Parenting From Prison in Washington

Parenting From Prison in Washington

Washington gives incarcerated individuals **two free 20-minute phone calls per week**. Under the Individual Technology Services contract with Securus Technologies, those two calls happen at no cost to either the incarcerated individual or the family. For a parent with children at home, that is a baseline of two full contact calls per week before any paid calls are added.

Washington also has something almost no other state in this series offers: the **Extended Family Visit (EFV) program**, which allows eligible incarcerated individuals and their immediate family members to spend time together in a **private housing unit** within the facility. In 2025, 763 approved EFV visitors made 2,595 visits to 472 incarcerated individuals across Washington's prison system. These are not visits across a table in a monitored room. They are extended visits in private quarters, designed explicitly to support the sustained family relationships that research consistently links to successful reentry.

The EFV program has eligibility requirements, a process, and a timeline. So does the visitor application that comes before it. Washington's visitor application can take up to **45 business days** to process, and submitting more than one application voids the previous one and restarts the clock. The process rewards patience and penalizes impatience.

This guide works through all of it: the two free calls, the JPay email system, the Securus video visits, the 45-day application, and the EFV program that makes Washington one of the most family-forward state systems in this series.

Two Free Calls Per Week: How Securus ITS Works

Under the WADOC's Individual Technology Services (ITS) contract with Securus Technologies, each incarcerated individual receives two free 20-minute phone calls per week. The ITS contract also includes one free monthly Video Connect session and free stamps for e-messaging.

For paid calls beyond the two free weekly calls, families open a Securus account using the incarcerated individual's DOC number. Families can set up a collect account or an AdvanceConnect prepaid account at securustech.net. Under the ITS contract, domestic call rates dropped by as much as 44% from prior rates. FCC rate caps apply.

When a call comes through, families hear a pre-recorded message identifying the facility and the calling individual. They can accept or deny the call. There is no incoming call capability - the incarcerated individual places all calls.

For a parent, the two free weekly calls are the foundation of the regular phone contact. Use one call for the co-parent or primary caregiver with updates and logistics. Use the second call for the children - one child if possible, focused on that child's actual week. Add paid calls if the schedule and budget allow. But the baseline is two calls, no cost, every week.

JPay Email and Tablets: Seven Business Days

Under the ITS contract, Securus provides JPay player tablets to incarcerated individuals. The tablet gives access to music, movies, eBooks, FM radio, games, and the ability to read and write emails. Per DOC Policy 450.100, all electronic messages are distributed within **seven business days**.

That delivery window is important to understand. An email sent Monday may not arrive until the following Wednesday or Thursday. The JPay email system in Washington is not real-time communication - it is asynchronous correspondence that moves on a schedule rather than instantly. For a parent composing a message to their children, write knowing the message will arrive within the week, not within the hour.

Families send emails to incarcerated individuals through the JPay platform. Stamps for e-messaging are included free under the ITS contract, reducing the cost of regular written contact.

For money to the media account (for tablet services including stamps, music, and movies): Securus Debit at securustech.net. For money to the incarcerated individual's trust account: JPay Send Money. Both are separate accounts with separate funding. The trust account covers commissary, community corrections, and restitution. The media account covers tablet services and communication stamps.

Western Union, cashier's checks, and money orders are also accepted for trust account deposits.

Securus Video Connect: Monthly Free Session

The ITS contract includes one free monthly Video Connect session. Additional video visits are available through Securus Video Connect at a fee. Families schedule through the Securus platform with the incarcerated individual's DOC number.

For a parent, the free monthly video session is the scheduled face-to-face contact between the phone calls and in-person visits. One session per month guaranteed at no cost. Schedule it, use it, and plan which child gets the screen time this month.

The Visitor Application: 45 Business Days, One Submission Only

The WADOC visitor application process has two rules that families must internalize before submitting:

**First:** Applications are processed in the order received and may take up to **45 business days** - roughly nine calendar weeks. This is one of the longer processing timelines in the series.

**Second:** Do not submit more than one application. The official WADOC visiting page states this explicitly: additional applications void the previous application and restart the processing timeline from zero. A family that submits once in week one and then resubmits in week three because they have not heard back has reset the clock to week three. The WADOC also asks families to avoid requesting status updates because staff need to prioritize processing.

Submit once. Wait the nine weeks. Do not resubmit.

The application is submitted electronically through doc.wa.gov. Visit policy: DOC 450.300. WADOC main line: **360-725-8213**. HQ: 7345 Linderson Way SW, Tumwater WA 98501.

While the application is processing, the phone calls, JPay email, and Securus video sessions can all begin. The visitor application is not a prerequisite for phone contact. Use the free weekly calls and the email channel throughout the application period.

The Extended Family Visit Program

The Extended Family Visit program is Washington's most distinctive family-connection offering and the one most relevant to parents with young children. EFVs take place in a private housing unit within the facility - a space where the family can spend extended time together without a monitoring room and without a table between them.

In 2025, the program served 763 approved EFV visitors across 472 incarcerated individuals, generating 2,595 visits. That volume reflects an established, operational program, not a pilot.

**Eligibility requirements include:**

- The incarcerated individual must have served at least six months at a Washington DOC prison facility

- Visitors must have established visit history: a minimum of six visits within the last year, including at least one in-person visit

- Visitors must be immediate family with legal verification of the relationship

- Neither the incarcerated individual nor the family member may have domestic violence history as defined in the EFV Resource Guide

- Minors must provide certified birth certificates and/or adoption papers

- Spouses and state registered domestic partners must be legally married or joined in a state registered domestic partnership

**Application:** DOC 21-415, submitted electronically. The EFV Resource Guide for Families (updated November 2025) is the primary reference document at doc.wa.gov. Each facility handles its own EFV scheduling; some require the incarcerated individual to request dates, others allow visitors to request. An orientation is required before the first EFV.

