West Virginia splits the money three ways, and funding the wrong account is the costliest mistake families make here. Send photos and letters too.
Send photos and letters too
There is no single account here. West Virginia runs three, each with a different vendor and a different purpose, and money in one does nothing for the others. A trust account pays for commissary. An AdvancePay account pays for calls to one particular phone number. A Family and Friends account with GettingOut pays for messaging and video visits. Understanding which is which before you deposit anything will save you a phone call and possibly a week. One more rule matters: you cannot mail money to someone here, and mail containing it is returned to sender.
| Account | Pays for | Where to fund it | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust | Commissary and self-funded services | ConnectNetwork, its app, or the lobby kiosk | 888-428-1845 |
| AdvancePay | Calls to one dedicated phone number | ConnectNetwork or its app | 877-650-4249 |
| Family and Friends | Messaging and video visits | GettingOut or its app | 866-516-0115 |
The vendor for the first two is ConnectNetwork, operated by ViaPath Technologies. The third is GettingOut, also operated by ViaPath Technologies. Same parent company, different products, separate balances.
AdvancePay is tied to a phone number, not to a person. If you change your number, that balance does not follow you automatically.
The state adds a caveat worth repeating, because families sometimes deposit into the trust account expecting the money to be spent a particular way: funds deposited to a trust account are used at the discretion of the recipient.
Money for commissary is money the person decides how to use.
West Virginia policy is direct about this. Inmates are not permitted to receive money orders, cash, checks or other funds mailed by family, friends or acquaintances, and mail containing them is returned to sender.
The narrow exception is government, retirement and settlement checks received directly from a government or corporate source, which is not a route a family can use.
So the lobby kiosk, ConnectNetwork and GettingOut are the only ways in.
Three things families reasonably want to know, none of which appear on any West Virginia corrections page or in any of its policies:
ConnectNetwork discloses its fee at checkout, so the practical approach is to read it before confirming rather than to assume it matches another state.
Separate from all three accounts, West Virginia runs a package program through Union Supply Direct at wvinmatepackage.com, linked from the corrections agency’s own site.
For someone at a jail rather than a prison, the limits are one Food and Hygiene Package per month and one Property Package per month. Ordering needs the person’s West Virginia offender ID number.
Note that South Central is not among the facilities listed for the special program packages that some other facilities offer.
A person is treated as indigent if their trustee account has been under $5.00 at any point in the previous 30 days. An indigent inmate receives ten postage-free one-ounce letters per calendar month, which at least keeps a line of communication open while an account is being set up.
That last question matters more here than at most jails, because a large share of this population is waiting to move to a state prison.
6 of 8 questions
Through ConnectNetwork, its mobile app, or the kiosk in the jail lobby, depending on which account you need. A trust account funds commissary, and an AdvancePay account funds calls to one specific phone number. Messaging and video visits are funded separately again through GettingOut.
Send MoneyBecause West Virginia splits them by purpose. The trust account covers commissary, AdvancePay covers phone calls to one number, and a Family and Friends account with GettingOut covers messaging and video visits. Money in one does not work for the others, which is the most common and most frustrating mistake families make here.
Send MoneyNo. West Virginia policy states that inmates may not receive money orders, cash, checks or other funds mailed by family or friends, and that mail containing them is returned to sender. The only exception is checks arriving directly from a government or corporate source, which is not something a family can arrange.
Send MoneyNot published. West Virginia does not state deposit fees, limits or processing times for any of the three accounts. ConnectNetwork shows its fee at checkout, so read it before confirming the payment.
Send MoneyNo, and the state says so directly: funds deposited to a trust account are used at the discretion of the recipient. Money you send for commissary is theirs to allocate.
Send MoneyThrough Union Supply Direct at wvinmatepackage.com, which is separate from all three money accounts. For someone at a jail the limits are one Food and Hygiene Package and one Property Package per month, and you need their West Virginia offender ID number to order.
Send MoneyWest Virginia treats someone as indigent if their trustee account has been under $5.00 at any point in the past 30 days, and an indigent inmate gets ten postage-free one-ounce letters each calendar month. That keeps letters possible while you set an account up.
Send MoneyNot published, and worth asking. A large share of this jail's population is state-sentenced and waiting for a prison bed, so a transfer is a realistic prospect. Call 304-558-1336 and ask how balances follow a transfer before you deposit a large sum.
Send MoneyWest Virginia runs separate searches for jails and prisons.
View ArticleThursday, Saturday and Sunday. Non-contact, and requested by the person inside.
View ArticleAll calls prepaid, none incoming, and no three-way calling.
View ArticleLetters go to Maryland and are scanned. Photos cannot be mailed at all.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 8, 2026.