What Happens During a Contact Visit at Goodman Unit: Physical Contact, Monitoring, and Rules
Planning your first contact visit at Goodman Unit? The biggest surprises tend to be the limits on physical contact and how closely staff watch everything. Here's what to expect — so you don't accidentally do something that cuts the visit short.
Before you make the trip, confirm two things: that your loved one is actually assigned to Goodman Unit and that they currently have visitation privileges. Both can change without notice, and showing up without checking could mean getting turned away at the door. It's also worth understanding what type of visit you'll have. Goodman Unit offers different options - Regular, Contact, and Video/Tablet - but not everyone qualifies for each one. What you can schedule depends on your relationship to the incarcerated person, how the visiting area is configured, and their current privileges.
Monitoring: All visits except attorney-client visits are subject to electronic monitoring.
"Contact visit" doesn't mean unlimited touching. At Goodman Unit, you can embrace and kiss once at the start of the visit and once at the end - that's it. Keep it brief, and save it for those two moments so there's no question you're following the rules.
You can hold hands during a contact visit, but there's a catch: hands must stay on top of the table, fully visible to staff at all times. If your hands drop below the table or move out of sight, it can look like you're passing contraband - even if you're just being affectionate.
Keep it simple: Stick to the allowed greeting and goodbye embrace/kiss, and keep any hand-holding on top of the table where staff can see it.
Not on the Visitors List yet? Timing matters. TDCJ only allows names to be added or removed at set intervals: every six months for institutional inmates, and every 60 days for state jail, ISF, and SAFP inmates.
Practical Tips Avoid Termination
- ✓ Keep embraces and kisses to one at the start and one at the end of the visit.
- ✓ Hold hands only on top of the table, fully in view of staff.
- ✓ Assume the visit is being electronically monitored unless it’s an attorney-client visit.
- ✓ If you’re unsure whether something counts as “physical contact,” choose the more conservative option.
- Confirm assignment and visitation privileges - before you travel, make sure the inmate is assigned to Goodman Unit and currently has visitation privileges.
- Ask what visit types are available for your situation - availability can depend on relationship, facility design, and the inmate’s privileges.
- Plan your visit with the contact rules in mind - go in expecting limited physical contact and visible, on-the-table hand-holding.
Quick planning tip: If you need to add someone to the Visitors List or switch who can visit, check the allowed change interval first - and remember that not all visit types are available for every inmate.
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