For a parent, the EFV is the visit where the parenting relationship can be most fully expressed. A young child who can spend extended time in the same private space as their parent - without the structured, monitored format of the standard visiting room - experiences something closer to the family contact they knew before incarceration. The eligibility requirements are real constraints. But for those who qualify, the EFV program is the most significant family-connection opportunity in Washington's system.

The Lodging and Transportation Assistance Program

Washington recognizes that the geography of its facilities creates financial hardship for visiting families. The **Lodging and Transportation Assistance Program (LTAP)** at select facilities provides qualifying applicants with up to **$100 per incarcerated individual per month** to help cover travel costs.

Clallam Bay Corrections Center on the Olympic Peninsula is among the most remote facilities in western Washington - over three hours from Seattle on roads that wind through the mountains and rainforest of the peninsula. Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla is four to five hours from Seattle on the eastern side of the Cascades. Monroe Correctional Complex is in the Cascade foothills about an hour from Seattle. Airway Heights near Spokane is over five hours from Seattle.

For families in the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia corridor facing a four or five-hour drive to an eastern Washington facility, the LTAP $100/month allowance is meaningful assistance. Check the specific facility's page at doc.wa.gov for whether LTAP is available and how to apply.

Washington's Facilities: East and West of the Cascades

The Cascade Range divides Washington into two distinct regions. The western side holds the majority of the state's population. The eastern side holds several major correctional facilities - Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla, Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, and Airway Heights Corrections Center near Spokane.

For Seattle-area families with a person at one of the eastern Washington facilities, the visit is a full-day commitment: five hours of driving each way. The two free weekly phone calls, the JPay email, and the Securus video visit are the primary regular contact for those families. The in-person visit, and particularly the EFV, are what happens when the drive can be organized.

For Spokane-area families with a person at a western facility, the dynamic reverses. Clallam Bay on the Olympic Peninsula is four to five hours from Spokane. Monroe is about four hours.

Facilities in the central corridor - Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, Cedar Creek in Littlerock near Olympia - are more accessible from both the western population centers and manageable from eastern Washington.

Women's facilities: Mission Creek Corrections Center in Belfair and Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor are both in the Puget Sound region and accessible from the Seattle and Tacoma metro.

For the Family Holding Washington Together

Submit one visitor application and wait the 45 business days without resubmitting. While waiting, set up the Securus account at securustech.net with the incarcerated individual's DOC number so the two free weekly calls can come through. Set up JPay for email contact through the tablet - expect messages to arrive within seven business days of sending.

Once visitor-approved, use the in-person visiting structure to build toward EFV eligibility: six visits within a year including one in-person. The EFV program requires that visit history. Every regular visit is also a step toward the EFV.

Check whether the facility has the Lodging and Transportation Assistance Program if the distance makes visiting financially difficult. The $100/month allowance exists because Washington knows the geography is a barrier for some families.

And hold the line on the daily rhythm. Two free calls per week, JPay email with seven-day delivery, free monthly video session, and the path toward EFVs for eligible families. Washington has built more family-connection infrastructure than most states in this series. Use all of it.

Federal Inmates From Washington

Washington has no major Bureau of Prisons sentence facility. Federal defendants from Washington are typically housed at regional BOP facilities - FCI Sheridan in Oregon is one of the nearest facilities for federal sentences. FDC SeaTac handles federal pretrial and short-term detainees near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

If you are in federal custody at a 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. **TRULINCS/CorrLinks:** $0.05 per minute on your end, free for the family, up to 30 approved contacts, text only, no attachments.

FAQ

**How many free phone calls do Washington state prisoners get?** Under the ITS contract with Securus Technologies, each incarcerated individual receives two free 20-minute phone calls per week. The contract also includes one free monthly Video Connect video session and free e-messaging stamps.

**What is the Extended Family Visit program in Washington?** EFVs allow eligible incarcerated individuals and their immediate family members to visit in a private housing unit within the facility. In 2025, 763 approved EFV visitors made 2,595 visits to 472 incarcerated individuals. Eligibility requires at least six months served, established visit history of six visits including one in-person within the last year, legal verification of immediate family relationship, and no domestic violence history for either party. Application: DOC 21-415 electronically.

**How long does the visitor application take in Washington?** Up to 45 business days from submission. Do not submit more than one application - additional applications void the previous one and restart the processing timeline. Do not request status updates during processing.

**How does JPay email work in Washington?** Incarcerated individuals access JPay email through their Securus-provided tablets. Per DOC Policy 450.100, electronic messages are distributed within seven business days. Email is not real-time - a message sent Monday may arrive by the following Wednesday. Free e-messaging stamps are included under the ITS contract.

**What is the Lodging and Transportation Assistance Program?** LTAP is available at select WADOC facilities and provides qualifying families up to $100 per incarcerated individual per month to help offset travel costs for visiting. Check the specific facility page at doc.wa.gov for availability and application information.

**How do I send money to someone in a Washington state prison?** JPay Send Money deposits to the incarcerated individual's trust account (for commissary, restitution, and media). Securus Debit deposits to the Securus media account (for tablet services, stamps, music, movies). Western Union, cashier's checks, and money orders are also accepted for trust account deposits.

**Is there federal prison in Washington?** Washington has no major BOP sentence facility. FDC SeaTac handles federal pretrial and short-term federal detainees. Federal sentences from Washington typically go to regional BOP facilities, including FCI Sheridan in Oregon.