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Ventress Correctional Visitation Center

State Prison

Last Updated: March 08,2024


Visitation Hours

Visiting hours for Ventress Correctional are subject to change, so it's crucial to confirm them by contacting the facility directly by phone. Please reach out to 334-775-3331, on visitation procedures, applications, or directions to the facility in Clayton. Please note that visitors will undergo a thorough search before entering the premises, and personal belongings, including cell phones, are strictly prohibited. Individuals under probation, parole, or community corrections supervision must obtain approval from both their supervising officer and the superintendent before visiting, although such visits are not typically approved.

General Visitation Information

Visitation is a privilege and all prescribed rules, regulations, and procedures of that facility must be followed by you and your visitors. If any of the rules, regulations, or procedures is violated, your visit and your visitation privileges shall be terminated.

Upon initial intake into the ADOC, you shall list all immediate family members on the ADOC Form 303-F, Inmate Immediate Family Members form. You shall complete ADOC Form 303-A, Inmate Visitation Form for visitors to be considered to be placed on your active visitation list. You will not be allowed a visit during the first sixty (60) days after intake without the permission of the Warden.

Visitation hours and days shall be scheduled by the Warden based upon the number of visitors, size of the visitation area, and the institutional security considerations.

Visitors may include your immediate family such as mother, father, stepparents, foster parents, husband, wife, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, half-siblings, son-in-law, daughter-inlaw, mother-in-law, and father-in-law. If you are married, you may not have a friend of the opposite sex. If you are unmarried, you may have one friend of the opposite sex and one friend of the same sex.

You are permitted to have eight adults and eight minor children on your visitation list and this list must be approved by the Warden. For your children or grandchildren under the age of nineteen (19) to visit, you must complete a Request for Minor Children to Visit. Not more than four adults are permitted to visit you on each occasion. Not more than four children are permitted to visit you on each occasion. Children must be accompanied by an approved immediate family member who is on your active visitation list. You may change your visitation list once every six months. Each visitor must submit to a proper search of his or her person and belongings. Upon entering the facility property, visitors and their vehicles are subject to being searched.

You may submit an Inmate Request Form for a special visit to be approved or disapproved by the Warden. The request should be limited to an immediate family member who is not on the active visitation list but lives in excess of 500 miles away. Other special circumstances may / will be considered. You may be eligible to receive one (1) special visit every six (6) months.

