Henderson County Jail COVID-19 Coronavirus Visitation Policy

Henderson County Jail

Address:
206-A North Murchison Street
Athens, TX 75751

Phone:

903-677-6322

New Visitation Policies in Henderson County Jail Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus

Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the Henderson County Jail in Athens, Texas, 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 903-677-6322 for updates.

Video Visitation at Henderson County Jail

At-home and onsite video visitation guidelines for Henderson County Jail, when this service is available, can be found by going to the visitation information page.

We highly recommend that you call 903-677-6322 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.

How Long Will These Changes Last?

Experts in the study of the COVID-19 are anticipating that spread of the virus will be a ongoing concern for Henderson County, the state of Texas 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.

Will the Inmates in Henderson County Jail Be Safe from Getting Sick With COVID-19 Coronavirus?

Whether the inmates are safe from contracting the coronavirus depends entirely on two things:

  1. The Virus being introduced into the facility by a staff member or inmate who is unaware that they have it.
  2. How easily it spreads.

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.

How Do I put Money on an Inmate's Commissary Account in the Henderson County Jail to Purchase Phone Cards?

There are FOUR options for putting money on an inmate's books:

Option 1 - Dropping Money at the Henderson County Jail
Bring money to the jail in person. 
Either the jail personnel will process the Inmate Account payment or you will use the NCIC self-serve kiosk in the lobbies that accepts cash, debit or credit cards.

Option 2 - Deposit Inmate Money Online
Henderson County Jail uses NCIC to process all online deposits to an inmate's account. NCIC charges you a small fee for doing so, but the fee probably isn't as much as gas and parking would cost to take it to the jail in person.



Option 3 - Mail the Inmate Deposit to the Jail
Mailing a deposit takes more time to process than the other methods but can be done if you live too far away to bring it in person and you don't have a debit/credit card for online deposits. Never send cash. Always send a Money Order from the US Post Office, a reputable bank or Western Union.
Make the Money Order out to the inmate's name and put their Inmate ID# in memo section of the Money Order.  Mail it to the Henderson County Jail address on this page, or to the address below if it is different than the facility address.
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate's SO#
Henderson County Jail
P.O. Box 2601
Athens, Texas 75751

Option 4 - Make an Inmate Deposit over the Phone by calling 800-943-2189

For more information about sending an inmate money for phone cards or other commissary sundries, check out our Inmate Money Page.


 

How to Rent a Tablet for an Inmate at the Henderson County Jail

Henderson County Jail offers NCIC tablets to rent to inmates that they can use for video visitation and calls, phone calls, instant messaging, education and entertainment.

They can also be used for commissary ordering.

To find out more bout how much tablets cost to rent, and what programs, entertainment, education and other things it can be used for, check out our Tablet Page.


 

How to deposit money in an inmate's account in the Henderson County Jail

  • To deposit money online go the NCIC website
  • To deposit money over the phone call 800-943-2189
  • To deposit money at the jail use the NCIC Kiosk in the Henderson County Jail lobby.
  • Call the jail at 903-677-6322 to confirm lobby hours for depositing inmate funds.

For complete information on depositing money in an inmate's account, check out our Inmate Money page.


 

How Do Visit an Inmate in Henderson County Jail?

To visit an inmate in Henderson County you need to do the following:

Henderson County Jail uses the services of NCIC for remote video visitation. In other words, you can visit your inmate in jail by using your home computer, as long as it is equipped with a microphone and camera that supports video.

When available, the jail also provides use of ‘video visit kiosks’ in the Henderson County Jail lobby if you do not have a computer at home. These ’on-site’ video visits are FREE.

Costs
NCIC Video Visitation fees are subject to change, but the cost to you is roughly $7.50 ($0.25 per minute) for a 30-minute visit + an additional fee of $2.00 for the connection.
On-site (at the jail) video visits are FREE.

How to set up your Video Visit

  • Register here.  
  • Select Henderson County Jail
  • Select your inmate.
  • Choose your date and time.

Your inmate will be notified by the Henderson County Jail staff of the date and time for the visit. Be sure to be in front of your computer and connected to NCIC at least 15 minutes before the start of the visit.

NCIC Customer Service
Phone - 800-943-2189 or 903-247-0069
Email – [email protected]

For all the information you need to know, whether it be 'in person' at-the-jail visitation or remote video visitation with your Henderson County inmate, go to our Visit Inmate Page.


 

How to Send a Secure Email Message to an Inmate in Henderson County

To send a secure email message to an inmate in Henderson County Jail follow these steps:

Henderson County Jail uses the services of NCIC for you to deposit funds into your {Henderson County inmate’s account so that you and they can purchase secure email messaging services from this jail’s e-messaging service.

You can deposit money three different ways:

•    Deposit online at NCIC.com
•    Deposit at the kiosk in the Henderson County Jail lobby, if available.
•    Deposit over the phone 24/7 at 800-943-2189 or 903-247-0069 (Note: if you deposit money using a live agent the fee is $5.95).
Email – [email protected]

For all information on how to Text/Email an Inmate in Henderson County Jail check out our Secure Messaging Guide for Henderson County.


 

How Does an Inmate Make Phone Calls in Henderson County Jail?

To receive phone calls from an inmate in Henderson County follow these instructions:

Henderson County Jail uses the services of NCIC for inmate phone calling. It is called a ‘friends & family account”.

In order to receive phone calls from your inmate, you need to do the following:

  • Register here, or by phone 800-943-2189
  • Choose Texas.
  • Choose Henderson County Jail
  • Select your Inmate.
  • Enter the phone number your Inmate will be calling.
  • Fund your Account. ($10-$100 at a time)

NOTE:
1.   You cannot receive any calls to your phone number from your inmate until both you and your phone number are registered.
2.  When you do receive a call, the number you will view on your phone from the incoming call is: 800-943-2189.
3.  When allowed by Henderson County Jail, families can also leave secure voicemails for inmates to listen to.

Fees

  • Adding funds to your account - $3.00 
  • Cost of phone call of a Prepaid Collect Account - $0.21 per minute
  • Cost of an interstate (ex. Texas to a different state) phone call NOT Prepaid - $0.25 per minute
  • Cost of an intrastate (ex. Texas to Texas) phone call NOT Prepaid - $0.25 per minute
  • Cost if you set up your account (or fund it) by phone using a live agent, you will be charged a one-time fee of $5.95.

NCIC Customer Service
Phone - 800-943-2189 or 903-247-0069
Email – [email protected]
Full list of participating jails.

For all the information regarding phone calls with Henderson County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, fees, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.


 

How to Send Money to an Inmate in Henderson County

To send commissary money to an inmate in Henderson County Jail follow these steps:

  • Register with Access Corrections by creating an account.
  • Select Texas, then select Henderson County Jail, and then the inmate you want to send money to.
  • Choose the amount of money you want to send, and input your payment method.

For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Henderson County Jail.


 

Photos of this facility
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