Hi All!!  My son was shipped out of Big Muddy to Shawnee out of the blue. Rumors are circulated of course but no one knows why. On Monday 50 were shipped out. Tuesday 50 more. Curious if anyone has a clue as to what is going on??

On Saturdays and sundays you can bring him his property. You can bring him clothes, hygiene, TV, 70 dollars, 20 dollars in quarters(he will need those for phone which doesnt allow collect calls, the washer/dryer, vending machines)(also the 70 dollars bring in singles so it's easier to get change). You can bring him alot of different items and he will get a free short call the day he gets here so he will let u know what he wants. You cant bring him food though.

He can work alot of different jobs but not like a bartender(obviously) or anything that requires driving. Hr can find his own job or he can go to one that crossroads has in its contacts. He wont have a problem finding a job.

He should be able to have visits the very next week he threre. Plus as soon as he gets money he can call u. These are pay phones so he can call whoever, there is no phone list like prison. Also idk where your at but if you dont have a 773 area code it can be costly to call you. If you dont have a 773 number then get on Google and set up a Google voice number. Basically you can get a 773 number that will be forwarded to your cell number. With a 773 number it will cost him 50 cents for the first 5 min and a quarter for every 5 min afterwards.  Once he gets a job he can then get a cell phone.

Passes work like this. The first 30 days there he isnt going anywhere except one staff accompanied trip to DMV to get his ID and a store run to Walmart. To get him started right have his social security card and birth certificate and mail it to him as soon as he gets to crossroads. With out those he cant get a ID and he will have to have that in order to be able to get a job. So if ue doesnt have em already try to get them asap.

So I explained the first 30 days as far as passes. The first 30 are boring and difficult just cause you hear people talking about going home on the weekend and seeing ppl go to work everyday. After the first 30 it gets better. The first 30 your in level 1(day 1-30)

Level 2 is day(30-90) on level 2 he can start working and he can take a 1hr unaccompanied store pass per week.

Level 3 is day 90-120. On level 3 he will be allowed (1) 6hr pass a week as well as either (2)12hr passes for that month or (1)48 hr pass to go home.

After the 1 month of level 3 he will be level 4(the highest level). On level 4 he will get (2)6hr passes per week and (1)72 hr pass per week.  I'm on level 4 and I will give you my schedule as an example:

Monday-Friday I have my work schedule from 5am-5pm
Passes wise:
-mon no pass
-Tues I get back from work at 4:30pm and go on a pass till 9pm
-weds I get off work at 4:30pm and go on a pass till 9pm
-thuraday I get to the center from work around 4:45pm and then wait till 7pm and then take my 72hr pass till Sunday night at 7pm.

So as you see once your on level 4 you basically never in the center except to sleep a few nights.  For him to take 72hr passes you will have to get a landline phone and come to the orientation they have every Tuesday. You will need a copy of the phone bill along with you ID with the correct address. Make sure you dont have call forwarding listed on the bill.

Hope this helps. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask

I'm also really confused about all of this lol. So do you purchase the tablets for them or do they get them from commissary bc I don't see anything on gtl website about purchasing the tablets? My LO is in IL River

Best to you guys too XO

It’s really hard to say. From what I’ve learned it depends on the day, depends on the PRB  he’s in front of. I do know that being arrested, and being found guilty or pleading guilty automatically gives them a reason to violate you. Believe me, my heart is continuing to break as we work through this violation stuff. My LO sent me the violation paperwork, and it’s just heartbreaking to read what they wrote and yet clearly didn’t care about. and there’s not much we can do. When he goes in front of the board if he’s honest, owns it like he did for court but explain how he knows the path to get better and just has to follow it - maybe there is a small chance they’ll let him go with updated conditions. Good luck. Keep us posted.