My cousin used to call me from Corocorn, no problems. Now that she has been transferred to VSPW she is trying to call me but she gets a message that my phone is blocked. I called ATT and they said I don't have a block on my phone and it might be the prison phone system that is blocking it.
I also got a new phone number back in April so I don't know if it is a combination of both. I called correctional billing service, like ATT told me to but they say they don't service VSPW. Any help will be appreciated.

I checked and they said my phone was ok but I am not getting calls either and I know my daughter has tried not sure what else to do about it. Help needed here too

A new phone company, Global Tel Link, took over the prison phones in CA as of middle of last week--that may be why you guys are having problems. Their number is 1-800-231-0193, so you should give them a call and see if they can help you figure it out. Good luck!

I will try that phone number and let you know if it fixed the problem.

Yeah, same thing happened with me too.. I have PCO and I didnt' know that my phone was block till bout 5 or 6 days later yup I was blocked.. =( I called MCI and was able to set up a account and now I"m getting calls from my husband.. :D

I also called today and what is blocking me is the additional services I have. The jerks think I should change my lifestyle to adjust to the new rules. Call waiting is needed in my home because there are teenagers here, not sure what we are going to do but this little trick cost them about 50 dollars a month. We will have to write, that is the only choice right now. Is there a place to file a complaint, lol, mad here.

Sorry, jennifer1. Maybe you could see about getting your kids their own line, or getting one of those VoIP systems. Think they run about 25 a month.

My cousin used to call me from Corocorn, no problems. Now that she has been transferred to VSPW she is trying to call me but she gets a message that my phone is blocked. I called ATT and they said I don't have a block on my phone and it might be the prison phone system that is blocking it.
I also got a new phone number back in April so I don't know if it is a combination of both. I called correctional billing service, like ATT told me to but they say they don't service VSPW. Any help will be appreciated.

your cousin was in corocorn and then transfered to VSPW? isnt corocorn for guys only? and vspw is woman? did i read that right? is your cousin a transgender person ????????????????:confused:

I have given this alot of throught. First it is stupid but whats new. Also it has started during a period of time that California is having problems, the cap thing, so maybe they are trying to stop the information flow into the prison. As it was the cost was about 50 dollars a month for me but now another line will be an additional 25 dollars a month. I am sorry but these people just lost 75 dollars a month. I can still write letters. My daughter has a friend who's mother is in contact with her and I will do messages that way. It just seems odd that all this started when the problems with the courts and such came up. Everyone in prison depends on family members to keep them up to date on news and this is another way of keeping it in check. I will of course file a complaint and of course they wont listen.
Also they say they want family members to help them when they do get out however this doesnt help. I realize there are alot of issues here and I am making a big deal of it but it is a big deal to me. By the way its not about the money as much as the point to me.

jennifer1, I do understand what you are saying. They do seem do "talk" a lot about how important families ties are, but, you are right that that seems to be all that it is. My son won't be released until May 08, but we may have a chance to move to a better house in a different county. It's less than 15 miles from where we are now. I went in to talk to Parole about the chances of him getting a transfer if we did move because even though he's 28, he has mental health issues that interfere with him being able to support himself. What I was told that it isn't my problem. If we move and he has no place else to stay, they'll just put him in a homeless shelter. Now how is that going to help him stay out of trouble? Sorry this doesn't have anything to do with your phone situation, but the attitude seems the same.

Tricksie it does have alot to do with the phone situation. It's their attitude and the reason the system out there is in such trouble. My daughter will not be released until 09 so I have some time. I am going to try and find a parole person in Kansas that will help me with the interstate compact thing. Perhaps by the time she gets out it can be worked out, who knows but if I were in prison for 4 years and got out and had no one, how depressing would that be. She made a serious mistake and had paid dearly for that mistake however she gets "overs". Even though it wont help, I will start on my emailing thing and calling and complaining. This phone thing just made me mad and their sentencing laws make me mad too but better minds than mine are working on that. Plus that my daughter has a mental thing too which they never even listened to. In this country we are not suppose to punish our mentally ill but we seem to do that. We are suppose to treat them as members of the community and work to make sure they have equal rights. Not allowing them to join family members or have support from family members is not working towards that goal. Oh shall we call the ACLU, they are worthless, kidding.

your cousin was in corocorn and then transfered to VSPW? isnt corocorn for guys only? and vspw is woman? did i read that right? is your cousin a transgender person ????????????????:confused:

No my cousin is a woman... I meant, C.I.W. in Corona NOT Corcoron! :p What a dork I am. :D

another line will be an additional 25 dollars a month

Double check that; I just got a totally stripped down landline for home (needed it for DSL only now that I've moved and don't have shared use of my [now ex-]roommate's cablemodem, I use my VoIP and cell for everything else), flatrate local calling only, no toll local or long distance, no bells & whistles (no caller ID, no call waiting, etc) for $10.69/month from AT&T. Bonus, now I can get collect calls from the prison without a PCO line.

