How to Send Money to the Crain Unit Inmate Trust Fund

The eCommDirect Exclusion at Crain

eCommDirect is TDCJ’s system for buying a package of goods for someone inside, and it is the only deposit vendor that publishes its fees. But inmates in G4 custody, and anyone under commissary restriction, cannot receive eCommDirect purchases.

The Christina Melton Crain Unit houses G1 through G4, along with Transient, Outside Trusty, Developmentally Disabled and Substance Abuse custody. So a G4 placement here is ordinary rather than unusual, and a family who buys a package before checking custody level can pay for something that will not be delivered.

Money deposited to her trust fund account is not affected. She can still spend it at the commissary within the normal limits. The restriction applies to the package purchase, not to the balance.

Mailing a Money Order

A money order or cashier’s check, made payable to Inmate Trust Fund for [her name and TDCJ number], with a deposit slip enclosed. She can supply a deposit slip, or you can request one by mailing a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Send it to:

Inmate Trust Fund
PO Box 60
Huntsville, TX 77342-0060

Do not send it to Crain’s address on State School Road. That address handles legal mail, packages and publisher-direct books, and a money order arriving there is misrouted rather than deposited.

The Free Option

TDCJ offers a no-fee ACH arrangement. Send the ACH Agreement form with a voided check to:

Inmate Trust Fund
PO Box 629
Huntsville, TX 77342-0629

Debits come out around the 5th of the month and credits post around the 10th. It is the only route with no fee at all.

Approved Deposit Vendors

TDCJ accepts deposits through eCommDirect, Access Corrections, JPay, TouchPay Holdings and ACE. Only eCommDirect publishes its fees, so confirm the charge with any other vendor before paying.

The Sender Rule

Only people on her approved Visitors List or her Inmate Telephone List may deposit money. The Visitors List holds 10 names and changes once every six months, so this genuinely locks out a friend who is on neither list.

What Is Not Accepted

Cash, prepaid debit cards, foreign currency and personal checks are returned to sender. Do not put cash in a letter, particularly since personal mail for Crain goes to a scanning center in Dallas rather than to the unit.

Large Deposits and the 14-Day Hold

Anything of $500 or more is held a minimum of 14 days before she can access it. Since the commissary limit is $105 every two weeks regardless of balance, several smaller deposits generally serve her better than one large one.

Money and a Transfer

Crain handles intake, receiving and release, and it houses Transient custody, so a move is more likely here than at a settled general population unit. The trust fund is statewide and the deposit is tied to her TDCJ number, so a transfer does not strand the money or send it to the wrong prison.