Maine Correctional Center Phone and Video Calls. How ViaPath and GettingOut Work

Who Runs the Phone System

Maine Correctional Center’s own published materials name ViaPath as its resident telephone vendor, the same company that runs the facility’s video visitation kiosks. This is consistent with the statewide GTL/ViaPath Technologies system used across MDOC’s adult facilities, though MCC’s specific pages describe the system in terms of outgoing calls and video kiosks instead of naming a specific consumer account platform like AdvancePay by name.

Calls Are Outgoing Only

MCC’s own Visitation FAQ is direct about this: “MCC has outgoing telephones available in every housing area. We do not accept incoming phone calls for residents.” That means you cannot call the facility and expect to be connected to a resident. Instead, the resident places the call out to you, and the cost is covered by whichever account, yours or theirs, is set up to pay for it.

Residents are also not permitted to call victims under any circumstance.

Option 1. Fund an Account to Receive Calls

Families set up a prepaid account, funded ahead of time, that automatically covers the cost as the resident’s outgoing calls come in to your number. This is the standard way to receive collect-style calls from a GTL/ViaPath facility, and it’s the same underlying system MDOC uses statewide.

Option 2. Fund the Resident’s Phone Account Directly

Instead of, or in addition to, an account to receive calls, you can add money straight to the resident’s own MDOC phone account through the Department’s Money Deposit Service, the same system used for trust account deposits. This funds the account the resident uses to place their own outgoing calls, capped at $100 per day and $200 per week. See the send money guide for the full deposit process, including the option to mail a money order instead of depositing online.

Video Calls Through GettingOut

MCC has worked with ViaPath to put video visitation kiosks in every housing area, giving residents an outgoing video-call option as an alternative to travel. Families can also use ViaPath’s GettingOut app, available for iPhone and Android, to receive these calls. Search for the correct facility inside the app: ME_DOC Maine Correctional Center for the main population, or ME_DOC Women’s Reentry Center if that applies to your situation. Since Zoom video visitation ended on May 20, 2023, the GettingOut kiosk and app system is now MCC’s primary video option.

What GettingOut Replaced

MCC introduced Zoom video visits during the COVID-19 public health emergency as a way to keep some form of visual contact going when in-person visits were limited. Once the federal Public Health Emergency lifted on May 11, 2023, MCC returned to a full in-person visiting schedule and phased out Zoom, with the last Zoom visits available May 17-20, 2023. The GettingOut kiosk and app system replaced it as a more flexible, ongoing option, instead of a temporary substitute for in-person visits.

Monitoring

Correctional phone and video systems, including MCC’s, are typically monitored and recorded as standard practice. MCC’s own published pages don’t spell out a separate procedure for privileged attorney-client calls. If you’re an attorney or working with one, contact the facility directly at (207) 893-7000 to arrange a legal call instead of assuming the standard system will keep it private.

If Calls or Video Aren’t Connecting

Confirm that whichever account is paying for the call, yours or the resident’s phone account, is funded and active. If a video kiosk session or the GettingOut app isn’t working, check that you’re searching the correct facility name inside the app. For account-specific issues, contact ViaPath/GettingOut’s customer support. For questions about the facility’s phone system itself, or a resident’s specific restrictions, call Maine Correctional Center at (207) 893-7000.

The Women’s Center

Phone and video access for Women’s Center residents runs through the same ViaPath system as the rest of MCC: outgoing calls only, the same GettingOut video kiosks, and the same option to fund an account to receive calls or to deposit directly into the resident’s phone account. Families can search ME_DOC Women’s Reentry Center inside the GettingOut app if that’s the correct listing for their situation.