Phone Calls from Reception Diagnostic Center: Collect, AdvancePay, PIN Debit, the 20-Name List, and Blocking

Reception Diagnostic Center uses three main call types through ViaPath: collect, AdvancePay (prepaid collect), and PIN Debit. With a collect call, the person who answers agrees to accept the charges. There's a big catch at this facility, though: collect calls cannot be placed to cell phones, office phones, or hospital numbers. AdvancePay works differently. You (the friend or family member) set up a prepaid account tied to one specific phone number. When the incarcerated person calls that number, charges are deducted from your prepaid balance. PIN Debit puts the incarcerated person in control of calling funds. They use debit minutes purchased through commissary to call approved numbers. Friends and family can also add phone money to a PIN Debit account through ConnectNetwork.com.

• ✓ Collect calls: Charges go to the person who accepts the call. Collect calls cannot be made to cell phones, office phones, or hospital numbers.
• ✓ AdvancePay (prepaid collect): You prepay into an account tied to a single phone number, and charges are deducted from that prepaid account when calls are accepted to that number.
• ✓ PIN Debit: The incarcerated person uses debit minutes (often bought from commissary) to call approved numbers. Friends and family can also buy minutes by creating an Offender Phone account through ConnectNetwork.com.

If you want a simple setup where calls to your number pull from money you control, AdvancePay is usually the cleanest option. It's built around your specific phone number, so you know exactly where calls can go and how they'll be paid. If your loved one prefers to manage their own calling balance (or you want to add money they can use as needed), PIN Debit is the better fit. They can use debit minutes to call any approved number. Collect calls are the toughest option for many families because of the destination limits. If the only number you can reliably answer is a cell phone, collect won't work here. In that case, AdvancePay or PIN Debit is typically the path that keeps calls moving.

1. Decide which phone number you want to use: AdvancePay is tied to a single phone number, and the incarcerated person can call only that number using the deposited funds.
2. Create the AdvancePay account online: Go to ConnectNetwork.com and follow the prompts to set up AdvancePay for your phone number.
3. Or set it up by phone: Call 800-483-8314 to set up the AdvancePay account.
4. Add funds and watch the balance: When calls are made and accepted to the prepaid number, charges are deducted from the AdvancePay account.

PIN Debit (debit calling) works like a calling wallet the incarcerated person controls. They purchase debit minutes from commissary and use those minutes to call friends and family on approved numbers. Want to help fund those calls? You can purchase phone minutes for an inmate's PIN Debit account by creating an Offender Phone account through ConnectNetwork.com. Once the funds are credited, they can be used to make calls to allowed phone numbers.

Before any calls can happen, the incarcerated person must complete and sign a Telephone List with no more than 20 names and phone numbers. The "20" is a limit on people, not on unique phone lines. Two people sharing the same number still count as two spots on the list.

If you need calls to stop, you have two main routes: blocking through the call prompts when an incarcerated call comes in, or placing a block through ViaPath customer service so future calls from a facility are blocked. When you block using the phone system, you'll be asked to create or provide a 4-digit personal identification number (PIN) to confirm the block. Hold on to that PIN. You'll need it if you ever want the block removed.

For both blocking and unblocking, the action step is the same: reach ViaPath customer service and ask them to place a block on future calls or submit a request to remove one. One thing to watch for: ViaPath's customer service number can appear in different formats depending on which section of the phone-calls information you're looking at. Before you dial, double-check the number shown on the specific "Blocking a Call" or "Unblocking a Call" instructions you're using so you have the current listing.