Dane County City-County Building Jail COVID-19 Coronavirus Visitation Policy

Dane County City-County Building Jail

Address:
210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Madison, WI 53703

Phone:

608-284-6100

New Visitation Policies in Dane County City-County Building Jail Due to COVID-19 Coronavirus

Because of concerns for the safety and wellness of both staff and inmates at the Dane County City-County Building Jail in Madison, Wisconsin, 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 608-284-6100 for updates.

Video Visitation at Dane County City-County Building Jail

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

We highly recommend that you call 608-284-6100 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 Dane County, the state of Wisconsin 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 Dane County City-County Building 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.

Dane County City-County Building Jail Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Dane County City-County Building Jail allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes
The Dane County City-County Building Jail also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate Name Number
Dane County Jail
115 West Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703



Legal Mail

Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate Name Number
Dane County Jail
115 West Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703



Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Dane County City-County Building Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as AmazonBarnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address below.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Dane County City-County Building Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.


All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & Inmate Name Number
Dane County Jail
115 West Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703


 

How to Deposit Money in an Inmate's Trust Account in Order to Purchase Prepaid Calling Cards, Phone Calling Time or Commissary

To Deposit Money in an inmate's account follow these steps:

  • Create a ConnectNetwork account 
  • Select your inmate, and add to them to your account,
  • Deposit money into his or her commissary account.

**NOTE** GTL is in a transition merging into a new company called ViaPath Technologies.


Features:

  • Deposit options available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via phone 877-650-4249, and online.
  • Mobile-friendly deposit options are available via their app.
  • Deposits and payments made through automated channels (ConnectNetwork Website, Mobile App, Toll Free Phone, or Kiosk at the jail) are transmitted to the facility within one business day.
  • Deposits that are mailed are processed the next business day after they are received by GTL.
  • Inmate can choose how to spend the funds you deposit.

All the information you need to understand depositing money into an inmate's trust fund, specifically for phone calls, but also for Commissary, in Dane County, can be found on our Send Money Page.


 

How Do Inmates in Dane County City-County Building Jail Make or Receive Phone Calls?

To receive phone calls from inmates in Dane County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:

1.  Start by confirming that Dane County City-County Building Jail has the phone service you need to communicate with your inmate by the facility lookup here.
2. In the meantime, you can create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account. This account can be controlled by just you, or by both you and your inmate.
4. Last, select Dane County City-County Building Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.

Dane County Services that are provided by GettingOut, a GTL company:
 - Phone Calls & Voicemail 
 - Video Visits (from home or jail lobby)
 - Email & Photo Sharing
 - Tablet Rental
 - Deposits


Phone & Voicemail Fees

1.  GettingOut charges $0.25 per minute for all phone calls, prepaid or collect, within Wisconsin.
2. Prepaid calls between Wisconsin and other states costs $0.21 per minute. International calls are $0.95 per minute.
3. There is a fee of $3.00 every time you add money to your account online, and it costs $5.95 if you add funds over the phone with a live agent.
4. You can also leave an inmate a short voice message for a flat fee of $1.25.

Note: Rates are subject to change.

Types of Phone Calls
Collect Calls
Collect calls allow you to accept and pay for calls to your land line (only) phone account. This means that if you accept your call from your inmate, all the charges for that call will then be billed to your land line phone account and will show up and be listed on your next local phone bill. Additional fees, costs, restrictions may apply.

Prepaid calls (Direct Calls)
With Prepaid Calls you can set up your account so that the inmate can only call you and/or you can just deposit money in their account and they can purchase prepaid phone cards through their commissary and call whoever they choose, provided the Dane County City-County Building Jail approves of the phone number.

Quick Connect
Quick connect is an alternative to collect calls. It allows you to quickly pay for a phone call with your credit card.  When your inmate calls you, follow the instructions from the automated voice system to pay for that one phone call, directly billed to your card.

Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Dane County City-County Building Jail GettingOut phone services, you can call them at 866-516-0115.

* All the information you need to understand making and receiving phone calls with inmates in Dane County, can be found on our Inmate Phone Page.


 

How Inmates Can Use a Tablet to Access Services at Dane County City-County Building Jail

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 Dane County City-County Building Jail 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.


 

How to Communicate with an Dane County City-County Building Jail Inmate by Mail and by Email

To mail or email an inmate in Dane County follow these steps:

When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:

  • All mail sent to an inmate at the Dane County City-County Building Jail must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
  • All mail must include the facility's address, as well as the inmate's name and assigned number.
  • Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
  • The Dane County City-County Building Jail has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations. 
  • All the information you need to understand mail and email policies can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

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 Dane County City-County Building Jail,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

  • Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
  • After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
  • You can also send your Dane County inmate photos and videos.

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 Dane County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.


 

How Do You Visit an Inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail?

To visit an inmate in Dane County, whether by video or in person 'at the jail', follow these steps:

Other than 'at the jail' visits between you and your inmate, which is explained and outlined in detail on our Visit Inmate Page, Dane County remote video inmate visitation can be done using the services of GettingOut

There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail:
1.  Using the GettingOut Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut apps.

To remotely visit an inmate in Dane County follow these steps:
1.  Start by confirming that Dane County City-County Building Jail's Video Visitation is working correctly by looking up Dane County here.

2.  The next step is to create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account.
4. Last, select Dane County City-County Building Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.

Other Dane County Services provided by GettingOut:
 - Phone Calls & Voicemail 
 - Email, Photo & Video Sharing
-  Inmate Tablet Rental
-  Deposits

Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Dane County City-County Building Jail Visitation Services you can call them at 866-516-0115.
Frequently Asked Questions

* All the information you need to have complete knowledge about inmate visitation; policies, rules, fees, schedules, tips, dress codes, and children, lawyers and clergy visitation in Dane County, can be found on our Visit Inmate Page.

Dane County City-County Building Jail Phone: 608-284-6100


 

How to Send a Carepack Commissary Package Directly to an Inmate in Dane County

To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail follow these steps:

  • Go to JailATM, choose Wisconsin, then choose Dane County City-County Building Jail
  • Type in your inmate's last name or their Inmate ID.
  • Select your inmate, and then you will be prompted to Register with them to open an account.
  • Select the products you want shipped to them at Dane County City-County Building Jail, and then input your payment method. 
  • NOTE: There may be a limit on how much product you can send your inmate in Dane County at any one time.
  • If you need to phone customer support, call 877-810-0914

For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages or sending money to an inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Dane County.


 

How to Deposit Money Online for an Inmate in Dane County

To deposit money online for an inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail follow these steps:

  • Register to open an account, or Sign In to JailATM, a service that acts as a bank for inmates in Dane County.
  • After registering and signing in, select 'Send Money Now'.
  • Choose Wisconsin, then choose Dane County City-County Building Jail
  • Type in your inmate's last name or their Inmate ID.
  • Select your inmate.
  • Input an amount to deposit to your inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail, and then input your payment method. 
  • NOTE: There may be a limit on how much money you can send your inmate in Dane County at any one time.
  • If you need to phone customer support, call 877-810-0914.

For all information, tips and procedures for sending money to an inmate in Dane County City-County Building Jail, or depositing money at the jail, over the phone or by mail, check out our Send Money Page for Dane County.


 

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