Mail & Messaging for NLCI Families: Using TextBehind and GettingOut (ICS Tablets)

For non-privileged, personal mail (letters, photos, greeting cards, bills, and similar items), send it to TextBehind instead of mailing it directly to NLCI. The destination address is P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131. Your envelope still needs to follow the TextBehind return address format so it can be matched to the right person in custody and processed correctly.

• ✓ Include your return name and full return address on the envelope
• ✓ Include the PIOC’s full name (first and last) and their DOC number
• ✓ Send privileged and legal mail to the facility address (not the TextBehind PO Box)

TextBehind scans everything you send, including the envelope and any pre-paid self-addressed envelope you include. After scanning, the originals are held briefly, then shredded by an NSA-certified third-party service. Shredding happens 30 days after scanning, so assume you won't get originals back.

Photos and greeting cards count as non-privileged personal mail, so send them to TextBehind at P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131, not directly to the institution. Your loved one will receive a scanned copy. The originals are shredded 30 days after scanning.

• ✓ Missing sender return name and address
• ✓ Missing the PIOC’s full name (first and last)
• ✓ Missing the PIOC’s DOC number
• ✓ Incomplete addressing that leaves out required information (mail like this is considered undeliverable and can be returned to sender)

If your loved one has an ICS tablet, messages and photos don't go through regular mail. Instead, you'll need a GettingOut account. You can create one on the GettingOut website or through the GettingOut app.

Setting up the account is only the first step. You also need to fund your GettingOut account before you can send messages to someone with an ICS tablet. Without funding, messages and photos won't go through.

1. Create your GettingOut account: Use the GettingOut website or app, then locate your loved one.
2. Fund the account: Add funds before you try to send messages or photos.
3. Send your message or photo: Compose it in GettingOut and send it to your loved one’s ICS tablet.

If personal mail isn't getting through, start by double-checking the envelope. Non-privileged mail needs your full return name and address, plus the person in custody's full name and DOC number. It must be sent to TextBehind at P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131. If any of that information is missing or incomplete, the envelope is considered undeliverable and may be returned to sender.

For tablet messaging problems, the two most common issues are account setup and funding. First, confirm you've created a GettingOut account. Then make sure it's funded, since funding is required to send messages to people using ICS tablets. If you already have an ICSolutions phone account, there is testing underway for software that may let you fund that phone account to support messaging too, but this isn't the standard option yet.