How to Send Mail to Someone at Taycheedah (TextBehind mail scanning and photo rules)

Personal (non-legal) mail you send through USPS doesn't go directly to Taycheedah. It travels to Phoenix, Maryland first, where TextBehind picks it up on weekdays, opens it, and scans the contents. Those copies then get mailed back to Wisconsin DOC institutions. The extra stop adds time compared to traditional mail.

1. Mail your letter through USPS to TextBehind - personal (non-legal) mail is routed there first, not directly to Taycheedah.
2. TextBehind picks it up in Phoenix, Maryland - pickup happens on weekdays.
3. TextBehind opens and scans/copies your mail - the original is handled at the processing site.
4. Copies are shipped to Wisconsin DOC institutions - after processing, copies go back through USPS, typically with two–three-day shipping to the institutions.

Addressing is where most people trip up. Your envelope needs the resident's full name (first and last), their DOC number, and the facility name. Mail it to TextBehind at: P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131. Missing or incomplete details? The mail gets treated as undeliverable and returned to you - assuming you included a return address.

• ✓ Resident’s full name (first and last)
• ✓ Resident’s DOC number
• ✓ Facility name (Taycheedah Correctional Facility)
• ✓ Destination address: P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131
• ✓ Your return name and address on the envelope

There's a special rule for outgoing mail too. When your loved one sends non-legal mail, they must use this as their return address: P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131. They shouldn't use the facility's address for personal correspondence.

Sending photos? Stick to individual, loose prints. TextBehind will process and copy loose photographs, including prints ordered through Shutterfly, Snapfish, and Freeprints. Photobooks and albums are a different story - TextBehind won't copy them. This catches a lot of families off guard.

Plan for extra delivery time. Your letter travels to Phoenix, Maryland first for scanning, then the copies ship back to Wisconsin. After processing, copies go out via USPS with two-to-three-day shipping to institutions - but the full timeline runs longer because of the detour.

1. USPS delivers your envelope to Phoenix, MD - this is the first leg of the trip.
2. TextBehind pickup happens on weekdays - if your mail arrives outside the pickup window, it waits.
3. Scanning/copying happens at TextBehind - backlogs here can slow things down.
4. Copies go back into USPS for Wisconsin delivery - after processing, expect typically two–three-day shipping to Wisconsin DOC institutions.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Double-check the resident’s full name, DOC number, and facility name before you seal the envelope.
• ✓ Use the TextBehind destination address exactly: P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131.
• ✓ Include your return name and address so undeliverable mail can be returned to you.
• ✓ If your loved one is sending you non-legal mail, remind them the required FROM/return address is P.O. Box 189, Phoenix, MD 21131 (not the institution’s address).
• ✓ Send photos as loose, individual prints (including commercial prints).
• ✓ Avoid photobooks and albums if you expect the photos to be copied.

Most mail problems come down to two things: routing and format. Since personal mail goes through TextBehind before reaching Wisconsin, small addressing mistakes cause big delays. Missing details can make mail undeliverable entirely. And keeping photos to loose prints - not photobooks - helps everything move through scanning smoothly.