent drawing, a school picture, the tablet messaging platform is not the channel. Letters through USPS remain the way photos reach an offender in South Dakota.
For the text message itself - the daily written contact between calls - the GettingOut platform works for facilities where it is available. A message that arrives in the morning before the phone call later that day maintains the daily thread even on days when the schedule does not allow a call first. Keep messaging account funded through ConnectNetwork if your facility has messaging enabled.
The messaging cost from prior reporting: families pay $0.25 per message and offenders pay $0.13 per message. Confirm current rates through GettingOut (www.GettingOut.com/Help or 1-866-516-0115).
Deposits: JailATM and ConnectNetwork
South Dakota uses **JailATM** as the primary deposit method for commissary funds. Deposits through JailATM are typically available within two days. JailATM support: **1-877-810-0914** or **support@jailatm.com**.
For phone and tablet account deposits, use **ConnectNetwork**. Those funds are separate from commissary funds and can only be used for phone or tablet purchases. ConnectNetwork support: **1-877-650-4249**.
Packages for offenders can be ordered through **Union Supply** at **SDPackageProgram.com**. Review the current catalog and facility-specific rules before ordering. Union Supply customer service: **424-338-9020**.
Keep both accounts funded. A gap in the phone account creates silence the child feels even when the parent would have called. A gap in commissary creates unavoidable hardship inside. Neither gap should be caused by not knowing where to deposit.
The Letter in South Dakota
The physical letter is the one channel unaffected by the April 2024 tablet investigation, unaffected by the photo restriction in messaging, and unaffected by which facilities have GettingOut enabled. Letters travel by USPS to the facility mailing addresses, are reviewed, and are delivered.
And letters are where the photos can go. In South Dakota, a photo cannot be sent through GettingOut. A photo can be included with a letter. A child's drawing can go in the envelope. A birthday card the child made by hand can travel to the parent inside a letter.
Write to each child individually. One letter, their name at the top, their world inside it. South Dakota's landscape is specific: the Black Hills in the west, the Missouri River bisecting the state, the vast open prairies of the east, the cold that arrives early and stays late. Write to the season your child is living in. Ask the real question. Give them something to respond to.
A correspondence built on real questions and specific details is a relationship. That relationship is what the A&O period can begin, and what the phone calls and VisitNow sessions and GettingOut messages sustain.
Visiting in South Dakota: Check Current Schedule
The SDDOC policies page noted statewide visitation changes effective January 5. For current visiting rules, hours, and procedures at any SDDOC facility, check the specific facility's page under Adult Corrections at doc.sd.gov or call the facility directly. The SDDOC main office in Pierre can be reached through doc.sd.gov for general questions.
Visiting schedules, rules, and contact format (contact vs. non-contact) vary by facility and security level. The general principle across SDDOC: visitors must be on the approved visitor list, and visits are a privilege that can be approved, denied, suspended, or revoked.
For the Family Holding South Dakota Together
Start the letter during A&O. Do not wait for visits or phone access to begin contact. Set up the ConnectNetwork phone account before the first call so the account is funded and ready. Check whether the specific facility has GettingOut messaging enabled. Use JailATM for commissary deposits.
For video contact, understand that VisitNow is initiated from the offender's tablet at a docking station - the timing is driven from inside, not scheduled through a family portal.
Know that photos cannot travel through tablet messaging. Send them in letters instead. The letter handles what the messaging platform cannot, and in South Dakota that is specifically the photographs that show a parent what their children look like this month.
And hold the line on the human work. South Dakota's communication system went through disruption in 2024. What is available now is described on the official page. Use every available channel, build the daily rhythm of calls and messages and letters, and keep the children's relationship with their parent present even across the wide, flat distances of the Great Plains.
Federal Prison in South Dakota: FPC Yankton
The Federal Prison Camp at Yankton, in southeastern South Dakota near the Nebraska border, is the primary BOP facility serving South Dakota. FPC Yankton is a minimum-security camp. If you are in federal custody there or at another BOP facility, the national BOP standard applies.
**Phone.** Three hundred minutes per month, each call capped at 15 minutes at $0.06 per minute, plus 100 extra minutes in November and December. **TRULINCS/CorrLinks.** $0.05 per minute to compose on your end, free for the family, up to 30 approved contacts, text only, no attachments.
FAQ
**What is VisitNow in South Dakota?** VisitNow is the name of the video call system available through SDDOC tablets. Offenders initiate video calls from their tablets when connected to docking stations in their units, calling those on their approved phone list. Online scheduling is not required from the family side.
**Can I send photos through tablet messaging in South Dakota?** No. The SDDOC official family page states explicitly that photos cannot be sent or received through tablet messages on the GettingOut platform. Photos can be sent in physical letters through the U.S. Postal Service.
