How to Accept Calls from a Correctional Facility

Establish a prepaid account to speak with inmates over the telephone.

Circumstances may force friends and family to become incarcerated in a correctional facility. The inmates have restricted privileges that involve the use of the telephone to contact people outside the correctional facility. These phone calls are made collect, and the call taker has the option on whether to speak with the inmate. If you decide to speak with the inmate, you must understand there are certain calling rules to abide by so that the call does not become disconnected.

Instructions

1. Answer the phone and listen to the message regarding that you are receiving a message from the correctional facility where the family member or friend is incarcerated at. You will be told the call will be monitored and limited to a specified time period, such as 20 minutes.

2. Accept the collect call if you want to be charged on your regular phone carrier plan. Stay on the line for the entire length of the call and ignore your call waiting service. Calls from the correctional facility will become disconnected if you place the inmate on hold, transfer the call or try to use three-way calling. Maintain the conversation without long pauses or the call will become disconnected.

3. Set up a prepaid account to accept the inmate's calls. The inmate will have to call you back after 30 minutes as you create the account. Follow the phone instructions by supplying your credit card information. Place an amount into the prepaid account that will be debited each time the inmate makes a call to you. You can also use a Money Gram in place of the credit card.

References

• Washington State Department of Corrections: Telephone Use --- Contact With Offenders
• Washington State Department of Corrections: Value Added Communications (VAC) Advanced Payment Phone Calls