Can You Visit Someone During Diagnostics at Arrendale? What Families Need to Know

At Lee Arrendale, don't count on visitation during the diagnostic period. Most diagnostic offenders transfer to another facility before they ever become eligible for regular visits. This is where families often hit a frustrating wall: your loved one may be physically at Arrendale for processing and classification, but visits won't open up until she reaches her permanent facility. There's one narrow exception - visitation for diagnostic offenders is only allowed under extenuating circumstances.

Arrendale's diagnostic process is designed to wrap up within 10 business days of arrival. That timeline matters because most diagnostic offenders transfer before they'd ever become eligible for visitation at Arrendale. By the time you're ready to schedule a visit, she may already be headed to her next facility.

That 10-business-day window isn't set in stone. Arrendale can extend diagnostics for offenders who need higher-level medical or mental health care. When that happens, the wait stretches out - both for transfer and for any chance of becoming eligible for visitation at a permanent facility.

What contact is allowed during this early phase - phone calls, in-person visits, or neither - depends on the facility's current phase rules. Two families can have completely different experiences during diagnostics. What's permitted is tied to those phase rules, not to what you're hoping to do.

Arrendale serves as the diagnostic facility for female offenders in the Georgia Department of Corrections. If your loved one is going through female diagnostics in Georgia, these are the limits you're likely running into.

1. Contact Arrendale and ask about an exception - diagnostic offenders are only allowed visitation under extenuating circumstances, so you’ll need to request consideration directly.
2. Be ready to clearly explain the situation - keep it focused on what makes the circumstance “extenuating” and why a visit during diagnostics is needed.
3. Follow up in writing if you’re asked to - the facility mailing address is P.O. Box 709, Alto, GA 30510.

Nextsteps

• ✓ Write down your loved one’s basic identifying details (including her GDC ID if you have it) so you’re ready when you contact the facility.
• ✓ Plan around the diagnostic timeline: the process is designed to be completed within 10 business days, and diagnostic offenders usually transfer before they’re eligible for visitation.
• ✓ Keep the facility mailing address handy for written inquiries: P.O. Box 709, Alto, GA 30510.

If diagnostics seem to be dragging on longer than expected, it may be because Arrendale extended the process for higher-level medical or mental health care. That can delay transfer timing - and push back when normal visitation becomes realistic. Here's the bottom line: visitation during diagnostics at Arrendale is the exception, not the routine. Most families won't be able to visit until after the diagnostic stage ends and their loved one moves to her next facility.