February's Topic, Chat and Discussion for CSP Lancaster

HURRAY! February's thread has started. I'm always looking for info. on this prison. My son has been in reception here for over 5 weeks. He does write, but I can't wait to hear his voice soon!

I, Too Have My Sweetie At Lancaster Reception And Im Waiting To Get Approved To Go See Him Already!!! Even Though It Will Be Behind Glass, I Am Happy That I Will Atleast See Him And Hear Him. :)

does anyone know if reception is on lockdown? last week i sent my loved one 5 letters. and i last heard from him a week ago. it doesnt usually take this long for him to write. im not sure if he hasnt received my mail, or doesnt have paper, envelopes or stamps. im starting to worry. :(

You can send him maximum of 40 pre-stamped envelopes and papers so he has the materials to write you. if you just send these items in an envelopes with no letter..... i think it will get to him sooner than it would for a letter... since it is easy for them to inspect. by the way, when you send him a letter, i think it takes about 2 weeks for him to receive it.

Shaun's Mom...I can't believe he has been in orientation for 5 weeks!!! Why so long! I'm glad he writes! I hope you get to see him soon!

Shaun's mom...I just read your other post in the lancaster january forum....so your son was in reception over at chino for six weeks? i thought he was mainlined already there. but if not...then maybe he is still in reception to complete the term. My guy stayed in reception for about 4 months! no calls! the norm is 60-90 days. I wonder if your son's transfer delayed anything and made them start the reception term all over again! have your son speak to his counselor and try to get all the info. Most of the time...they won't give you any specifics. Also...when you call to make an appointment to visit, do you keep calling non stop??? because I know that when I first made an appointment I had to call non stop for about 1 hour.

missingmybaby, how is visiting in lancaster reception? im waiting to get approved but i would like some info. thanks.

MissMyBaby07.....Nice to hear from you! My son has 5 months to do this time, and his release date is March 15th. I think he'll stay in reception until then. It's probably too much paperwork to mainline for just a short time. I've left messaages for his counselor, but he doesn't call back. Probably figures he'll be home soon. Who Knows! Calling on Fridays, I stay on phone until someone eventually answers and they say to call back, too many calls coming in. I hang up and call right back. I'm not stressing as much now, I know we'll be there to pick him up soon. I miss his voice, it's been about 4 months now, I've even prepaid MCI for collect calls.
Hope all is going with you, Debbie

Shaun's mom - March 15th...........THAT IS GREAT! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you guys! That is wonderful! I would say...don't let them hang up on you. But what I heard from a CO this weekend is that there are only 42 slots a day for about 2500 inmates! That is why they fill up so fast! But....march 15th is right around the corner!

Sunmoon - - My guy is actually mainlined there so we get contact visits =0) ...but I do know it is behind glass for about 1 hour. You must call to make an appointment the prior Friday before the weekend as early as 8:00 am. Once he is out of reception, you will get contact visits...where you can hold him and buy him food, and spend all day with him!

Is anyone love one on A yard? Do anyone know about the release procedures for Lancaster?

MissMyBaby07.... Thank you for the encourgement. You're right, his release date is just around the corner now and we are all getting excited. My 2 year old grandson will be happy to have his dad again. I know you have a small child also, and I really hope that your guy gets home soon. Inmates with loving families are fortunate and we certainly brighten up their days.

is anyone having problems at lancaster with mail? first, i just got approved to go see my loved one who is in reception...:yay: im so excited. second, he wrote that the last letter he got was 2 weeks ago! ive sent him like 3 or 4 in the past 2 weeks and he still hasnt received them. :( but hopefully if i get an appointment soon, i can go see him and talk to him even though it will be behing glass but that is better than no visit! and no phonecalls. what is the longest that mail has been slow?

sunmoom728....My son is in reception at Lancaster also and he writes that sometimes he gets 3 or 4 letters together. I think it's because they're so over crowded. I heard that reception has around 2,500 inmates. Visiting is limited for reception visits, so I hope you're able to make a schedule visit.

My boyfriend is in reception at Lancaster...C-yard. I just got approved for visits! But where do I go from here? Can anyone please tell me how all this works? Like what number do I call to make appointments? Where do I go? If I have an appointment, do I still have to wait in line? What time should I be there by? How long is the wait? How long is the visit? Is it only behind glass? =\

i found this on the cdcr website. they will tour lancaster and make a report on how overcrowded it is.
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Communications/Lancaster_Advisory.html

and

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Communications/docs/CSPLAC_FactSheet.pdf

