Address:
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Phone:
616-632-6300
Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the Kent County Correctional Facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contact visits of any type may be suspended. Even if they have visits, from time to time, face masks may be required.
Approved Non-contact visits with family, friends and the inmate’s lawyers may still be allowed when at-home or onsite video visitation is not available, however given that new guidelines are changing daily please check the visitation page or call 616-632-6383 for updates.
At-home and onsite video visitation guidelines for Kent County Correctional Facility, when this service is available, can be found by going to the visitation information page.
We highly recommend that you call 616-632-6383 first for any changes due to staff shortages or other unforeseen circumstances, including whether your inmate has become ill and is unable to be in the general population where video kiosks are available.
Experts in the study of the COVID-19 are anticipating that spread of the virus will be a ongoing concern for Kent County, the state of Michigan and the entire United States until well into 2024 and maybe even beyond. We are witnessing the virus becoming more contagious, but less deadly over time. Many people think that the 'more contagious, but less deadly' variants will infect so many people that a higher level of natural immunity for the majority of Americans will be the end result.
Whether the inmates are safe from contracting the coronavirus depends entirely on two things:
At this stage most people who get the coronavirus show very few symptoms beyond what you might experience with a bad cold or a mild case of the common flu. Newer variants are turning out to be less deadly than the common flu we experience every year.
Studies that have been done are showing that the hardest hit are those 60 years of age and older, those with pre-existing medical issues like diabetes, leukemia or obese individuals. Young men and women rarely become very ill, and when they do, seem to recover quickly.
Given the close proximity of inmates and staff to each other in this lockup, it is going to be very difficult to prevent the spread of COVID-19 once it is introduced into the facility as the virus can spread via the microscopic vapor that we release every time we speak, cough or sneeze.
We will continuously update this page as the virus changes and new policies are instituted.
To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:
1. First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL
2. Purchase the services you want for your Kent County Correctional Facility inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.
To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.
To mail or email an inmate in Kent County follow these steps:
When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:
Emailing Messages & Photos
Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.
Then use the Facility Finder to:
1. Select Kent County Correctional Facility,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.
Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call 866-516-0115
Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.
All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for Kent County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Kent County Correctional Facility follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Kent County Correctional Facility check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Kent County.
To send commissary money to an inmate in Kent County Correctional Facility follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Kent County Correctional Facility.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Kent County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
Note: All your calls with an inmate are recorded, stored and shared with law enforcement if the conversation deals with your case or any criminal activity. Anything communicated can be used against you or your inmate in court.
For all the information regarding phone calls with Kent County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.
To visit an inmate in Kent County follow these steps:
For full instructions on all the benefits of using IC Solutions to visit a Kent County inmate, visiting an inmate at the jail itself, rates, policies, rules, dress codes, bringing children, attorney and clergy visits and more, go to our official Visit Inmate Page.