**Is tablet messaging available at all South Dakota facilities?** No. GettingOut messaging is available at select SDDOC facilities, not all of them. Check the specific facility's information at doc.sd.gov or contact the facility to confirm whether messaging is enabled.
**How many phone calls can someone make per day in South Dakota?** Following the 2024 reinstatement of tablet phone calls, SDDOC guidelines allow three calls per day, each up to 20 minutes, through tablets or wall phones. Calls are outgoing only, monitored, and recorded.
**How do I deposit money in South Dakota?** For commissary funds: JailATM at 1-877-810-0914 or support@jailatm.com. Funds typically available within two days. For phone and tablet account purchases: ConnectNetwork at 1-877-650-4249. The two accounts are separate and funds cannot be transferred between them. Packages through Union Supply at SDPackageProgram.com.
**Can I visit during the A&O period?** No. Offenders in Admissions and Orientation at SDDOC are not permitted visits until they are assigned to a housing unit. Phone calls also begin once assigned to a housing unit. Letters can be sent to the facility during A&O using the addresses listed above.
**What is the federal situation at FPC Yankton?** FPC Yankton is a minimum-security federal prison camp in Yankton, South Dakota. 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.
[Affiliate handling: Product-light parenting spoke - NO external affiliate links. Internal CTAs only (standard 5): South Dakota inmate search, send money, visitation guide SDDOC, Staying Connected hub, South Dakota reentry resources. SOURCING: SDDOC platform (official doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/visitors: ConnectNetwork support 1-877-650-4249; "Offenders may also initiate VisitNow video calls with those on their approved phone list by connecting their tablet to a docking station"; "Select facilities have access to tablet messaging through Getting Out"; messages only between offender and approved contacts on phone list; contacts not approved show as Pending; messages not instant, subject to review; "Photos cannot be sent or received through messages"; JailATM 1-877-810-0914 support@jailatm.com; "Funds deposited through JailATM are typically available to the offender within two days"; Union Supply SDPackageProgram.com 424-338-9020; "offenders are not able to receive incoming calls"); phone calls (SD Searchlight April 1 2024: three calls per day each up to 20 minutes using tablets or wall phones; reinstated after March 2024 tablet investigation/suspension; GTL infrastructure; FCC rate caps $0.06/min; GettingOut messaging: family $0.25/message offender $0.13/message per prior reporting; GettingOut/Help or 1-866-516-0115); A&O period (official doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections: "Offenders in A & O are not allowed visits; they are allowed visitation and phone calls once they are assigned to a housing unit. You can write to an offender while they are in A & O"; men's SDSP 1600 North Drive PO Box 5911 Sioux Falls SD 57117-5911; women's SD Women's Prison 3200 East Highway 34 c/o 500 East Capitol Avenue Pierre SD 57501-5070); visitation (official doc.sd.gov/about-us/policies: "Statewide Visitation Changes in Effect January 5" - current status needs Poorwa verification; check facility pages at doc.sd.gov); SDDOC uses "offenders"; structure (SDSP Sioux Falls max; Jameson Annex Sioux Falls medium; Mike Durfee State Prison Springfield medium/minimum; Rapid City CWC; Pierre CWC; SD Women's Prison Pierre; SDDOC HQ Solem Public Safety Center 500 East Capitol Ave Pierre SD 57501; doc.sd.gov); BOP SD (FPC Yankton Yankton minimum camp; TRULINCS/CorrLinks 300 min/month + 100 Nov-Dec, 15-min cap, $0.06/min audio per FCC Jan 2025, TRULINCS $0.05/min compose, 30 contacts max, no attachments); county jails (66 SD counties; Minnehaha/Pennington largest; each own vendor). GUARDRAILS: no em dashes, no smart quotes, no double hyphens; warm/direct/personal voice; VisitNow + no photos through messaging + A&O period + JailATM + three calls per day 20 min + select facilities messaging as structural hooks; "offenders" used in SDDOC context. Scott firsthand woven. NOTE for Poorwa: verify current doc.sd.gov/adult-corrections/visitors shows VisitNow and GettingOut messaging as currently available; verify three calls per day 20 minutes is current per any recent DOC update; verify photos cannot be sent through GettingOut messaging per current page; verify JailATM 1-877-810-0914 and ConnectNetwork 1-877-650-4249 are current; verify "Statewide Visitation Changes in Effect January 5" and what those changes are per current doc.sd.gov/facilities pages; verify A&O no-visit period is current; verify GettingOut messaging is select facilities only; verify FPC Yankton still BOP minimum camp; len()/character check before publish.]