Kershaw Phone Calls. GTL/ConnectNetwork Rates & Hours

Who Provides the Phone Service

GTL (Global Tel*Link), now rebranding as ViaPath, is SCDC’s statewide inmate telephone provider, selected by the state for both the prison-side calling system and the family-facing billing and account tools. You may see both names, GTL and ViaPath, used on the same pages during the transition.

What a Call Costs

Every call anywhere in the U.S. is billed at a single flat rate of 5.5 cents per minute. There’s no separate long-distance rate to worry about within the U.S.

New Curfew Hours for Kershaw

Because Kershaw houses medium and close custody male inmates, it falls under a rule change that took effect Oct. 27, 2025: the phone system for medium and close custody male inmates now operates from 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. only. After 11:30 p.m., inmates at Kershaw cannot place calls at all. This restriction does not apply to minimum-security or female inmates elsewhere in the system. SCDC says the change is meant to stop late-night calls from disrupting families and to curb inappropriate phone activity. If there’s a genuine need for an exception, the inmate can request one through the warden’s office.

If you’ve received calls from someone at Kershaw late at night before, expect that to stop. Plan around the 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. window going forward.

The 20-Number Call List

Since Dec. 1, 2023, each inmate is limited to 20 total phone numbers they can call, called their Personal Allowed Number (PAN) list. The list builds itself automatically: whatever numbers the inmate dials become the 20 approved numbers. Once they’ve called 20 different numbers, no new numbers can be added until the list resets, which happens once a year. This limit doesn’t restrict how many times they can call a number already on the list, only how many different numbers total.

If you want to make sure you’re able to receive calls, make sure the inmate calls your number early, before their list fills up.

How to Receive Calls

Calls to a landline (collect calls). Your local phone company account must be current and must have a Billing and Collection agreement with SCDC’s phone provider. You’ll also need a non-cordless phone with touch-tone service; rotary-dial lines don’t work.

Calls to a cell phone. Cell phone calls must be prepaid. Set up a free AdvancePay account at ConnectNetwork.com so the inmate’s calls to your cell number are already funded before they call.

Blocking calls. You can decline any individual call, block all future calls from a specific inmate, or block all calls from SCDC’s system entirely, all through your GTL/ConnectNetwork account settings.

Calls Are Recorded and Monitored

All calls through the SCDC system are subject to recording, monitoring, and restrictions. This is standard across every SCDC institution, not specific to Kershaw.

Toll-Free Numbers Don’t Work

Inmates cannot call toll-free numbers from inside SCDC. If you only have an 800 or 888 number for a service you need to reach, that call won’t go through from the inmate’s side.

Alternative: Electronic Messaging

If a phone call isn’t possible, GettingOut (also part of the GTL/ViaPath family of services) lets you set up an account to send electronic messages instead. SCDC staff review all electronic messages, and anything with inappropriate content can be blocked and won’t reach the inmate.