Visitation Rules

ADOC - Rules by Type

VISITATION
I. GENERAL This Alabama Department of Correction (ADOC) Administrative Regulation (AR) establishes the responsibilities, polices, and procedures for institutional visitation.
II. POLICY It is the policy of the ADOC to afford visitors access to an institution in accordance with this regulation.
III. DEFINITION(S) AND ACRONYM(S)
A. Attorney: A person trained in the law, admitted to practice before the bar of the given jurisdiction, and authorized to advise and represent other persons in legal proceedings.
B. Barred Visitor: A person that is permanently restricted from entering the institution.
C. Black-light Procedure: Ultraviolent reflective ink used in conjunction with a black-light to indicate visitors approved to exit the institution.
D. Child: A person under the age of nineteen (19) years of age.
E. Common-Law Wife or Husband:
1. The elements of a common-law spouse are:
a. Capacity (age, sanity, not married to anyone else, etc.)
b. Present agreement of consent to be husband and wife.
c. Consummation. “When the parties live in a manner intended to bring about public recognition of their relationship as husband and wife.”
2. Some factors to consider are:
a. The parties file tax returns as married.
b. The parties cohabited.
c. The parties consider themselves married, use the same name, wear wedding rings, have joint accounts, and refer to each other as husband and wife.
d. A common law marriage is the same legally as a statutory or ceremonial marriage.
e. A common law marriage can be dissolved only by annulment, divorce in court, or death.
F. Contraband: Any item not authorized by law, ADOC Administrative Regulations, institutional policy, or approved by the Warden or Division Director.
G. Denial: The refusal of a person to enter the institution.
H. Identification Card: Documentation used to establish the identity of an individual, such as, government issued photograph identification; i.e. a valid state issued driver’s license, a state issued non-drivers identification card, military (member or dependent) issued identification card, and immigration/naturalization identification card.
I. Immediate Family: For the purpose of this regulation, this includes: mother, father, stepparents, foster parents, husband, wife, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, halfsiblings, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, and father-in-law as documented in the inmate database.
J. Legal Assistant: A legal agent of the attorney as attested to by written authorization on the attorney’s letterhead signed by the attorney (i.e. paralegals, law clerks, investigators, psychologists, psychiatrists, mitigation specialists, and/or social workers).
K. Legal Guardian: One who has or is entitled to the custody of the person or property (or both) of an underage person, mental incompetent person, or other persons legally incapable of managing his or her own affairs. 4
L. Minor Child: Visitor, under nineteen (19) years of age, who is the immediate family member of an inmate to include biological children and grandchildren. Adopted and step-children qualify if the relationship existed prior to incarceration and can be verified.
M. Official Visitor: An individual from a governmental agency (i.e. Governor, Legislator, Judge, high-ranking Law Enforcement Official), ADOC Central Office and/or Division employees conducting business at the institution.
O. Special Inmate Visit: A visit approved by the Warden, or his/her designee, with an immediate family member during a time other than an inmate’s scheduled visitation period.
P. Suspension: The removal of a person’s visitation privilege for a designated period of time.
Q. Termination: The immediate removal of a person from the institution.
R. Vendor: A company or business that provides services to the institution.
S. Visitor: A person who has been granted permission to enter the institution.
1. Active (approved) Visitor: One of eight (8) persons approved on an inmates application form to visit.
2. Inactive (ineligible) Visitor: A person that is eligible to be placed on an inmate’s visitation list but not on his/her current active visitation list.
T. Visitation Module: A systematically arranged collection of information pertaining to visitors to the institution that is stored digitally for subsequent retrieval and reporting.
U. Visitation Officer: Correctional personnel designated to oversee the institutional visitation process.
IV. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The Associate Commissioner of Operations shall be responsible for the visitation policy to include barring visitors.
B. The Warden / Division Director / designee is responsible for:
1. The development of their institutional / divisional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as necessary, for the implementation of AR 303, Visitation.
2. Approving and ensuring that the Visitor’s, Official Visitor’s, Attorney’s, or Legal Assistant’s information is entered into the Visitation Module.
3. Ensuring that the Visitor’s or Official Visitor’s information is entered into the inmate database.
