Federal prison FAQ, for families # Money How to send it, how much they need, why some of it disappears, and what happens to your household on one income. Sending it ## Getting money onto their account ### How do I send them money? Three routes: a lockbox by mail, which is slow and cheap; MoneyGram (how families load money onto the account); or Western Union. The last two land in hours and cost a fee. Their committed name and register number have to be exactly right on all three. This is the single most common way a deposit disappears into a queue for weeks. The trust fund rules, annotated: [PS 4500.13](/resources/program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual). ### How much do they actually need per month? They can only spend $360 a month at commissary (the prison store) from their own account, so that is the practical ceiling rather than a target. Plenty of people do fine on far less. A hundred a month covers coffee, hygiene, and enough food to not be hungry. Ask them what they actually want rather than guessing, and read the next two answers before you send a large amount. ### What can they spend it on? Food, coffee, hygiene, over-the-counter medication, shoes, a radio, and stamps (the inmate currency). Phone credit and email time come out of the same account. Stamps and phone credit generally sit outside the $360 cap, which is part of why stamps became the compound's actual currency. ### Why is money being taken out of what I send? The Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. If they owe restitution, a fine, or child support, the Bureau takes a share of what comes into their account on a schedule their unit team sets and periodically recalculates. ### Does sending more mean they take more? Yes, and that is the counterintuitive part that catches families out. The payment is reassessed against what is actually landing in their account, so a generous month can raise their obligation for the following ones. Ask them what their current schedule is before making a large deposit, and consider spreading it. ### Can they send money home to me? No. ### Do they get paid for working? Cents an hour. A typical institution job pays a few dollars a month, which is not nothing when you have nothing but is not a contribution to anything. The exception is UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program), which pays multiples of every other job. There is a waiting list, and being in IFRP refusal status disqualifies them from it entirely. Your side ## The household ### What if I can't afford to send anything? Then you do not send anything, and they will be fine. Say that to them plainly rather than apologising by letter for months. They can tell their counselor they are indigent and be issued basic hygiene, and they can work an institution job. A great many people inside have no outside support at all. It is harder than it should be and it is survivable, and your household staying solvent matters more to their release plan than their commissary does. ### What happens to our joint accounts and bills? Nothing automatic, which is the problem. Accounts in their name stay in their name, and they cannot sign anything, call anyone, or verify their identity from inside. This is what the power of attorney is for, and it needs to be executed before they go. Get signature authority on anything that has to stay live, autopay on anything whose lapse cascades — insurance, storage, the mortgage — and decide deliberately what gets cancelled rather than carried. If they are already gone and you did not do this, it is harder and not impossible. It is also one of the few things a congressional caseworker cannot help you with, so it is worth an hour of a lawyer's time. ### What benefits might I qualify for? More than you think, and the reason families miss them is that they check against last year's income instead of this month's. Worth checking, all of them means-tested against your household as it is now: SNAP, Medicaid and CHIP for the children, TANF, WIC, free and reduced school meals, LIHEAP for utilities, and any state-level assistance where you live. Dialing 211 gets you a person who knows your county's version of all of it. Two other things people miss: your tax filing status may change, which is worth twenty minutes with someone who does taxes, and school districts have discretionary funds and fee waivers that nobody advertises. Do this early. Doing it after the savings are gone means doing it in a worse frame of mind with fewer options. Next section — part 5 of 10 ### [Phone and messages](/for-families/faq/phone-and-messages) Why you cannot call them, why their calls drop the instant you answer, and how to have a real conversation on a recorded line. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.