How to Contact an Inmate at Facility

For non-legal mail (regular letters, cards, photos, and similar items), NCDAC uses TextBehind. Your mail gets screened and scanned, then delivered electronically to the incarcerated person's tablet as digitized images. So the person reads your letter on a screen, not on the original paper you sent. Tablet-based communication and services run through ViaPath (GTL). Depending on what's enabled, the tablet can handle phone calls, text messages, and digitized mail, plus educational and entertainment content. Because these are vendor-run systems, fees, account options, and available features can vary. For the fastest answers, confirm the current rules directly with the specific facility and check what's set up for the person you're trying to reach.

For visits, you have two options: video or in-person. Video visits use the Getting Out Visits app. The incarcerated person connects from their tablet or a video kiosk inside the facility, and only people on their approved visitors list can schedule a session. In-person visits at NCDAC prisons are by appointment only. Call or email the prison where the person is housed to schedule. It's smart to call the day before your visit to confirm the facility's visitation status.

Steps to Follow

• ✓ Address all non-legal mail exactly like this: Offender Name and OPUS Number; Name of Prison (do not abbreviate); P.O. Box 247; Phoenix, MD 21131.
• ✓ Write with the expectation that TextBehind will screen and scan your letter, card, photo, or artwork, and the incarcerated person will receive it electronically on their tablet.
• ✓ If you are thinking about sending anything beyond paper mail (or you are unsure what content is allowed), confirm what is acceptable before you mail it.

• ✓ Use ConnectNetwork (ViaPath’s authorized portal) to create and prepay either an AdvancePay account (funds calling tied to your phone number) or a PIN Debit account (funds deposited to the incarcerated person’s phone account).
• ✓ Keep in mind that ViaPath (GTL) tablet services can cover calls, texts, and digitized mail. Confirm which services are available on your loved one’s tablet at their facility.

1. Set up video visiting: Confirm the facility uses the Getting Out Visits app and that your loved one can connect from a tablet or kiosk. Make sure you are on the incarcerated person’s approved visitors list.
2. Schedule an in-person visit: Call or email the prison where the person is housed to make an appointment. Call the day before you go to confirm visitation status.

What to Verify

• ✓ The exact non-legal mail addressing format, including the offender name and OPUS number, the full prison name (no abbreviations), and P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131.
• ✓ Whether the facility is still using TextBehind to screen, scan, and deliver non-legal mail electronically to tablets.

• ✓ Whether ViaPath (GTL) is the current tablet and phone services provider for the facility where your loved one is housed.
• ✓ Whether ConnectNetwork is the correct portal for funding the account you need (AdvancePay vs PIN Debit), and which payment methods are accepted.

• ✓ Whether video visits are currently run through the Getting Out Visits app at the facility.
• ✓ Whether your loved one will connect from a tablet or a video kiosk.
• ✓ Who must be on the approved visitors list for video visits.
• ✓ The facility’s process for booking in-person visits by appointment, plus when to call the day before to confirm visitation status.