C. The Visitation Officer is responsible entering visitor data regarding the immediate family members into the inmate database and Visitation Module.
D. All ADOC employees shall be responsible for complying with the guidelines set forth in this regulation.
E. Inmates shall be responsible for compliance and notification to their prospective visitor(s) of the requirements of this regulation.
V. PROCEDURES
A. Guidelines:
1. Rules pertaining to visitation hours, dress, and procedures shall be posted in clear view and will be available upon request for approved visitors. See Annex A, Orientation Guidelines For Visitors and Inmates.
2. Visitation rules, policies, forms, and changes will be posted in the law library and noted in the institutional orientation packet. In addition the Visitation policies may be posted on bulletin boards and institutional newsletter.
3. All visitors initially shall be visually identified against a photoidentification card issued by a federal, state, county, or city governmental agency.
a. The following information shall be collected: full name, physical address (no Post Office Boxes will be accepted), city, state, date of birth (DOB), state driver’s license number, and phone numbers.
b. Visitors fifteen (15) years of age and older shall be photographed and have their fingerprint scanned into the Visitation Module.
c. Visitor photographs shall be updated every two (2) years.
4. Visiting days and hours shall be scheduled by the Warden based upon the number of visitors, size of the visiting area, and the institutional security considerations.
B. Visitation Application:
1. Upon initial intake into the ADOC, an inmate shall list all immediate family members on ADOC Form 303-F, Inmate Immediate Family Members and return the form to the Visitation Officer within thirty (30) days upon receipt.
2. An inmate shall complete ADOC Form 303-A, Inmate Visitation Form for visitors to be considered to be placed on an inmate’s active visitation list. An inmate shall have a sixty (60) day waiting period for visitation privileges, unless approved by the Warden, or his/her designee.
3. An inmate may update ADOC Form 303-A, Inmate Visitation Form, to the Warden, or his/her designee, every six (6) months. Notification of visitors approved or disapproved is the responsibility of an inmate.
4. An inmate’s approved visitation list shall have no more than eight (8) adult visitors active at any one time, all others will be placed on an inmate’s inactive list. Minor children should be identified on ADOC Form 303-A.
5. A married inmate may not have a friend of the opposite sex on their approved ADOC Form 303-A. An unmarried inmate may have one (1) friend of the opposite sex and one (1) friend of the same sex on his/her approved ADOC Form 303-A
6. An adult visitor must be at least nineteen (19) years of age or older to be included on ADOC Form 303-A unless he/her is legally married to the inmate and has proof of such marriage.
7. ADOC Form 303-B, Request For Minor Children to Visit shall be completed by the non-incarcerated parent or legal guardian. The ADOC Form 303-B shall be notarized and submitted to the Visitation Officer prior to the scheduled visit. A birth certificate or legal document establishing an inmate’s paternity or maternity must be provided for a minor child to be approved to visit an inmate. Only four (4) minor children are authorized to visit an inmate at any one (1) time.
8. An individual who is a victim of an inmate will not be approved to visit.
9. An inmate assigned to the Community Corrections Program or Supervised Re-Entry Program shall be prohibited from visiting an incarcerated inmate.
10. Ex-felons, parolees and probationers may be considered after two (2) years from the date of release. a. The ex-felon shall be an immediate family member. b. Parolees and probationers must have written approval from their Parole/Probation Officer.
11. A visitor may not be approved on more that one (1) inmate’s visiting application unless an inmate is an immediate family member of the visitor and the relationship can be substantiated.
12. Falsification of any visitation application information shall result in denial of the visitor to the institution.
13. A visitor may be denied due to being directly involved in an inmate’s criminal behavior.
14. Current or former employees of the ADOC will not be allowed to visit an inmate unless they are immediate family members and have prior approval from the Warden.
15. Visitors must submit an initial written request to wear religious headwear to the Wardens’ attention a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled visit.
a. The Warden shall verify through the Pastoral Program Supervisor the legitimacy of the religious headwear.
b. Upon approval, the Warden shall notify the visitor in writing that he/she will be allowed to wear the religious headwear into the visitation area. This religious headwear shall be searched.
c. Upon disapproval, the Warden shall notify the visitor in writing.
d. The Warden shall provide a copy of the letter (approval or denial) to the Visitation Officer and a copy will be placed in the inmate’s database. A notation will also be made in the Visitation Module.

