Why Your Loved One Can't Have Visits Yet: Understanding Louisiana's intake status rules (what families should know)

In Louisiana DOC policy, “intake status” is a defined period: the 30 days right after someone is placed into the custody of the Department. This is the window when the system is doing its front-end processing - things like medical and mental health screening, deciding classification, and identifying programming needs - before the person is fully settled into regular housing and routines.

During that intake-status period, Louisiana DOC policy says visitation is not allowed. So if you’re trying to schedule a visit and keep getting stopped, “intake” is often the reason - your loved one may not be eligible for visits yet under the default rule.

There is an exception families should know about if intake drags on. If the intake process goes beyond 30 days, the offender may request a special visit with immediate family members, following the Reception Center’s visiting procedures. The key detail is that it’s request-based and procedure-based: it’s not automatic, and it’s limited to immediate family under the Reception Center’s rules.

Once your loved one is removed from intake status, there may be a short window where immediate-family visits can happen even before the normal visitation application process is fully completed. Louisiana DOC policy allows the receiving facility’s warden (or a designated supervisor) to authorize those immediate-family visits at the offender’s request while the standard visitation application is still being processed.

If you’re trying to help from the outside, focus on the part you can control: the request. Louisiana DOC policy allows any person to apply to visit an offender housed in a departmental facility, but visits happen only upon the offender’s request. That means your loved one has to start the process on their side - especially for a special visit if intake has exceeded 30 days - so your best move is to coordinate with them and make sure the request is actually submitted under the Reception Center’s procedure.

• ✓ Ask your loved one (by phone or message) whether they have submitted a request for visitation yet - special visits and early immediate-family visits depend on the offender’s request.
• ✓ If intake has exceeded 30 days, ask them whether they can request a special immediate-family visit under the Reception Center’s visiting procedures.
• ✓ Confirm who counts as “immediate family” for the request and whether any verification is needed under the facility’s process.
• ✓ Ask which office or staff role handles special-visit approvals at the Reception Center so your loved one can direct the request correctly.
• ✓ If they’ve been moved out of intake, ask whether the receiving facility can authorize an immediate-family visit while the standard visitation application is still being completed.