hi everyone! my guy has been at csp-lac for 6mos and has 5 more to go--so here is my take on this institution-
mail is slooowwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no doubt!!! unfortunately that is a fact of life there at lac--visiting is pretty easy unless you have to make an appt- i dont have to make an appt bcuz my guy is on minimum yard but the best way to get through is use cell and land lines when you have to make an appt- start calling at 7:55 or so Friday mornings the number is 661-729-2000 x5408 and i think x5441 --the visiting staff is very curteous but sometimes slow- once you get an appt when you arrive at the gate you will be asked the standard questions if you have contraband ect and they search your car trunk and glove box- then you drive to the visitor parking lot and there is a trailer there that houses friends of visitors-there you can fill out your slip, use the restroom, change if you need to, leave your keys there, and if you go with someone and one of you is denied for visiting that person can kick it there until the other one comes out-- appt visiting is 1 hr glass and phone-contact visits can be from 8:30 -3:00 depending on how many people show up. from the visitihg parking you walk to the visitor center, give the c/o your slip and they will ask if you have an appt-then once they check visitor status on the computer they will call you ask you to remove shoes, belts, jewlery ect empty your pockets and check your wasit band-then you walk thru the metal detector and wait for your transit to whatever yard ur going to- minimum visitors follow the same suit except instead of exiting to the left they catch the bus to the right. overall its not a bad experience though i have heard some people walk out of there pissed off??? hope this helps and let me know if you need any other info---

Hello everyone! i am new to all this and I'm going to have my first visit this Sunday!! I called the visiting center and asked what their dress code is. They told me to call back and listen to the recording. I did but I still am confused. She told me to dress very modestly and i could not wear black sweat pants but the recording didn't say anything about it. Also I heard you can't wear open toed shoes but the recording said you CAN wear sandals (which are open). The lady in visiting said to wear a dress like if I was going to church. Can anyone let me know what is the safest thing I can wear?? Please?? I appreciate any help! Thanks! Also, why wasn't I able to get an appt. for Saturday. Is it because they booked up fast?

yes they get booked fast. i called today and about 30 min later i was told all weekend was booked already. let us know how your first visit goes. i will try to get my appt next week. i hope i get to see him soon. but can you please let us know how it went so that we can have an idea of how it goes? thanks. good luck on sunday.

yogijack- glad to see you were able to book a visit!!:) have fun and don't worry once you get it the 1st time the next times are a breeze! except for making that appt!:rolleyes: are you reception visit or yard visit-if you dont mind the question?

Hey Sunmoon728! I'm sorry you could not get your visit this weekend.:( We'll hope for next weekend! But yes I will definately let you all know how my experience was. Thanks for asking!

t r818, hi i'm sorry I sent you such a long pm. I didn't mean to overwhelm you with soooooo many questions!! But thanks for your help!! Everyone on this website seems to be so nice, helpful and supportive!! I will talk to ya'll soon!!:)

Hey t r818, I forgot to tell you: my boyfriend is still in reception in C yard. He was just transferred there from county about a month ago. How much longer do you think before he gets mainlined? He's in on a parole violation and they gave him 11 months but i think he gets time served, which was 3 months. He was arrested on 9/1/06. So, he should be out by July?? Does that sound right? Will he stay in lascaster the whole time?

mainlining can take a week to months depending on his stay if he is there for another 8 mos or so then he will be moved, or if his release will be sooner he may stay in reception. i don't know if he will stay at lancaster because they have removed the SNY yard and now lancaster is one of the processsing center prisons like wasco. as for his time i am not sure about that either -my friends husband got moved after 2 mos in reception??? its really hard to tell. if you can, call his counselor he/she may be able to assist you. sorry i wasnt too informative on this! and no worries on the PM please contact me anytime and i will give you all the information i have:D

Hey t r818, I forgot to tell you: my boyfriend is still in reception in C yard. He was just transferred there from county about a month ago. How much longer do you think before he gets mainlined? He's in on a parole violation and they gave him 11 months but i think he gets time served, which was 3 months. He was arrested on 9/1/06. So, he should be out by July?? Does that sound right? Will he stay in lascaster the whole time?

hello my honey wants writing material. he is in reception and i was wondering how much paper and envelopes can i send? and stamps too? thanks. oh and more thing, can i send all this to him overnight through the post office? and in a regular envelope or a post office envelope? thanks in advance.

i'd like to know about that too. He asked me for paper, envelopes and stamps but cant he get those when he goes to store? Also, he asked for a magazine subscription for Stuff and I ordered it for him. He is in reception will he still be able to get it? And if he gets transferred before the first issue comes, will it follow him? Thanks!

yeah he can buy that stuff in store but they only go once a month. and about the magazines, im waiting until he gets mainlined because that was my thing too, what if the first issue gets there and hes not there. hopefully we get our answers. :) what yard is he in? mine was just moved from B yard to C yard but in reception.