Visitation Rules(Security)

ADOC - Rules by Security

VISITATION
I. GENERAL This Alabama Department of Correction (ADOC) Administrative Regulation (AR) establishes the responsibilities, polices, and procedures for institutional visitation.
II. POLICY It is the policy of the ADOC to afford visitors access to an institution in accordance with this regulation.
III. DEFINITION(S) AND ACRONYM(S)
A. Attorney: A person trained in the law, admitted to practice before the bar of the given jurisdiction, and authorized to advise and represent other persons in legal proceedings.
B. Barred Visitor: A person that is permanently restricted from entering the institution.
C. Black-light Procedure: Ultraviolent reflective ink used in conjunction with a black-light to indicate visitors approved to exit the institution.
D. Child: A person under the age of nineteen (19) years of age.
E. Common-Law Wife or Husband:
1. The elements of a common-law spouse are:
a. Capacity (age, sanity, not married to anyone else, etc.)
b. Present agreement of consent to be husband and wife.
c. Consummation. “When the parties live in a manner intended to bring about public recognition of their relationship as husband and wife.”
2. Some factors to consider are:
a. The parties file tax returns as married.
b. The parties cohabited.
c. The parties consider themselves married, use the same name, wear wedding rings, have joint accounts, and refer to each other as husband and wife.
d. A common law marriage is the same legally as a statutory or ceremonial marriage.
e. A common law marriage can be dissolved only by annulment, divorce in court, or death.
F. Contraband: Any item not authorized by law, ADOC Administrative Regulations, institutional policy, or approved by the Warden or Division Director.
G. Denial: The refusal of a person to enter the institution.
H. Identification Card: Documentation used to establish the identity of an individual, such as, government issued photograph identification; i.e. a valid state issued driver’s license, a state issued non-drivers identification card, military (member or dependent) issued identification card, and immigration/naturalization identification card.
I. Immediate Family: For the purpose of this regulation, this includes: mother, father, stepparents, foster parents, husband, wife, children, stepchildren, grandchildren, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, halfsiblings, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, and father-in-law as documented in the inmate database.
J. Legal Assistant: A legal agent of the attorney as attested to by written authorization on the attorney’s letterhead signed by the attorney (i.e. paralegals, law clerks, investigators, psychologists, psychiatrists, mitigation specialists, and/or social workers).
K. Legal Guardian: One who has or is entitled to the custody of the person or property (or both) of an underage person, mental incompetent person, or other persons legally incapable of managing his or her own affairs. 4
L. Minor Child: Visitor, under nineteen (19) years of age, who is the immediate family member of an inmate to include biological children and grandchildren. Adopted and step-children qualify if the relationship existed prior to incarceration and can be verified.
M. Official Visitor: An individual from a governmental agency (i.e. Governor, Legislator, Judge, high-ranking Law Enforcement Official), ADOC Central Office and/or Division employees conducting business at the institution.
O. Special Inmate Visit: A visit approved by the Warden, or his/her designee, with an immediate family member during a time other than an inmate’s scheduled visitation period.
P. Suspension: The removal of a person’s visitation privilege for a designated period of time.
Q. Termination: The immediate removal of a person from the institution.
R. Vendor: A company or business that provides services to the institution.
S. Visitor: A person who has been granted permission to enter the institution.
1. Active (approved) Visitor: One of eight (8) persons approved on an inmates application form to visit.
2. Inactive (ineligible) Visitor: A person that is eligible to be placed on an inmate’s visitation list but not on his/her current active visitation list.
T. Visitation Module: A systematically arranged collection of information pertaining to visitors to the institution that is stored digitally for subsequent retrieval and reporting.
U. Visitation Officer: Correctional personnel designated to oversee the institutional visitation process.
IV. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The Associate Commissioner of Operations shall be responsible for the visitation policy to include barring visitors.
B. The Warden / Division Director / designee is responsible for:
1. The development of their institutional / divisional Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as necessary, for the implementation of AR 303, Visitation.
2. Approving and ensuring that the Visitor’s, Official Visitor’s, Attorney’s, or Legal Assistant’s information is entered into the Visitation Module.
3. Ensuring that the Visitor’s or Official Visitor’s information is entered into the inmate database.
