How to Contact an Inmate at Facility
Staying in touch usually comes down to three channels: tablet messaging (including digitized mail), phone calls, and sending mail through the facility's mail processing system. Here's how it works for NCDAC facilities, and what to do first so your message doesn't get delayed or returned.
The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC) contracts with ViaPath (GTL) for electronic tablet services. That matters because your messaging, phone options, and account setup are tied to that platform.
These tablets serve as a hub for communication and daily needs. Depending on what's enabled for the person you're trying to reach, tablets can handle phone calls, text messaging, digitized mail, educational resources, and entertainment.
For non-legal mail, NCDAC uses TextBehind to screen and scan incoming letters and photos, then deliver them electronically to the person's tablet. Addressing matters: your envelope needs the person's name, their OPUS number, and the full prison name (do not abbreviate). Send it to TextBehind's mailing address in Phoenix, Maryland. If you don't format it correctly, the mail gets returned.
Phone funding runs through ConnectNetwork, ViaPath's deposit and account management portal. One key restriction: only people listed as approved visitors for that offender can deposit funds to their account.
Steps to Follow
- ✓ Confirm the person is in an NCDAC facility that uses ViaPath (GTL) tablet services.
- ✓ Ask the person (or check their facility guidance) whether they currently have tablet access.
- ✓ Confirm which tablet features are enabled for them: phone calls, texting, and receiving digitized mail.
- Decide how you want to send your message. You can send non-legal mail through TextBehind for scanning and electronic delivery, and TextBehind also supports submitting letters and uploading photos from a smartphone or computer.
- If you mail it, format the address exactly. Use the person’s full name and OPUS number, include the full name of the prison (do not abbreviate), and address it to: P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131.
- Double-check the identifiers before you send. A missing OPUS number or an abbreviated prison name can trigger a return instead of delivery.
- Use ConnectNetwork to add funds for phone time. This is ViaPath’s authorized deposit and account management portal for purchasing phone time.
- Make sure you are allowed to deposit. Only approved visitors for that offender are permitted to deposit funds to the offender’s account.
What to Verify
- ✓ Verify the facility is still using ViaPath (GTL) for tablets.
- ✓ Verify which tablet communication features are currently enabled for the specific person you are contacting (calls, texts, and digitized mail).
- ✓ Confirm TextBehind is still the processor for non-legal mail at the facility.
- ✓ Confirm whether TextBehind’s app/website submission option is accepted for the facility and for the type of content you want to send.
- ✓ Confirm the exact addressing format required, including the person’s name, OPUS number, and the full prison name (not abbreviated).
- ✓ Confirm the correct mailing address is still: P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131.
- ✓ Verify ConnectNetwork is still the portal used to purchase phone time or fund phone accounts.
- ✓ Confirm you are listed as an approved visitor for the offender before you attempt to deposit funds.
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