Hi all,

My fiance, Todd, has been sentenced to FCI Lompoc. I would really like to hear more about what to expect this next coming year. (He has been incarcerated since Christmas Eve)

I will have my first contact visit this weekend! WOOHOO!!

SO, if anyone has a loved one in a federal institute, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks all!
Carla

One thing is for sure, you aren't alone! My fiance' Steven is incarcerated in Powhatan County, here in Virginia. We have contact visits too, I see him every other weekend
(every 2 weeks.) It's like a 45 minute drive from where I live so it doesn't really bother me. I'm glad you've found us you'll get a lot of support here. It will be hard but in the long run your love for each other will get stronger. His situation will make your relationship seem UNSTOPPABLE!

CARLA-RON IS IN A STATE PRSION BUT KNOW THERE ARE OTHERS ON HERE WITH EXPERIENCE WITH THE FEDERAL SYSTEM-GLAD YOU ARE HERE AND WE ARE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU HOWEVER WE CAN!!

TAKE CARE

Thanks ladies... I've joined a couple of yahoo! grroups but they aren't as responsive as I've found PTO to be.

I'm very glad I've found you all.

Carla

I have joined a couple of Yahoo! Groups and they are never as responsive as this site. I don't like the merging either I wish they would have kept it a clubs site and not groups. :argh

Welcome to the forum Carla.

I once lived in Santa Maria back in the 60's, but I don't know a thing about the Fed prison.

Carla...
Just wanted to extend another welcome... my man is also in a state system, but really, there are people here with experience with the feds... they will get around to responding eventually!!! I share your experience with the yahoo groups, but you have found the ultimate in online support!! Glad to have you join us!!

I HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS IN LOMPAC RIGHT NOW HE HAS BEEN THERE FOR LIKE 6 YRS.. IF YOU DO NOT MIND ME ASKING WHAT WAS HIS OFFENSE. MAYBE DARYL CAN LOOK OUT AND SAY WHATS UP TO HIM ONCE HE GETS THERE

Todd's there for violating his supervisory release. He's been there since the end of April.

PM me when u are online and we can talk more, k?

Carla

Welcome! My husband is in San Quentin State Prison. You have found your new family right here!
Veronica

Thank u all for the welcome! I'm very happy with the interaction and responses that I've seen from everyone.

It's great to finally find a support forum where people actually provide support to each other.

Wish I would have found you guys since this all started for me on Christmas eve.

I love you man! LOL

Carla

Another welcome - glad you found us!

My man is in federal prison in WV. We have contact visits 1 time a week as permitted. He is doing better there than the regional jails that he was in before sentencing. FCI is much more cleaner and structured. The CO's are pretty decent too. He's only a 15 minute drive from me, so I feel lucky to have him so close.

just wanted to see if there was any progress with his approval for visits. let me know..

I'm surprised you only get 1 visit per week. What security level is the facility?

At FCI Lompoc, they are alotted 50 points for visitation. He deducts 1 point for every hour I visit on Monday, Thursday & Friday. There aren't any visitations allowed on Tuesdays or Wednesday. On Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays he deducts 2 points for every hour.

The COs are waaaaaay better in federal facilities. Maybe because they know the guys pretty much are there to do their time.

They don't have the problems like they do in state & county (fights, etc) altho they do happen once in a while. Those inmates usually end up in the Pen or the shoe program.

carla: what happens after the 50 pts are used up? are there ways to "earn" points? interesting!

If Todd & I use the 50 pts before the month is over...there's no more visits. He gets 50 points at the beginning of each month. Same thing applies to the 300 phone minutes.

You can't earn points for visitation. If I'm wrong, I'm sure Fed-X will correct me.

Billy is in federal in WV. He has 8 visitation points a month. One is taken for each weekday visit, 2 are taken for each weekend and holiday visit. We can stay from 8 am to 3 pm. They deduct the points from the visit, not by the hour.

He also has 300 phone minutes, each lasting up 15 minutes. Billy can't earn any points.

At Lompoc, points are deducted like this:

1 pt - each hour visited on a weekday
2 pts - each hour visited on a weekend or holiday


The visits last from 9 am until 3. That's kewl Billy's pts are deducted by the visitation and not the hour!

We usually see Billy on the weekends because his son is in school during the week. So we only get 4 visits out of it. Now that summer break is starting, maybe we can see him more often during the week. That would be great for us!! :)

That is great!

What does your son think about the visitation there? Are there things there for the kids to do?

CARLA- I WAS JUST READING YOUR POSTS AND I SAW THAT YOU WERE GETTING YOUR FIRST CONTACT VISIT WITH TODD- DID I MISS WHERE YOU POSTED HOW IT WENT? SO.... HOW'D IT GO GIRL?

Hi Jennifer - It was awesome! I posted about the visit under the VISITATION forum. I've since taken both of my girls to see him.

You can read my 1st contact visit post here:

We fell in love all over again! - FCI LOMPOC (http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1582)

Carla,

Visitation for the kids is great. His son will be 6 at the end of June. They have a play room. Actually the kids can't go in it, but there is an inmate who works it. He hands out toys for the kids.

Billy's son loves his daddy. They have such a great time together. However, we are having problems with Billy's ex-wife about letting Billy see him. But that's a whole different story....

Denise,

That is so great that they have toys for the kids! At that age, they have such a short attention span, it's good there is something for them to do.

I am sorry to hear about the problem w/ the ex. We haven't told TJ where Todd really is. She thinks he's working. That's the story we told TJ's dad (my ex) too. That's MY story & I'm sticking to it! lol

lol

We aren't going to tell his ex when he gets home either. She has caused so much trouble already. We don't need all that drama, especially for the first few months.

The only thing she is doing right now is attempting to stick your step-son in the middle. I'm sure she is concerned but I think it's unnecessary.

We haven't told my ex the truth because 1) it's none of his business 2) By taking TJ there, she is not in any danger.

Just stick to your guns, girl! :)

No, no. It's A LOT worse than that. The problem is that she isn't concerned about her son at all. It's a long, long story. She's just a troublemaker.

Child Protective Services have been on her for a long time. They have enough concern to keep the case open, but not enough evidence to take him away. It's just horrible. :(

I am so sorry to hear that!

I'm assuming he's in her custody. If it gets too bad can't you petition the court for guardianship?

We aren't married, so I can't. Billy's parents keep him most of the time. His ex finds excuses to drop him off to them. And CPS goes along with what she wants. I told Billy's parents that they should petition the court for custody. They haven't done it.

To make things worse, Billy's ex was arrested the other day. She has a long criminal history, but CPS tends to overlook it. Now if Billy was doing all that she's doing, the boy would've been taken along time ago. This state favors the mothers even if they are neglectful.

In California, ANYONE can petition for guardianship of your child.

If you are concerned about his safety & well-being, it wouldn't hurt to speak to a family attorney. Most offer free consulations.

that is just sad avout the cps thing...