Even though it wont help, I will start on my emailing thing and calling and complaining.

Email is about as effective as smoke signals. If you want to be heard, send a certified letter, signature required. Yeah, it costs $5 or so, but it will actually get someone's attention, if just for a moment. An email won't, generally.

their sentencing laws make me mad too but better minds than mine are working on that.

What about our sentencing laws? Doing some work with inmates in Texas and Oregon, I'm really rather glad California has (for everyone but lifers, since 1972) determinate sentences with easily calculable good-time credits. A California inmate knows to a certainty when s/he will get out (subject to mandatory parole); there's no drama with parole boards, 'serve all' or setoffs or... And having dealt with a client who was in the California system and extradited to Florida, I can say our sentences aren't very drastic at all, at least not by comparison. Finally, your neighboring state of Missouri takes the cake in my book by seizing inmates' assets to pay for the cost of incarceration, something CA does does *not* do... What specifically about our sentencing laws do you feel is markedly unjust vis-a-vis the laws of other states?


Plus that my daughter has a mental thing too which they never even listened to.

If she knew the difference between right and wrong and chose between them, why would they? If she didn't, you may have grounds for a new trial, though if that information was before the finder of fact and rejected, good luck.

In this country we are not suppose to punish our mentally ill but we seem to do that. We are suppose to treat them as members of the community and work to make sure they have equal rights.

How do you figure we're not supposed to punish the mentally ill? I'd guess half the inmates out there are to some degree sociopaths... Also, if someone is a member of the community with equal rights, then they have equal responsibilities. That's the way the social contract works. Example, say you have a guy who's depressed (clinical diagnosis; a mental illness, axis I). He's a member of the community, has an equal right to, say, drive a car. One day, on his way back from Gelson's, a wave of despair hits him and he swerves into oncoming traffic. He doesn't kill himself, but he hits your car and kills your baby and you lose your left leg and suffer spinal injuries in the accident. You'll never play sports again, walk, etc. You hurt in ways you've never imagined. Your baby is dead. Would you take away that man's driver's license and/or lock him in a secure setting so that he couldn't do the same thing again to someone else? Or would you leave him free to participate in society with "equal rights," since he's mentally ill?

Still can't get a phone call from my cousin. What a pain!

My cousin used to call me from Corocorn, no problems. Now that she has been transferred to VSPW she is trying to call me but she gets a message that my phone is blocked. I called ATT and they said I don't have a block on my phone and it might be the prison phone system that is blocking it.
I also got a new phone number back in April so I don't know if it is a combination of both. I called correctional billing service, like ATT told me to but they say they don't service VSPW. Any help will be appreciated.

I meant Corona prison, not Corcoron...

ok you are absolutely right about most of what you say however there is a difference in the enhancements laws in California and lets say Kansas. Also I know a Kansas prision guard and the immates do not wash their clothes in toliets (got that info from here) and there does not seem to be an overcrowding issue.
While I was mad about the phone system (still am) I get my info about he conditions from this site.
My daughter was bi-polar and ADHD at 13 but we could never get her proper care, they have advanced mental heath care of the last 20 years. She chose to self-medicate with drugs another thing we worked hard to help her for years but it didnt work. She does well in prision because it is a structed enviorment and hopefully will get medication when she gets out. As for should the mentally ill be out killing people, absolutely not, but I also believe that they should be treated at some point. Many of my people (Veterans) are in prison waking up and going what happened.
I am a liberal democrat which I make no bones about however voted for Arnie when he ran because he seemed less Republican than he is. Also his wife is a democrat (or was) which made him a more attractive choice.
Not wishing to argue, just let me throw my little fit over the phone thing and we will move on.

Anyone have any suggestions how I can clear my phone so that my cousin can call me? She wrote me today, and she was very upset that she can't call me and now, because I was declined visitation, I can't visit her either. I haven't seen her in over 30 years...:confused:

You might want to maybe trying calling either PCO or ISP to see if you can set up a account with them.

I called VSPW and they gave me the phone number to Global tec or whatever it's called. I called there and the recording said my phone number is clear and I should be able to get calls. Hmmm. I'm going to have my cousin try calling again.

also check your local phone carrier to ensure you can receive collect calls at your phone number.

Moving this thread to the "Other Prisons" forum were members with information on Chowchilla frequent. Hope this helps in getting the answers that you need.

also check your local phone carrier to ensure you can receive collect calls at your phone number.

I called AT&T and the said there is no block and I can receive collect calls.

To Strasse,
I just started reading post here and your last one caught my eye on CA sentencing vs other states. As I took it, at least. So, I decided to register...
Seems to me that there is a wide discrepancy between states for "same" convictions, bottom end to death penalty cases.
I have a friend as VSPW who will be there for a long time. Try to do some of her legal filings but for some "strange" reason legal mail seems to take 5-14 days, going either way, over the one day actual delivery time and say give another for the mail room to inmate delivery.
As for your Quote at bottom of posts, I hope that is for both sides...Justice is also not always equal for many reasons.