Can family order books or magazines for someone at Southeastern Correctional? (ODRC printed‑materials policy explained)
Want to send a book, magazine, or newspaper to someone at Southeastern Correctional Facility? Here's the key thing: family and friends can no longer order printed materials that ship directly to the prison. Instead, the incarcerated person has to place the order through the facility's internal process.
Current ODRC rules prohibit family, friends, and other third parties from purchasing printed materials - books, magazine subscriptions, newspapers - when those items would ship from a vendor directly to the institution. You can't place the order yourself and have it mailed to Southeastern on their behalf.
That doesn't mean all mail is banned. Personal letters and greeting cards are still allowed, but they go through the ODRC Mail Processing Center (OMPC) rather than straight to the prison. Your handwritten mail follows one system; printed-material orders follow a different one.
Warning: Books or magazines ordered from a vendor and shipped to the institution can be refused under the printed-materials rule. For regular correspondence, stick to personal letters and cards sent through OMPC.
Incarcerated people can still have printed materials - they just have to get them differently now. The person places an order through a designated staff member, who then purchases the item from approved vendors at fair market price. This is the only path for new orders and subscriptions.
- Have your loved one request the title/subscription through the facility process - they’ll submit the request through a designated employee rather than having you order it from the outside.
- Staff place the order with an identified vendor - the designated employee orders the requested printed material through approved/identified vendors at a fair market price.
- Expect screening and handling rules to apply to incoming paper items - ODRC’s mail guidelines include copying and/or scanning first‑class letters, greeting cards, and similar items up to 8½ x 11 into an electronic format for inspection, and originals may be discarded.
Tip: Ask your loved one which vendors staff use at Southeastern and how pricing works, so you can help them plan around cost and availability.
If you want to help from the outside, packages are the clearer option. Family and friends can order food and sundry packages - but only through ODRC-approved vendors like Keefe Group/Access Securepak, Union Supply Direct, and Walkenhorsts.
- ✓ Confirm you’re using an ODRC‑approved vendor for food/sundry packages (for example: Keefe Group/Access Securepak, Union Supply Direct, Walkenhorsts)
- ✓ Place the order through the vendor’s ordering system (not by mailing items yourself)
- ✓ Verify the specific items you want are allowed for your loved one at their institution
Reminder: Each institution provides lists of allowed items and approved vendors. Using those lists is the best way to avoid a refused order.
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- ✓ Ask your loved one to request the book/magazine/newspaper through the designated employee (don’t order it yourself to ship to the prison)
- ✓ Have them check which identified vendors are used and what the current price will be
- ✓ Avoid trying to work around the process by sending printed materials from a third‑party vendor to the institution
For everyday contact, keep OMPC processing in mind. First-class letters, greeting cards, and similar items (up to 8½ x 11) get copied or scanned into electronic format and inspected for contraband. The originals may be discarded. If you're sending something sentimental you'd want them to keep in its original form, that detail matters.
Avoid wasted money: Printed materials ordered from outside vendors and shipped to the institution can be refused - leaving you chasing a refund. Coordinate with your loved one so they can use the staff ordering process instead.
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