Pre-Incarceration Consulting Services
For Those Who Never Took Our Training Programs and Are Now Facing Prison Time
Your Consultant
Kevin Foster
I spent 37 months in federal prison and experienced the full gamut of life as an inmate and my family made-do without me. I am a transformed person because of my time in prison, but I would not wish the prison experience on anyone. As an Pre-Incarceration Consultant, I help others prepare for and navigate their time in prison. The pitfalls are many, but preparation by an experienced pre-incarceration consultant can alleviate the fear and apprehension that a sentenced person feels as they are waiting for the day they must report to prison.
My wife, Christine, and I can also tell you that what an inmate experiences are nothing compared to the worry and loneliness of the inmate’s family. It is harder on the family than the inmate. Our pre-incarceration consulting services address the preparation for both the inmate and the family. Other pre-incarceration consulting services focus solely on the inmate and end when the inmate reports to prison. We are available to the inmate’s family during the full time of our client’s incarceration.
Both Christine and I are trained Stephen Ministers through our churches so we compassionately and non-judgmentally lead our clients down a path where they can emotionally and confidently look forward to surviving separation with an end in sight. I am not an attorney, so I am not here to give you legal advice, but the help I have to offer can save you a lot of grief and aggravation so you can prepare for prison life.
Be sure to watch the video below. Also, you can get some excellent information by reading my blog, but there is no substitute for the one-on-one discussions that we provide to prepare you for prison life.
As part of pre-incarceration consulting services,
we help our client understand and prepare for:
How to turn over your finances to your family and what they will need from you
Your voluntary surrender and first day at the facility (essential to prioritize the things you need right away)
Prison protocol involving getting along with other inmates
What personal items you can bring in and keep in your cell
Residential drug treatment programs (RDAP) and how you can get your sentence reduced by up to 18 months
How to find peace in doing your time
Communication procedures involving mail, email, and phone
Medical and dental concerns, prison medical facilities and chronic health problems
How to stay healthy and fit given the typically abysmal food choices
What is deemed contraband
Discipline incident reports (“shots”) and administrative procedures
What to do during shakedowns
What are “counts” and what is being “out-of-bounds”
Furloughs, of any kind
Commissary (restrictions on what, when and how to buy)
Transfer requests and involuntary relocations
What happens if you get sent to a Special Housing Units (SHU, aka “the hole”) – I know because I spent 28 days in solitary!
How to get along with, and what to expect from, your case manager and counselor, especially when you are seeking specific housing and work assignments
Visitation procedures
What educational opportunities are available
What is the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program
Should you listen to any “jailhouse lawyers”
What are the different levels of security and what they mean to you
How will you be monitored by your probation officer upon release during home confinement and supervised release
We help family with:
Getting approved for and preparing for visitation
What and how to mail to you (BOP is very particular about ALL incoming mail because of the risk of contraband)
Transferring money to the inmate
How to set up your phone to minimize telephone costs
Dealing with the prison bureaucracy so you can be an outside advocate for your partner
What to do if you don’t hear from your loved one
What are your rights to visit or talk to an inmate that is in the hospital or the SHU
We are immediately available to hold your hand should an emergency arise and talk you through almost anything that could go wrong
How to prepare your home for the probation officer’s inspection to determine eligibility for home confinement