How Much You'll Save on Video Calls (and What 30 Free Minutes Per Month Actually Means) at Salinas Valley

Transitions like this can get messy - especially when families depend on video calls to stay connected. CDCR secured an interim agreement with ViaPath to avoid service interruptions while the Securus switch is being completed, so access won't suddenly drop off mid-change.

The bigger picture: CDCR's new Securus contract is expected to bring down costs for families, including video calls and e-messages. The exact numbers matter. Small per-minute changes add up fast when you're budgeting month to month.

Once SVSP is on Securus, video calls drop to $0.10 per minute - down from $0.16 per minute under ViaPath. That 6-cent difference becomes real money if you're doing longer calls or multiple calls each month.

E-messages drop too. Securus charges $0.03 each, compared to $0.05 under ViaPath. If you send messages frequently, that lower price takes some pressure off your monthly spending.

The other big change is how free video time works. Under Securus, SVSP families get 30 free minutes per month. ViaPath's setup is 15 minutes per two weeks. In practice, "30 free minutes per month" means you can cover one 30-minute call at no cost - or split it across shorter calls. Once those free minutes are gone, any additional video time costs $0.10 per minute.

• ✓ Three 10-minute video calls in a month = 30 minutes total, covered by the monthly free minutes (on Securus).
• ✓ One 30-minute video call in a month = fully covered by the monthly free minutes (on Securus).
• ✓ One 60-minute video call in a month = 30 minutes free, then the remaining 30 minutes cost $3.00 at $0.10/min (on Securus).

1. Start with your 30 free minutes - each month on Securus, you have 30 free minutes of video time to use.
2. Figure out how many minutes go past free time - add up your total video minutes for the month, then subtract 30.
3. Multiply extra minutes by $0.10/min - that’s the published Securus video rate at SVSP.
4. Add any e-messages at $0.03 each - if you’re budgeting messaging too, multiply your message count by $0.03.
5. Run a couple of real-life scenarios - for example, two 30-minute video calls in a month is 60 total minutes: 30 minutes free + 30 paid minutes = $3.00 at $0.10/min. Or one 60-minute call in a month is also 60 total minutes: 30 minutes free + 30 paid minutes = $3.00.

For SVSP, CDCR lists the transition dates as tentative: telephone services switch on 4/13, and tablet services transition from 4/14–4/17. That timing matters because Securus pricing and the 30 free minutes per month kick in once the facility completes the switch.