I had my first visit today!! Yeah! It was so nice to FINALLY see my boyfriend! Thanks for all your help t r818. I did all that worrying for nothin!

yogi,
im glad you enjoyed your visit. i called lancaster and asked about writing materials and was told that you could send 40 envelopes, 40 stamps and i believe it was 2 packs of paper.

quote=yogijack]I had my first visit today!! Yeah! It was so nice to FINALLY see my boyfriend! Thanks for all your help t r818. I did all that worrying for nothin![/quote]

very cool i am glad everything went well!!:thumbsup: i am so very glad i was able to help you out!! let me know if you have any other questions at any time!!!! take care!:)

for all of you with men in reception (still) at lancaster. My son has been in reception here since Jan 1st. We've tried every Friday to schedule a visit, but they have always been booked. I read somewhere on thi site that there are 2,500 inmates in reception and there are only 40 visits scheduled for the whole weekend. No wonder it's so hard. After weeks of trying, I got a "nice Person" on the line and she told me to use ext. 5888 on the next Friday. Something came up that weekend and we couldn't go, but my son is being released on the 15th this month.

shauns mom,
congrats on your son coming home next week. you must be very happy. :D and thanks for giving us the extension tip. i will try that on friday when i call.

Thank You Sunmoon... we are excited! I was a little worried these last 3 or 4 weeks because I wasn't sure if his release date was the 15th or 17th. Records would not verify and his counselor changed and the first one would not return my calls. I didn't know he had a new one but anyways, he did confirm the 15th. Not being able to talk by phone, I've written him several letters these last 2 or 3 weeks telling him to be sure and write to let us know exactly what we have to do to pick him up and give the date ....not the number of days left. I couldn't understand why his recent letters didn't mention the release info, even told him that if we didn't hoookup, he would be vacationing there longer than he thought!

Received a letter today and he said they're getting mail now dated 20 days ago! My last few were even sent Priority mail. He's sick of co's by now...
said they do have the time to handout mail, they're just Plain Lazy.

Also, I read somewhere on this site that it's best to begin calling on Fridays at 7:55am to get your call into the system. I always called at exactly 8am.

Good Luck to all of you with your visit.

yes my loved one has been getting my letters 16 days after i send them. sometimes longer. when i called the mailroom some man told me that mail has to be given to them within 7 days but of course they are not going to tell you how long it really is taking. im just glad you wont have to deal with this anymore. keep us updated and let us know how the release procedures go. mine should hopefully be home in may 2007. i will try to call at 7:55 tomorrow to see if i can get an appt.

I really hope that we don't have to deal with the prison system again, this is my sons 3rd time in. This time, I really feel that he's had it with the drugs and everything that goes along with using. He has a wonderful fiance who stuck by him and 2 small kids. Enough is Enough Already!! I've found a lot of resources, support and help for him when he gets out on this site.
Thanks for caring and good luck to you.

regarding mail i sent my guy pix in january and he still doesnt have them--along with alot of letters ect-- mail sux there and as far as i have read before from other PTO members who had to deal with lac-it always has! my guy keeps asking when i am sending pix- i joke with him and tell him some c/o fell in love and kept the pix for himself!! LOL!!:rolleyes:
shauns mom congrats on your coming home and please let us know how it goes his out date is 8/2007 so any info head up is appreciated!:thumbsup:

yes there are plenty of resources out there. NA, AA, and other things. Mine too, i think he has had it with abusing all those drugs and alcohol.

tr818, august 2007 is pretty close. time will go by fast. and he be home with you. mail is very sloooow. i cant believe he hasnt gotten mail from january. that is crazy!:angry: hopefully he gets it soooon.

Shaun's Mom,
You must be so excited to get to the 15th!! That must feel really good knowing you will be able to be with your son in less than a week! COngratulations. My boyfriend is still not quite sure of his release date. He gave me his counselor's name so i can call him. Will he be able to talk to me even though we're not married? And how do I get a hold of him? Do I just call the regular prison #?

Hey Sunmoon & everyone else who's planning on going, I hope we all get our appointments this weekend!!:p

hey everyone, i got my appt for tomorrow!!! im so happy i get to see him. :yay: :yay: :yay:

Thanks to All of You!
Yogijack, just call the prison number, and dial O for operator and they should be able to give you the ext. for the counselor. Or dial ext 5100 for records and ask for the counselor by name. My sons fiance called all the time. Most times she would leave a message, but the counselor would most often call her back. She said she was his fiance and he always answered her questions.

Thank you also t r818 for your warm post!

Sunmoon, thanks again and be sure to let us know how your wonderful visit goes on Saturday. I'm really glad that you were able to get in.

my visit was good. no hassles. everything went smooth. i went in black clothes just to be sure i wasnt sent back. the wait wasnt bad at all. when we were in the booths waiting, they were brought out pretty quick. that hour went by fast though. its okay though because i like the fact that i was even able to get a visit. lancaster doesnt seem as packed as i thought it would be. it was good though. co's were pretty helpful not rude at all.