ByConnect With an Inmate Transitioning Through the Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center
The Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center is a state prison located in Jackson, Jackson County, Michigan. It serves as a quarantine facility for the Michigan Department of Corrections. All male offenders sentenced to serve time in Michigan prison are processed at this center. The center receives parole violators, new prisoners, and youthful offenders for assessment, screening, and classification.
Before being converted into a prison, the Egeler reception and guidance center was a treatment facility for the mentally ill and housed a maximum of 1382 inmates. It's adjacent to three other prisons initially part of the Michigan State Prison:
- Parnall Correctional Facility
- G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility
- Cooper Street Correctional Facility.
On average, an inmate stays at RGC for 30 to 45 days, but DoNotPay can help you locate and keep in touch with them.
Where is Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center?
The is located in Jackson, Jackson County, Michigan. The facility is readily accessible, and you can get there by bus, taxi, or car. The Center sits on 53 acres and comprises three separate units.
- RGC Main Complex: It houses quarantine prisoners awaiting processing
- C Unit: Houses minimum-security inmates with medical issues
- Daune L. Waters Health Center: Provides medical services to female and male inmates in MDOC.
On arriving at the center, inmates undergo various psychological, educational, medical, and security classification evaluations. Intake processing takes 12 days before an inmate is transferred to a facility that meets their security, medical, and security need. After passing through RGC, the inmates are placed in prisons throughout Michigan.
| Physical address | 3855 Cooper Street, Jackson, MI, 49201-7547 |
| Phone Number | (517)-780-5600 |
| Website | Michigan Department |
How to Contact an Inmate at the Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center
The center is quite different from a typical prison, but it allows inmates certain privileges, including calls, commissary funds, and phone calls.
- Locate the Connect With an Inmate service on DoNotPay.
- Choose whether you want to locate a loved one, create a virtual mailbox, or send a personalized letter.
- If you want us to find your loved one, provide his or her personal details and the state they are located in. We'll then conduct a search on the appropriate state database.
- If you want to create a virtual mailbox, just provide your full name! We'll set one up for you so you can easily receive incoming mail from your loved one.
- If sending a personalized letter, tell us which facility your loved one is located in and what you would like to say to them. You can even include a photo! Your letter will be delivered automatically - just wait 10 days for it to arrive to your loved one!
How to Visit an Inmate In Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center
Since inmates held at the RGC are under quarantine status, they're not eligible for visits from family and friends. The Michigan Department of Corrections website states, "These prisoners can receive visits from qualified clergy, Office of the Ombudsman, and attorneys on official business."
Only the visitors who fit into the three categories can visit an inmate housed at the RGC, and the visits are restricted to five days a week.
- Monday, Thursday, and Friday: 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
How to Write an Inmate at the RGC - Inmate Mailing address
The doesn't limit the number of letters you can send to inmates. However, there are strict rules to follow when mailing an inmate and the center checks any incoming packages and mails.
You must address your letter right to avoid confusion.
Inmate Name and DOC Number
Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center
3855 Cooper St.
Jackson, MI 49201-7547
The MDOC provides detailed mailing guidelines that include prohibited items when mailing an inmate.
How to Send Money to an Inmate at the RGC
You can send a loved one incarcerated at the RGC money to help them buy items from the commissary. You can deposit the funds into an inmate's commissary account. The center supports several payment methods, including wire transfers, cheques, money orders, and direct deposits.
Direct deposit through the GTL COnnectNetwork is the easiest and fastest way to fund an inmate's commissary account.
- Create a ConnectNetwork account
- Select the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center
- Add the inmate's name to your account
- Deposit the amount of money you wish to send.
Money Orders are payable to the Michigan Department of Corrections. Be sure to include your name and address and properly address the Money Order to the inmate using their official names and inmate number. All funds mailed directly to the RGC are subject to a 30-day hold.
All monies deposited into an inmate's commissary account are non-refundable.
How to Call an Inmate at the Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center
Public Communications Services (PCS), Inc is the official telephone services vendor to the Michigan Department of Correction facilities. The PCS allows prisoners to build a Personal Allowed Numbers (PAN) list with 20 phone numbers. Inmates at the RGC have three options when communicating with their loved ones.
- Collect calls: inmates can make collect calls to the numbers on their PAN list. If you accept the call, the charges are added to your monthly phone bill. Inmates cannot make collect calls to cell phones, hospitals, or office numbers.
- Prepaid collect: PCS allows friends and family can set up a calling account using their personal numbers. With an AdvancePay account, an inmate can call their PAN list normally and the charges deducted from the account.
- Debit: A debit account allows inmates to purchase debit minutes through the center's disbursement process. It affords an inmate great flexibility when making calls to family and friends.
Calling Rates at the RGC
- Collect: local calls are charged 20 cents a minute while interstate calls are 23 cents.
- Prepaid calls: 20 cents for local and intrastate calls and 21 cents for interstate calls.
- Debit: local calls are 18 cents a minute, interstate calls at 21 cents a minute, and international calls are 75 cents a minute.
Challenges When Connecting With an Inmate at Charles Egeler Reception Guidance Center
Since the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center is a quarantine facility, it is quite restrictive. Inmates at the RGC are not allowed visits from family or friends. Only lawyers and clergy can visit the inmate on select days.
Establishing contact with a quarantined prisoner can prove challenging since the center doesn't allow visitors. There are stringent rules to follow when sending a letter. Setting up a calling account might prove expensive, given the high calling rates.
Again, inmates are only held there for a maximum of 45 days during processing. After processing, they're moved to other prisons in the state. Without a reliable way to communicate, you might have trouble keeping track of your loved
Luckily, DoNotPay's new service, Connect with an Inmate, provides invaluable service. We can help you keep in touch with your loved ones during their stay at the RGC. You can use our inmate locator service to keep track of your loved ones once they move out of the processing center.
How DoNotPay Can Help You Connect with an Inmate
Naturally, the RGC processing center keeps a keen eye on the inmates and closely monitors how they interact with the outside world. Navigating the stringent rules might prove challenging for most people. Luckily, DoNotPay is out to help you connect with a loved one incarcerated at the RGC.
Our Connect with an Inmate service helps strengthen your relationships if a loved one is behind bars.
- Locate an inmate: The search tool lets you search all the prison databases – federal, state, and ICE detention centers. With just an inmate's name and the state where they're incarcerated, DoNotPay can help you locate an inmate in the entire country.
- Send mail: DoNotPay makes corresponding with an inmate a breeze. You don't even need to leave the house to post a letter. With a few clicks of a button, you can send a letter to an inmate anywhere in the county.
After signing up with DoNotPay, you only need to type out the letter and attach any pictures or photos you wish to send to an inmate. We'll print out the letter and the pictures and send them to prison. DoNotPay handles all the heavy lifting to let you keep in touch with an incarcerated loved one.
- Receive letters from inmates: We make it easier for inmates to communicate with their loved ones on the outside. We provide a mailing address for the inmates. Once an inmate writes back, we'll scan the letter and upload it to a virtual mailbox.
What Else Can DoNotPay Do?
At DoNotPay, we understand the challenges of communicating with an incarcerated loved one. We offer a variety of helpful services to help you connect with an inmate, including:
- Writing to an inmate
- Prison pen pals
- Inmate Visitation
- How to address a letter to an inmate
- Writing letters to inmates