Attention!!!
Notice for incoming mail at the Ohio Reformatory for Women,
Dayton Correctional Institution and Northeast Reintegration Center:
Effective November 13, 2023, all letters and cards, excluding legal mail and printed materials (magazines, newspapers, books), will now be required to be sent to ODRC Mail Processing Center (OMPC) at the following address:
Jane Smith W012345 (sample only)
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
Mail Processing Center
884 Coitsville-Hubbard Road
Youngstown, Ohio 44505
To ensure your personal correspondence reaches the intended incarcerated person promptly, it is required that you send your letters and cards to the new address.
Please make sure to update your records accordingly, as any correspondence sent to the previous address will be forwarded to the mail processing center but will delay your mail being received.
If you have any questions or require further assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to us at Patrick.Turpack@odrc.state.oh.us or call 1-330-333-7372. We understand the importance of staying connected with your loved ones, and we want to ensure the process remains as smooth as possible.
You may correspond with an incarcerated person via the U.S. Mail or through email using the ViaPath service. For correspondence sent through the postal service, please include his or her incarcerated persons number on the front of the envelope. The incarcerated persons number can be obtained by using the OffenderSearch.
Prison addresses can be found by locating the institution on our Facilitiespage.
Regular Mail Guidelines
All incarcerated person mail and email, other than legal mail, shall be opened, screened, copied and inspected for the presence of cash, checks, money orders and/or other contraband. All mail shall be removed from the envelope. The front of the envelope shall be removed in such a way as to preserve the return address, inspected for the presence of contraband, and attached to the contents. The remainder of the envelope shall be discarded. Colored envelopes and/or colored mail contents are not permitted inside the institution. The front of the colored envelope and/or the colored contents shall be photocopied, and the copies delivered to the incarcerated person. The colored envelope/contents shall be discarded.
All population regular mail may be read or copied from the institution mail office. The written portion of the mail shall then be promptly delivered to the intended individual unless it is a threat to security. Incarcerated persons and senders shall be notified via a Notice of Withholding (DRC4149) when incoming or outgoing letters are withheld in part or in full. The intended recipient and sender shall receive notification using a Decision on Withholding/Correspondence (DRC4148) once a decision is made. If an email is withheld and/or blocked due to content by an authorized ODRC staff member, an automatic notification is sent to the sender/receiver of the e-mail and a separate Notice of Withholding (DRC4149) is not required.
When the incarcerated person bears the mailing cost, there is no limit to the volume of letters they can send or receive or on the length, language, content, or source of mail or publications except when there is reasonable belief that limitation is necessary to protect public safety or institutional order and security.
Postage and embossed envelopes shall be available for sale in the institution commissary and through ODRC approved vendors. Envelopes ordered through an approved vendor will not count towards an individual’s package limits. Envelopes may not be mailed to incarcerated persons by individuals. Incarcerated persons may send one letter each month at state expense to maintain community ties.
First-Class Mail Enclosers
Incarcerated persons may receive the following in a first-class letter:
Five photographs no nude, no Polaroid (no larger than 5 x 7)
Five newspaper clippings (no larger than 8 ½” x 11”)
Five pages written/typed correspondence on plain white paper (no larger than 8 ½” x 11)
Color greeting cards if they are commercially manufactured and have not been altered. Greeting cards must be single-fold only (multifold, musical and/or “pop out” cards are prohibited)
A religious organization may send a religious medallion to an incarcerated personsubject to the possession limit, value limit, and certificate of ownership requirements.
Other items, including but not limited to, postage stamps, laminated stickers, glue, glitter, lipstick, or perfume, etc. are prohibited.
Such enclosures are still subject to screening and possible exclusion from the institution under Administrative Rule 5120-9-19, Printed Material, and DRCpolicy75-MAL-02,PrintedMaterial.
Packages
Incarcerated personsmay order and receive food and sundry packages from vendors approved by the Director and may have access to catalogs, flyers, and order forms for the programs at the institutions. Approved vendors authorized to provide food and sundry packages to incarcerated persons housed in Ohio prison include:
Family members, friends, and others (regardless of their inclusion on an individual’s approved visitation list) may order food and/or sundry packages, subject to the limitations of codeAR5120-9-33, from the approved vendor or vendors.
Institutions provide incarcerated personswith a list of items they may receive. The list may vary from facility to facility. It is the responsibility of the incarcerated personsto provide family members, friends, and others with the list and the proper mailing guidelines.
Legal Mail
For information regarding legal mail, please visit our LegalMail page. You may also download our InformationPacketforAttorneys.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction uses an innovative electronic mail system to allow family and friends to use modern day email applications to correspond with their incarcerated loved one. This program does NOT provide incarcerated persons with direct email access. Rather, those who wish to correspond with an incarcerated person by enrolling in a subscription with a third-party website, at a cost substantially less than the postal service, and which serves as the vehicle to manage emails between incarcerated persons and their loved ones. Please note that the service should not be used by attorneys to communicate with incarcerated persons, as the mail will not be treated as confidential.
Please visit the third-party website, ViaPath, for additional information.
Additional Information
Incoming and outgoing letters shall be held for no more than forty-eight (48) hours and packages shall be held for no more than seventy-two (72) hours, excluding holidays and weekends.
Letters which are incorrectly addressed may be returned to the sender after a reasonable effort to ascertain the addressee has failed.
First class letters, legal mail, and packages shall be forwarded in a timely manner to the individual’s new address, if it is known, following their transfer or release.
A religious organization may send a religious medallion to an incarcerated personsubject to the possession limit, value limit, and certificate of ownership requirements of DRC policy 61-PRP-01, Incarcerated PersonsPersonal Property.
General Mail Restrictions, Policies and Procedures
You can find our ODRC Incarcerated Persons and Printed Mailpoliciesandprocedures, as well as our PersonalPropertypolicy in our policy finder
Download the outlining limits for offenders.
