My son was just sent to Ventress and he wrote me a letter asking for money to buy himself a pair of shoes...do they not furnish them shoe's? what can the family members send to them except money?
thanks..new mom here with alot of questions..:confused:

The state issues them a pair of boots, if they want shoes they can get those from the commissionary (store) but you have to send the money to be put on the books so he can get shoes. They can recieve 2 books a month from the publisher such as amazon, books a million, etc. About 4 times a year they can receive packages (hygine packages 2 times and food 2 times) they just had a hygine package so the next package will be around December and it will be a food package but you have to order thru who the DOC uses. Other than that all you can send him will be money and stamps. If he likes magazines they can recieve those..

thank you for the reply..what about the phone being on for them? do they need money for that? He said something about being able to have money sent to him for the first 30 days, then it needs to be approved..by address..is this true?

If you are on his approved phone list he can call you and you get the charges... it cost about 6.75 for 15 mins for me, it depends how far you are from the prison. He will need to set up his phone, visiting and money list, he will need all SS#'s and address and phone numbers for the 8 people he wants on his lists. My boyfriend is there and he needed new shoes... apparently Ventress is mostly concrete and the shoes aren't comfortable... If I can help any I would be happy to my name is Julie and I am on every day just PM me and I can get back to you! Good luck!

Like Julie said above the phone calls he can make are collect calls. They are only 15mins per phone call. Since he just got there, he will have to set up his phone, visitation and funds list. For his funds and visitation lists he will need social security numbers, dates of birth and addresses. For the phone list he will need names, address and phone numbers. I don't think they have a limit on how many numbers he can have on his list. The visitation is every other weekend. Feel free to PM me anytime with questions...

Welcome to the Alabama Forum....You will find lots of information here. You also have found a great group of people...

this is all new to me..so if I ask "dumb questions" please excuse....:D

thanks...he was in tuscaloosa county jail..I had to use the correctional billing service..they tried to bill me for usage I didn't use...but now have that one straightened out. do I need to send him stamps, paper, envelopes..ect?? he hasn't said. how do I find out what I'm allowed to send him..can i get a list for the facility or does he do that and send it to me? questions, questions here..lol thanks again..

you are not able to send him shoes only money. they have shoes available for them to order, but they have to have the money on the books to purchase them. they are able to get an incentive package twice a year (sept. & may) but there is a list of items only that you may send.
Hope that helps. my husband has been there since nov. 05 and is supposed to be transferred this week.

For the phone list he will need names, address and phone numbers. I don't think they have a limit on how many numbers he can have on his list.

Actually - unless things have changed - I think it's a limit of ten numbers on one's phone list statewide, or at least it was. My guy has frequently had to drop numbers to add others over the years because of the limit.

do I need to send him stamps, paper, envelopes..ect?? he hasn't said. how do I find out what I'm allowed to send him..can i get a list for the facility or does he do that and send it to me? questions, questions here..lol thanks again..

Those type things are usually different per facility, with the exception of stamps (as far as I've ever known). General population inmates are usually able to receive two books or sheets (books or sheets of 20) stamps at a time.

Envelopes and paper are a little tricker. Some facilities do allow those things to be sent in, tho the ones that do have made the paper rules more strict only allowing looseleaf paper. There are others where they can't have them sent in and they must purchase those items from the prison store.

The ones that do allow envelopes and paper also allow ink pens, though they must be completely clear barreled (with no rubber finger grip - unfortunately very few brands come like that nowaday, but the Bic Cristal pens do pass that).

I'm sorry that I don't know the specifics about this stuff at Ventress, maybe someone else will come along that does, but at any rate you can trust that he will likely soon let you know what you can send in and can't or what he needs money for to buy at the store.

If you do find that there are other items besides stamps he can have sent in, best rule to always remember is they generally allow two at a time for most everything at most facilities - i.e., two books of stamps, two ink pens, two packages of looseleaf paper, etc. (We never had a problem when at Limestone sending in a manila envelope stuffed full of envelopes though, though I suppose one could send two boxes of boxed envelopes).

By the way, ADOC has a list of approved vendors for money orders - there are some commercial MO vendors on the list like Travelers Express and American Express and Western Union, but you can't go wrong with the US Postal Service money orders (which are probably the cheapest) - they're always accepted by ADOC.

I revisited this thread and noted that someone mentioned visits at Ventress are every other week. I WISH!

You only get to visit once a month. And it is based off the 1st letter of their last name. Usually the visits are 3-4 weeks apart, but they switch weekends each month. Therefore 3 times per year it may be 7-8 weeks between visits. It will be Sat. one month and Sun. the next and just keeps going back and forth.
Some of the guards at intake are very unfriendly. They scrutinize you as if they are looking for a reason to send you back. And they patronize you with Ma'am and Sir (just the tone of their voice is eerie). However their is one older lady that is there on most visit days that actually treats you like a person. The rest..........How do you say?.......POWER TRIP!!!!!!!!!
GOOD LUCK
WISH YOU THE BEST