A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR (03/19/2020)
I've been saying it behind your back, so I figured I should just tell you how incredibly proud we are of the way you've responded during this difficult time. From the guys in American Legion Post 202 to countless others who have stepped up to help clean and sanitize common living areas, your response has been amazing. Thank you!
Phones and Email:
In addition to the 2 free phone calls per week from CenturyLink, JPay is also offering 2 free e-stamps each week for email or videograms. Those stamps will be available starting tomorrow, Friday, March 20th and will reload each Friday.
Commissary:
Keefe also stepped up to help provide some comfort during this difficult time. Keefe will be giving everyone a complimentary hygiene kit and a snack. Additionally, we've decided to temporarily increase the commissary spending limit from $100 to $150 per week.
Video Visitation/Video Calls:
Facilitating more communication between you and your loved ones is a priority for us. We've been piloting video calls at a couple institutions. Candidly, its where we want to be. But here's the deal. We have some infrastructure limitations at some of our facilities where the bandwidth simply cant support that option right now. That means we are looking at ways to roll it out in some form that gives you some access to video visiting/calling without crashing our system. Our folks in contracts and IT are working hard to make it happen where we can, when we can. I hope to have more information on that for you next week.
Were preparing for this to be a marathon instead of a sprint. With how we've observed COVID-19 spread around the globe, we don't expect this to blow over in a week or two. The one advantage we have in our prisons is that the threat is external. Were able to keep all of you safe by minding our front door. That's why we've suspended visiting and volunteer services, and every single person entering any IDOC facility has to go through a medical screening. Its also the motivating factor for suspending medical copays. If you're experiencing symptoms, we need you to speak up and seek help. Very soon you should be seeing flyers in all of the common areas to alert you of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 and provide some direction for what to do if you experience any of those symptoms.
Thanks again for your patience, cooperation, and continued vigilance. Ill share more information as it becomes available.
Josh
Phones and Email:
In addition to the 2 free phone calls per week from CenturyLink, JPay is also offering 2 free e-stamps each week for email or videograms. Those stamps will be available starting tomorrow, Friday, March 20th and will reload each Friday.
Commissary:
Keefe also stepped up to help provide some comfort during this difficult time. Keefe will be giving everyone a complimentary hygiene kit and a snack. Additionally, we've decided to temporarily increase the commissary spending limit from $100 to $150 per week.
Video Visitation/Video Calls:
Facilitating more communication between you and your loved ones is a priority for us. We've been piloting video calls at a couple institutions. Candidly, its where we want to be. But here's the deal. We have some infrastructure limitations at some of our facilities where the bandwidth simply cant support that option right now. That means we are looking at ways to roll it out in some form that gives you some access to video visiting/calling without crashing our system. Our folks in contracts and IT are working hard to make it happen where we can, when we can. I hope to have more information on that for you next week.
Were preparing for this to be a marathon instead of a sprint. With how we've observed COVID-19 spread around the globe, we don't expect this to blow over in a week or two. The one advantage we have in our prisons is that the threat is external. Were able to keep all of you safe by minding our front door. That's why we've suspended visiting and volunteer services, and every single person entering any IDOC facility has to go through a medical screening. Its also the motivating factor for suspending medical copays. If you're experiencing symptoms, we need you to speak up and seek help. Very soon you should be seeing flyers in all of the common areas to alert you of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 and provide some direction for what to do if you experience any of those symptoms.
Thanks again for your patience, cooperation, and continued vigilance. Ill share more information as it becomes available.
Josh