Money
Getting money to them is the easy half. What it gets spent on, and what gets taken out before they see it, is the half nobody explains.
Getting it to them
Three channels, each with different timing and cost:
- By mail to the Bureau's national lockbox, using a money order or cashier's check. Slowest, cheapest, and the addressing format must be exact.
- MoneyGram, which is faster and carries a fee.
- Western Union, similar.
Every one of them requires their committed name and register number, exactly right. Funds sent with an error do not bounce back quickly; they sit.
Do a small test deposit before you need it to work.
What it gets spent on
Verify the current cap and current messaging rates against the facility handbook. These figures move.
Restitution comes out first
If they owe restitution or a fine, the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program takes payments from their account on a schedule that is periodically recalculated based on how much money comes in.
That has a consequence worth understanding: sending more can increase what gets taken. Money you send is not entirely theirs, and the arithmetic is not intuitive. Ask them what their current payment schedule is before making a large deposit.
How much
Enough for commissary, phone, and messaging, plus some margin. They will tell you if it is not enough. They are much less likely to tell you if they are going without.
Your side of it
The household is now running on one income, possibly with legal debt attached. Look at what benefits you may qualify for, and look early rather than after savings are gone. This is not a failure, and a great many families in this situation do not check until it is too late to help.
The deposit and account rules, annotated: Program Statement 4500.13.
Phone and messages
They call you. You cannot call them. Ever, for any reason. Start there and the rest of the system makes a kind of sense.
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.
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.
Someone else is sitting exactly where you are. Pass it on.