C. The Visitation Officer is responsible entering visitor data regarding the immediate family members into the inmate database and Visitation Module.
D. All ADOC employees shall be responsible for complying with the guidelines set forth in this regulation.
E. Inmates shall be responsible for compliance and notification to their prospective visitor(s) of the requirements of this regulation.
V. PROCEDURES
A. Guidelines:
1. Rules pertaining to visitation hours, dress, and procedures shall be posted in clear view and will be available upon request for approved visitors. See Annex A, Orientation Guidelines For Visitors and Inmates.
2. Visitation rules, policies, forms, and changes will be posted in the law library and noted in the institutional orientation packet. In addition the Visitation policies may be posted on bulletin boards and institutional newsletter.
3. All visitors initially shall be visually identified against a photoidentification card issued by a federal, state, county, or city governmental agency.
a. The following information shall be collected: full name, physical address (no Post Office Boxes will be accepted), city, state, date of birth (DOB), state driver’s license number, and phone numbers.
b. Visitors fifteen (15) years of age and older shall be photographed and have their fingerprint scanned into the Visitation Module.
c. Visitor photographs shall be updated every two (2) years.
4. Visiting days and hours shall be scheduled by the Warden based upon the number of visitors, size of the visiting area, and the institutional security considerations.
B. Visitation Application:
1. Upon initial intake into the ADOC, an inmate shall list all immediate family members on ADOC Form 303-F, Inmate Immediate Family Members and return the form to the Visitation Officer within thirty (30) days upon receipt.
2. An inmate shall complete ADOC Form 303-A, Inmate Visitation Form for visitors to be considered to be placed on an inmate’s active visitation list. An inmate shall have a sixty (60) day waiting period for visitation privileges, unless approved by the Warden, or his/her designee.
3. An inmate may update ADOC Form 303-A, Inmate Visitation Form, to the Warden, or his/her designee, every six (6) months. Notification of visitors approved or disapproved is the responsibility of an inmate.
4. An inmate’s approved visitation list shall have no more than eight (8) adult visitors active at any one time, all others will be placed on an inmate’s inactive list. Minor children should be identified on ADOC Form 303-A.
5. A married inmate may not have a friend of the opposite sex on their approved ADOC Form 303-A. An unmarried inmate may have one (1) friend of the opposite sex and one (1) friend of the same sex on his/her approved ADOC Form 303-A
6. An adult visitor must be at least nineteen (19) years of age or older to be included on ADOC Form 303-A unless he/her is legally married to the inmate and has proof of such marriage.
7. ADOC Form 303-B, Request For Minor Children to Visit shall be completed by the non-incarcerated parent or legal guardian. The ADOC Form 303-B shall be notarized and submitted to the Visitation Officer prior to the scheduled visit. A birth certificate or legal document establishing an inmate’s paternity or maternity must be provided for a minor child to be approved to visit an inmate. Only four (4) minor children are authorized to visit an inmate at any one (1) time.
8. An individual who is a victim of an inmate will not be approved to visit.
9. An inmate assigned to the Community Corrections Program or Supervised Re-Entry Program shall be prohibited from visiting an incarcerated inmate.
10. Ex-felons, parolees and probationers may be considered after two (2) years from the date of release. a. The ex-felon shall be an immediate family member. b. Parolees and probationers must have written approval from their Parole/Probation Officer.
11. A visitor may not be approved on more that one (1) inmate’s visiting application unless an inmate is an immediate family member of the visitor and the relationship can be substantiated.
12. Falsification of any visitation application information shall result in denial of the visitor to the institution.
13. A visitor may be denied due to being directly involved in an inmate’s criminal behavior.
14. Current or former employees of the ADOC will not be allowed to visit an inmate unless they are immediate family members and have prior approval from the Warden.
15. Visitors must submit an initial written request to wear religious headwear to the Wardens’ attention a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled visit.
a. The Warden shall verify through the Pastoral Program Supervisor the legitimacy of the religious headwear.
b. Upon approval, the Warden shall notify the visitor in writing that he/she will be allowed to wear the religious headwear into the visitation area. This religious headwear shall be searched.
c. Upon disapproval, the Warden shall notify the visitor in writing.
d. The Warden shall provide a copy of the letter (approval or denial) to the Visitation Officer and a copy will be placed in the inmate’s database. A notation will also be made in the Visitation Module.